THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


(Etacatioiral 


MEMOIRS 


OF 


AND 


PROMOTERS  AND  BENEFACTORS DF  EDUCATION, 

LITERATURE,  AND  SCIENCE, 


Reprinted  from,  the  American  Journal  of  Education. 

EDITED  BY  HENRY; 'BARNARD,  LL.D, 

Chancellor  of  the  TJniv«rsTEy  of  "Wisconsin. 


PART    I.      TEACHERS    AND    EDUCATORS 


SECOND   EDITION. 


NEW    YORK: 
PUBLISHED    BY    F.    C.    BROWNELL, 


(jformaa  Ctotcattonal  Informers. 
MEMOIRS 


OF    EMINENT 


PACKERS  AND  EDUCATORS 


GERMANY- 


CONTRIBUTIONS  TO  THE  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION 


FOURTEENTH  TO  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 


REFUBLI8HED    FROM 

THE  AMERICAN  JOURNAL  OF  EDUCATION, 

EDITED  BY  HENRYJ  BARNARD,  LL.D. 


FOR  SALE  BY 

J.  B.  LIPPIXCOTT  &  CO.,  PHILADELPHIA.    F.  C.  BROWNELL,  NEW  YORK. 
TICKNOR  &  FIELD,  BOSTON. 

UC       '905 


ENTERED,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  186'>, 

BY   HENRY  BARNARD, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  Connecticut 


Education 
Library 

U  A 


PREFACE, 


THE  following  pages, — devoted  to  the  biographies,  and  pedagogical  labors  of 
eminent  teachers  and  educators  in  Germany,  with  historical  summaries  of  the 
progress  of  educational  development  in  Europe,  from  the  fourteenth  to  the  nine-  • 
teenth  century — embrace  the  entire  contents  of  the  first  two  volumes  of  Prof. 
Karl  von  Raumer's  "History  of  Pedagogy ,"  except  the  chapters  devoted  to  Pesta- 
lozzi.  For  these  chapters  we  have  substituted  an  able,  but  briefer  article  by  Dr. 
Diesterweg,  on  the  Life  and  Influence  of  the  great  Swiss  educator  on  the  popular 
schools  of  Germany,  and  we  may  add,  of  the  world. 

The  elaborate  and  valuable  memoir  of  Pestalozzi — the  great  central  figure  in 
the  history  of  modern  popular  education,  is  omitted  here,  because  that  memoir, 
with  other  matter  cognate  and  illustrative  of  Pestalozzi,  and  his  educational 
labors,  has  been  issued  by  the  present  editor,  in  a  separate  publication,  entitled 
"Pestalozzi  and  Pestalozzianism,  or  the  Life,  Educational  Principles,  and  Methods 
of  John  Henry  Pestalozzi,  with  Biographical  Sketches  of  several  of  his  Assist- 
ants and  Disciples."  Of  this  volume  Prof.  Raumer  writes  from  Erlangen  in 
April,  1860: 

';  In  your  PESTALOZZI  AND  PESTALOZZIAXISJI,  you  have  collected  with  the 
greatest  diligence  all  that  relates  to  Pestalozzi  and  his  school.  I  can  hardly 
understand  how  you  could  have  made  such  collection  in  America,  or  out  of  it 
either,  even  by  the  aid  of  well  informed  correspondents.  I  know  how  great  is 
the  difficulty  of  collecting  authorities,  by  my  own  experience  during  the  com- 
position of  my  History  of  Pedagogy,  where  I  had  to  obtain  them  with  much 
pains  from  German  libraries  and  even  from  France.'' 

We  have  retained  the  chapters  on  Bacon,  Locke,  Montaigne,  and  Rousseau, 
although  the  former  belong  to  English,  and  the  latter  to  French  Pedagogy,  be- 
cause the  pedagogical  views  of  these  writers  have  greatly  influenced  the  direc- 
tion and  methods  of  German  education,  and  because  the  German  author  claims 
that  his  work  exhibits  the  progress  of  educational  development  in  Europe 
generally. 

In  a  few  instances  the  biographies  have  been  abridged  to  suit  the  convenience 
of  the  American  editor  in  their  original  appearance  in  the  "American  Journal  of 
Education,'1'1  for  which  they  were  specially  translated,  without  any  thought  of 
their  separate  publication  as  a  reproduction  of  the  German  work  in  an  English 
dress. 

The  translations  from  page  9  to  330,  were  made  by  Mr.  Lucius  \V.  FITCH,  of 
of  New  Haven,  and  those  which  follow  by  FREDERICK  B.  PERKINS,  of  Hartford. 
HENRY  BARNARD, 

Editor  of  American  Journal  of  Education. 

HARTFORD,  Coxx.,  June,  1863. 


CONTENTS. 


PACE. 

Preface, 7 

Memoir  of  Karl  von  Runnier, 9 

I.  INTRODUCTION.    Revival  of  Classical  Literature  in  Italy, 17—64 

1.  The  Middle  Ages— Condition  of  Studies,  Teaching  and  the  Arts, 17 

2.  Dante,  Boccaccio,  Petrarch, 28 

3.  Greek  Scholars  from  Constantinople,  John  of  Ravenna,  Chrysolorus, 35 

4.  Italian  Teachers — Guarino,  Philelphus,  Poggius,  Valla,  Landinus,  Politianus,  Picus,     49 

5.  Transition  to  Germany, 62 

II.  DEVELOPMENT  OF  EDUCATION  IN  THE  NETHERLANDS  AND  NORTHERN  GERMANY,.  65 — 130 

1.  Gerard  of  Daventer — Rude  win— Gerard  of  Zutphen — The  Hiergjjymjans, 65 

2.  Wessel— Rudolph  Agrico'm — Hegius — Lunge — Busch, 72 

3.  Erasmus, 89 

4.  School  of  Schlettstadt— Dringenberg— Wimpheling— Reuchlin, 101 

APPENDIX.    Condition  of  Schools  and  Teachers  in  the  Sixteenth  Century, 113 

Autobiography  of  John  Platter ;  A-B-C-shooters  and  Bacchants 125 

III.  THE  PERIOD  OF  THE  REFORMATION, 131—266 

1.  Martin  Luther 131 

2.  Philip  Melancthon .' 161 

3.  Valentine  Friedland  Trolzendorf, 185 

4.  John  Stumi 193 

5.  Michael  Neunder, 193 

.          6.  Ignatius  Loyola  and  the  Schools  of  the  Jesuits, 229 

K^       7.  -The  Early  School  Codes  of  Germany 351 

1.  Dutchy  of  Wirtemberg;  2.  Electorate  of  Saxony, 257 

8.  The  Universities  of  the  Sixteenth  Century, 261 

IV.  REALISM, 267—334 

1.  Verbal  Realism — Erasmus — Melancthon, 267 

2.  Real  Realism — Influence  of  Lord  Bacon's  Philosophy, 273 

3.  Real  Schools.     Meeker,  Halm,  Semler  ;  Modern  Development  of  Realistic  Instruction,  302 

4.  Michael  Montaigne 317 

V.  THE  RENOVATORS,  OR  PROGRESSIVES, 335 — 520 

1.  New  Ideas  and  Methods  of  Education, 335 

2.  Wolfgang  Ratich 343 

3.  John  Amos  Comenius, :<cl_ 

4.  Schools  and  Education  in  Periods  of  Peace  and  War, 413 

1.  The  Thirty  Years'  War ;  2.  The  Century  after  the  Peace  of  Westphalia, 416 

5.  John  Locke  and  Influence  of  his  Pedagogy  on  German  Education, 427 

6.  Augustus  Hermann  Franke,  and  the  Pietists, 441 

\     7.  Jean  Jaques  Rousseau  and  his  Influence  on  the  Philanthropinists, 459 

8.  The  Philanthropinom  at  Dessau, 487 

John  Bernhard  Basedow 487 

VI.  THE  REFORMATORY  PHILOLOGISTS 521—574 

1.  Johann  Mathias  Gesner, 521 

2.  John  August  Ernesti, .• 530 

3.  Johann  Georg  Hamann, i 533 

3.  Johann  Gotfried  Herder 547 

4.  Friedrich  August  Wolf, 561 

VII.    PCSTALOZZI    AND   THE   COMMON,   OR    PEOPLE*!    SCHOOLS, 575—586 


KAKL  VON  RAUMER. 
1 


KARL  VON  RAUMER,  whose  "  History  of  Pedagogy  from  the  Re- 

vival of  Classical  Learning  to  our  own  Times"  is  a  valuable  contri- 

bution to  the  Science  and  Art  of  Education,  as  well  as  a  most  re- 

liable and  comprehensive  record  of  the  progress  of  pedagogical  de- 

velopment in  Europe,  as  affected  by  the  practice,  or  publications  of 

eminent  teachers  and  educators,  particularly  in  Germany,  was  born 

in  Worlitz,  in  the  duchy  of  Anhalt-Dessau,  on  the  9th  of  April, 

1783.     Until  his  fourteenth  year,  he  was  under  private  tuition  at 

home,  when  he  was  placed  in  the  Joachimsthall  Gymnasium  at  Ber- 

lin, to  which  institution  his  elder  brother*  had  already  been  sent. 

From  this  Gymnasium  where  he  had  the  instruction  of  Meierotto,  he 

went  in  1801,  to  the  university  at  Gottingen,  to  «tudy  law  and  read 

.  ^  with  Buttman  ;  to  Halle  in  1803,  to  attend  the  lectures  of  Wolf  and 

^  Steffens;  in  1805  to  the  Mining  Academy  to  devote  himself  to 

.     mineralogy  under  Werner;  and  in  1808,  after  a  geological  explora- 

i    tion  of  the  mountain  chains  of  Germany  and  France,  to  Paris  to 

^J  continue  his  geological  studies.     While  at  Paris,  he  changed  somer 

what  his  plans  of  life,  which  he  thus  describes  in  one  of  his  pub- 

,    lished  lectures  on  education. 

JrPj 

"At  Paris  my  views  and  intentions  in  regard  to  the  future  occupation  of  my 
life  underwent  a  great  change,  which  was  brought  about  by  two  different 
causes.  For  one  thing,  I  had  learnt  by  my  own  experience  how  little  a  single 
individual  is  able  to  accomplish  for  the  science  of  mineralogy,  even  if  he  goes 
to  work  with  the  best  will  and  the  most  toilsome  industry  ;  that  it  required, 
much  more,  the  united,  intelligent  and  persevering  labors  of  many,  in  order  to 
pass  from  a  mere  belief  in  the  laws  of  mineralogy  to  an  actual  perception  of  their 
operation  in  mountain  chains.  I  thus  became  convinced  that  we  ought  not  to 
work  for  science  as  individuals,  but  that  we  should,  after  passing  through  our 
own  apprenticeship,  instruct  others  and  train  them  for  the  pursuit  of  science. 
How  much  more  useful  is  it,  thought  I,  to  produce  one  new  workman  than  one 

•  FREDERICK  VON  RAUMER,  author  of  History  of  Hohenstaufen,  Privy  Counselor,  and 
Professor  at  Berlin,  was  born  in  1781. 

RUDOLPH  von  RAUMBR,  author  of  the  "  Essay  on  Instruction  in  German,"  in  the  fourth 
edition  of  the  History  of  Pedagogy,  and  Professor  of  the  German  Language  and  Literature  in 
Erlangen,  is  a  son  of  Karl,  and  was  born  in  1-1.". 

The  late  Minister  of  Public  Instruction  in  Prussia,  was  a  cousin  of  Prof.  Karl  von  Raumer. 


10  RAUMEK'S  HISTORY  OF  PEDAGOGH  S. 

single  new  work,  seeing  that  the  former  can  execute  many  works,  and  even 
train  other  workmen.  This  conviction  caused  me  to  turn  my  attention  to  the 
question  of  education.  But  a  second  cause  operated  in  a  still  higher  degree  to 
produce  the  same  result.  The  sad  time  that  had  passed  since  1806  had  affected 
me  with. horror  and  dismay;  it  had  made  me  wish  to  shun  the  society  of  my 
fellow-men,  and  had  quite  disposed  me  to  give  myself  up  to  the  most  solitary  re- 
searche?  among  the  mountains.  This  disposition  was  strengthened  at  Paris,  in 
the  midst  of  the  haughty  despisers  of  our  German  fatherland.  But  it  was  here, 
too,  where  hope  first  dawned  within  me,  where  a  solitary  light  beamed  toward 
me  through  the  darkness  of  night.  I  read  Pestalozzi,  and  what  Fichte  says,  in 
his  'Addresses  to  the  German  Nation,'  about  Pestalozzi  and  education.  The 
thought,  that  a  new  and  better  Germany  must  rise  from  the  ruins  of  the  old  one, 
that  youthful  blossoms  must  spring  from  the  mouldering  soil,  took  strong  hold 
of  me.  In  this  manner,  there  awoke  within  me  a  determination  to  visit  Pesta- 
lozzi at  Yverdun. 

Fichte's  Addresses  had  great  influence  on  me.  Surrounded  by  Frenchmen, 
the  brave  man  pointed  out  to  his  Berlin  hearers  in  what  way  they  might  cast 
off  the  French  yoke,  and  renew  and  strengthen  their  nationality. 

He  promised  deliverance  especially  through  a  national  education  of  the 
Germans,  which  he  indicated  as  the  commencement  of  an  entire  reformation  of 
the  human  race,  by  which  the  spirit  should  gain  a  complete  ascendency  over 
Jie  flesh.  To  the  question,  to  which  of  the  existing  institutions  of  the  actual 
world  he  would  annex  the  duty  of  carrying  out  the  new  education,  Fichte  an- 
swered, '  To  the  course  of  instruction  which  has  been  invented  and  brought 
forward  by  Henry  Pestalozzi,  and  which  is  now  being  successfully  carried  out 
under  his  direction.' 

He  then  gives  an  account  of  Pestalozzi,  and  compares  him  with  Luther,  es- 
pecially in  regard  to  his  love  for  the  poor  and  destitute.  His  immediate  object, 
says  Fichte,  was  to  help  these  by  means  of  education,  but  he  had  produced 
something  higher  than  a  scheme  of  popular  education, — he  had  produced  a  plan 
af  national  education  which  should  embrace  all  classes  of  society. 

Further  on  he  expresses  himself  in  his  peculiar  manner  on  the  subject  of 
Pestalozzi's  method,  which  he  criticises.  He  takes  exception  to  Pestalozzi's 
view  of  language,  namely,  '  as  a  means  of  raising  mankind  from  dim  perceptions 
to  clear  ideas,'  and  to  the  Book  for  Mothers.  On  the  other  hand,  he  strongly 
recommends  the  development  of  bodily  skill  and  dexterity  proposed  by  Pesta- 
lozzi, for  this,  among  other  reasons,  that  it  would  make  the  whole  nation  tit  for 
military  service,  and  thus  remove  the  necessity  for  a  standing  army.  Like  Pes- 
talozzi, he  attaches  a  high  value  to  the  skill  necessary  for  gaining  a  livelihood, 
as  a  condition  of  an  honorable  political  existence. 

He  especially  insists  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  State  to  charge  itself  with  edu- 
cation. He  spoke  in  the  year  1808,  in  the  capital  of  Prussia,  which  had  been 
deeply  humiliated  by  the  unhappy  war  of  the  preceding  years,  and  in  the  most 
hopeless  period  of  Germany's  history. 

'Would  that  the  state,'  he  said  to  a  Prussian  audience,  among  whom  were 
several  high  officers  of  state,  '  would  look  its  present  peculiar  condition  steadily 
in  the  face,  and  acknowledge  to  itself  what  that  condition  really  is ;  would  that 
it  could  clearly  perceive  that  there  remains  for  it  no  other  sphere  in  which  it 
can  act  and  resolve  as  an  independent  State,  except  the  education  of  the  rising 
generation ;  that,  unless  it  is  absolutely  determined  to  do  nothing,  this  is  now  all 
it  can  do ;  but  that  the  merit  of  doing  this  would  bo  conceded  to  it  undiminished 
and  unenvied.  That  wo  are  no  longer  able  to  offer  an  active  resistance,  was 
before  presupposed  as  obvious,  and  as  acknowledged  by  every  one.  How  then 
win  we  defend  our  continued  existence,  obtained  by  submission,  against  the  re- 
proach of  cowardice  and  an  unworthy  love  of  life  1  In  no  other  way  than  by 
resolving  not  to  live  for  ourselves,  and  by  acting  up  to  this  resolution;  by 
raising  up  a  worthy  posterity,  and  by  preserving  our  own  existence  solely  in 
order  that  we  may  accomr>lish  this  object.  If  wo  had  not  this  first  object  of 
life,  what  else  were  there  for  us  to  do  'I  Our  constitutions  will  be  made  for  us, 
tho  alliances  which  we  arc  to  form,  and  the  direction  in  which  our  military  re- 
sources Hhull  be  applied,  will  bo  indicated  to  us,  a  statute-book  will  be  lent  to 
JH,  even  the  administration  of  justice  will  sometimes  be  taken  out  of  our  hands; 
we  shall  be  relieved  of  all  these  cares  for  the  next  years  to  come.  Education 


RAUMERS  HISTORY  OF  PEDAGOGICS.  ]j 

alone  has  not  been  tliought  of;  if  we  are  seeking  for  an  occupation,  let  us  seize 
this!  We  may  expect  that  in  this  occupation  we  shall  be  left  undisturbed.  1 
hope,  (perhaps  I  deceive  myself,  but  as  J  have  ouly  this  hope  still  to  live  for,  I 
can  not  cease  to  hope,)  that  I  convince  some  Germans,  and  that  I  shall  bring 
them  to  see  that  it  is  education  alone  which  can  save  us  from  all  the  evils  by 
which  we  are  oppressed.  I  count  especially  on  this,  as  a  favorable  circumstance, 
that  our  need  will  have  rendered  us  more  disposed  to  attentive  observation  and 
serious  reflection  than  we  were  in  the  day  of  our  prosperity.  Foreign  lands 
have  other  consolations  and  other  remedies ;  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  they 
would  pay  any  attention,  or  give  any  credit  to  this  idea,  should  it  ever  reach 
them ;  I  will  much  rather  hope  that  it  will  be  a  rich  source  of  amusement  to 
the  readers  of  their  journals,  if  they  ever  learn  that  any  one  promises  himself  so 
great  things  from  education.' 

It  may  easily  be  imagined  how  deep  an  impression  such  words  made  on  me, 
as  I  read  them  in  Paris,  the  imperial  seat  of  tyranny,  at  a  time  when  I  was  in  a 
state  of  profound  melancholy,  caused  by  the  ignominious  slavery  of  my  poor 
beloved  country.  There  also  I  was  absorbed  in  the  perusal  of  Pestalozzi's 
work,  '  How  Gertrude  teaches  her  children.1  The  passages  of  deep  pathos  in 
the  book  took  powerful  hold  of  my  mind,  the  new  and  great  ideas  excited  strong 
hopes  in  me ;  at  that  time  I  was  carried  away  on  the  wings  of  those  hopes  over 
Pestalozzi's  errors  and  failures,  and  I  had  not  the  experience  which  would  have 
enabled  me  to  detect  these  easily,  and  to  examine  them  critically. 

About  the  same  time  I  read  the  'Report  to  the  Parents  on  the  state  of  the 
Pestalozzian  Institution ;'  it  removed  every  doubt  in  my  mind  as  to  the  possi- 
bility of  seeing  my  boldest  hopes  realized.  Hereupon,  I  immediately  resolved 
to  go  to  Yverdun,  which  appeared  to  me  a  green  oasis,  full  of  fresh  and  living 
springs,  in  the  midst  of  the  great  desert  of  my  native  land,  on  which  rested  the 
curse  of  Napoleon." 

At  an  age  when  most  men,  of  his  acknowledged  ability  and  schol- 
arship, are  only  thinking  of  securing  a  civil  employment,  which  shall 
bring  both  riches  and  honor,  Von  Kaumer  hastened  to  Pestalozzi  at 
Yverden,  where  he  devoted  the  months  from  October  1 809,  to  May 
1810,  to  a  thorough  study  of  the  principles  and  methods  of  elemen- 
tary instruction,  as  illustrated  by  the  great  Swiss  educator. 

After  returning  from  Switzerland,  he  was  first  appointed,  in  1810, 
to  an  office  in  the  higher  grades  of  the  mining  department ;  and  in 
the  autumn  of  1811,  to  the  professorship  of  mineralogy  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Breslau,  and  at  the  same  time,  to  the  office  of  Mining 
Counselor  in  the  higher  mining  board  there.  In  the  latter  year  he 
married  the  daughter  of  Chapel-master  Reichardt,  with  whom,  in 
1861,  he  celebrated  the  anniversary  of  his  golden  wedding.  In  1819, 
he  was  transferred  to  Halle,  and  in  1823,  taking  a  dismissal  from 
the  Prussian  public  service,  he  went  to  Nuremberg,  where  he  was 
at  the  head  of  an  educational  institution  until  the  year  1827.  In 
that  year  he  became  professor  of  Natural  History  and  Mineralogy, 
at  the  University  of  Erlangen. 

In  addition  to  his  regular  duties,  both  at  Halle,  and  at  Erlangen, 
Prof.  Raumer  delivered  courses  of  lectures  on  Pedagogy,  which  he 
afterwards  published  in  four  parts,  the  first  of  which,  was  issued  1843. 

"  This  work  luns  grown  out  of  a  series  of  fcetures,  upon  the  history  of  education 


12  RAUMER'S  HISTORY  OF  PEDAGOGICS. 

which  I  delivered,  in  1822,  at  Halle,  and  several  years  later,  from  1838  to 
1842,  at  Erlangeh. 

The  reader  may  inquire,  how  it  was  that  my  attention  was  directed  to  this 
subject?  If  he  should,  it  will  perhaps  be  sufficient  to  say  in  reply,  that  during 
the  thirty -one  years  of  my  professorship,  I  have  not  merely  interested  myself  in 
Ihe  science  to  which  my  time  was  devoted,  but  also  in  its  corresponding  art,  and 
this  the  more,  because  much  of  the  instruction  which  I  gave  was  additional  to 
my  regular  lectures,  and  imparted  in  the  way  of  dialogue.  This  method  stimu- 
.ated  my  own  thoughts  too,  to  that  degree,  that  I  was  induced  as  early  as  the 
year  1819  to  publish  many  didactical  essays,  and  subsequently,  a  manual  for  in* 
struction  in  Natural  History.  But  were  I  called  upon  for  a  more  particular  ex- 
planation, it  would  be  necessary  for  me  to  relate  the  many  experiences  of  my 
somewhat  eventful  life,  both  from  my  passive  years  of  training  and  instruction, 
and  from  my  active  years  of  educating  and  instructing  others.  This,  however, 
is  a  theme,  to  which  I  can  not  do  justice  within  the  brief  compass  of  a  preface; 
S  hereafter  an  opportunity  shall  offer,  I  may  treat  it  in  another  place. 

And  yet  after  all,  the  book  itself  must  bear  testimony  to  the  fitness  of  the 
author  for  his  task.  Of  what  avail  is  it  to  me,  to  say  that  I  have  been  taught 
by  Meierotto,  Buttman,  Frederick  Augustus,  Wolf,  Steffens,  Werner.  Pestalozzi, 
and  other  distinguished  men  ?  When  I  have  said  all  this,  have  I  done  any 
more  than  to  show  that  the  author  of  this  book  has  had  the  very  best  oppor- 
tunity to  learn  what  is  just  and  true? 

My  book  begins  with  the  revival  of  classical  learning.  And  Germany  I 
aave  had  preeminently  in  view.  Why,  by  way  of  introduction,  I  have  given  a 
orief  history  of  the  growth  of  learning  in  Italy  from  Dante  to  the  age  of  Leo  X., 
the  reader  will  ascertain  from  the  book  itself.  He  will  be  convinced,  if  not  at 
the  outset,  yet  as  he  reads  further,  that  this  introduction  is  absolutely  necessary 
to  a  correct  understanding  of  German  didactics. 

A  history  of  didactics  must  present  the  various  standards  of  mental  culture, 
which  a  nation  proposes  to  itself  during  its  successive  eras  of  intellectual  devel- 
opment, and  then  the  modes  of  instruction  which  are  adopted  in  each  era,  in 
order  to  realize  its  peculiar  standard  in  the  rising  generation.  In  distinguished 
men  that  standard  of  culture  manifests  itself  to  us  in  person,  so  to  speak,  and 
hence  they  exert  a  controlling  influence  upon  didactics,  though  they  may  not 
themselves  be  teachers.  '  A  lofty  example  stirs  up  a  spirit  of  emulation,  and 
discloses  deeper  principles  to  guide  the  judgment.' 

But  their  action  upon  the  intellectual  culture  of  their  countrymen  has  a  re- 
doubled power,  when  at  the  same  time  they  labor  directly  at  the  work  of  teach- 
ing, as  both  Luther  and  Melancthon  did  for  years.  This  consideration  has 
induced  me  to  select  my  characters  for  this  history  among  distinguished  teachers, 
those  who  were  held  in  the  highest  respect  by  their  contemporaries,  and  whose 
example  was  a  pattern  for  multitudes.  Such  an  one  was  John  Sturm  at  Stras- 
burg,  a  rector,  who  with  steady  gaze  pursued  a  definite  educational  aim,  organ- 
izing his  gymnasium  with  the  utmost  skill  and  discernment,  and  carrying  out 
what  lie  had  conceived  to  be  the  true  method,  with  the  most  scrupulous  care. 
An  accurate  sketch  of  the  educational,  efficiency  of  this  pattern  rector,  based 
upon  original  authorities,  in  my  opinion  conveys  far  more  insight  and  instruction 
than  I  could  hope  to  afford,  were  I  to  entangle  myself  amid  fragmentary  sketches 
of  numberless  ordinary  schools,  framed  upon  Sturm's  plan. 

Thus  much  in  explanation  of  the  fact  that  this  history  has  taken  the  form 
of  a  series  of  biographies.  And  in  view  of  the  surprising  differences  among  the 
characters  treated  of,  it  can  not  appear  singular,  if  my  sketches  should  be  widely 
different  in  their  form. 

There  was  one  thought,  which  I  will  own  occasioned  me  abundant  perplexi- 
ty during  my  labors.  If  I  was  about  to  describe  a  man,  who,  I  had  reason  to 
suppose,  was  more  or  less  unknown  to  most  of  my  readers,  I  went  about  the 
t;isk  with  a  light  heart,  and  depicted  his  life  and  labors  in  their  full  proportions, 
i  o.innunicating  every  thing  which  could,  by  any  possibility,  render  his  image 
dearer  and  more  lifelike  to  the  reader.  But  how  different  the  case,  when  the 
educational  efficiency  of  Luther  is  to  be  set  forth.  'My  readers,'  I  say  to  my- 
self, 'have  long  been  acquainted  with  the  man,  and  they  will  .not  thank  me  for 
the  information  that  lie  was  born  at  Kisleben,  on  the  10th  of  November,  1483; 
ns  if  they  had  not  known  this  from  their  j-outh  up.'  I  am,  therefore,  compelled 


RAUMER'S  HISTORY  OF  PEDAGOGICS.  ]3 

to  omit  ali  such  particulars,  and  to  confine  myself  exclusively  to  his  educational 
efficiency.  And  yet  this  did  not  stand  alone ;  but  was  for  the  most  part  united, 
with  its  entire  influence,  both  to  the  church  and  the  state.  As  with  Luther,  so 
also  was  it  with  Melancthon  and  others.  Considerate  readers  will,  hence,  pardon 
me,  I  hope,  when,  in  cases  of  this  kind,  they  are  not  fully  satisfied  with  my  sketches. 

In  another  respect,  too,  I  ought  perhaps  to  solicit  pardon,  though  I  am  reluct- 
ant to  do  so.  We  demand  of  historians  au  objective  portraiture,  especially  such 
as  shall  reveal  none  of  the  personal  sympathies  or  antipathies  of  the  writer. 
Now  it  is  proper  to  insist  upon  that  truth  and  justice  which  will  recognize  the 
pood  qualities  of  an  enemy,  and  acknowledge  the  faults  of  a  friend.  But  free 
from  likes  and  dislikes  I  neither  am,  nor  do  I  desire  to  be,  but,  according  to  the 
dictates  of  my  conscience  and  the  best  of  my  knowledge,  I  will  signify  my  ab- 
horrence of  evil  and  my  delight  in  good,  nor  will  I  ever  put  bitter  for  sweet  or 
sweet  for  bitter.  It  may  be,  too,  that  a  strict  objectivity  requires  the  historian 
never  to  come  forward  himself  upon  the  stage,  and  never  to  express  his  own 
opinion  in  respect  to  the  facts  which  he  is  called  upon  to  chronicle.  Herein  he 
is.  not  allowed  so  much  freedom  of  action  as  the  dramatist,  who,  by  means  either 
of  the  prologue  and  epilogue,  or  of  the  chorus  between  each  of  the  acts,  comes 
forward  and  converses  with  the  public  upon  the  merits  of  his  play.  Such  an  ob- 
jectivity, likewise,  I  can  not  boast  myself  of;  for  I  record  my  own  sentiments  freely 
where  I  deem  it  necessary.  And  surely  will  not  the  objectivity  of  history  gain 
more  by  an  unrestricted  personal  interview  with  the  historian,  at  proper  intervals, 
than  by  compelling  him  to  a  perpetual  masquerade  behind  the  facts  and  the  nar- 
rative ?  Certainly  it  will,  for  in  that  case  the  reader  discovers  the  character  of 
the  writer  in  his  opinions,  and  knows  what  he  himself  is  to  expect  from  the  nar- 
ration. He  likewise  observes  with  the  more  readiness,  where  the  writer,  though 
conscientiously  aiming  at  truth  and  impartiality,  nevertheless  betrays  symptoms 
of  human  infirmity  and  party  zeal.  From  a  church  historian,  for  instance,  who 
should  express  his  puritanical  views  without  reserve,  no  intelligent  reader 
would  expect  an  impartial  estimate  of  the  middle  ages. 

Another  motive  also  urges  me  to  a  free  expression  of  my  opinions,  and  that 
is.  in  order  thereby  to  allure  my  readers  to  that  close  familiarity  with  many  im- 
portant educational  subjects  which  the  bare  recital  of  facts  seldom  creates.  If, 
in  this  history,  the  ideal  and  the  methods  of  such  different  teachers  are  depicted, 
these  diverse  views  can  not  but  have  the  effect,  especially  those  practically  en- 
gaged in  training  the  young,  to  induce  a  comparison  of  their  own  aims  and  pro- 
cedure therewith.  Sentiments  that  harmonize  with  our  own  give  us  joy,  and 
inspire  us  with  the  pleasant  consciousness  that  our  course  is  the  right  one : 
differing  or  opposing  opinions  lead  us  to  scrutinize  our  own  course,  even  as 
were  it  another's;  and  from  such  scrutiny  there  results  either  perseverance 
based  upon  deeper  conviction,  or  a  change  of  course.  I  am  happy  to  acknowl- 
edge, that  this  practical  aim  has  bee«  my  chief  motive  in  undertaking  the 
present  work,  and  has  been  uppermost  in  my  thoughts  during  its  prosecution. 

As  far  as  possible,  I  have  depended  on  contemporaneous  sources,  and  in 
part  from  exceedingly  rare  works,  and  such,  as,  for  aught  that  I  know  to  the 
contrary,  in  the  present  age,  have  fallen  into  almost  total  oblivion.  And,  for 
this  reason,  I  was  the  more  influenced  to  render  a  service  to  the  reader,  by 
bringing  widely  to  his  view  the  men  and  the  manners  of  earlier  centuries, 
through  the  medium  of  contemporaneous  and  characteristic  quotations." 

We  append  the  Contents  of  the  three  volumes  of  Raumer's  great 
work,  from  the  edition  of  1847,  and  also  the  preface  and  contents  of 
the  fourth  volume,  which  appeared  in  1854.  Since  the  publication 
of  the  fourth  volume,  a  new  edition  of  the  entire  work  has  been 
issued  in  four  large  octavo  volumes,  fora  copy  of  which,  we  are  under 
obligations  to  the  author.  In  the  third  volume  there  are  numerous 
additional  paragraphs,  and  several  important  chapters,  viz.,  a  section 
of  ten  pages  on  "the  Church  and  School,"  a  chapter,  (III)  on 
"  Schools  of  Science  and  Art,"  another,  (IV)  of  nearly  ninety  pages 
on  the  "  Education  of  Girls,"  and  an  essay  on  "  Instruction  in  Ger- 
man," of  eighty  pages,  by  his  son,  Prof.  Rudolph  von  Raumer. 


14  RAUMER  S  HISTORY  OP  PEDAGOGICS. 

GESCHICHTE  DER  PADAGOGIK  vom  wiederaufbliihen  klassischor  studicn  bis 
unsere  zeit.  [History  of  Pedagogies,  or  of  the  Science  and  Art  of  Education,  from 
the  revived  of  classical  studies  down  to  our  time.]  By  Karl  von  Rauiner.  3  vols. 
Stuttgard,  2d  edition,  1847. 

VOLUME  I. 

PREFACE. 

1.  Middle  Ages. 

2.  Italy,   from  birth  of    Dante   to  death  of  Petrarca  and   Boccaccio.     1.  Dante. 

2.  Boccaccio.     3.  Petrarca.     Review  of  the  period. 

3.  Development  of  classical  studies  in  Italy,  from  death  of  Petrarca  and   Boccaccio 
until  Leo  X.     1.  John  of  Ravenna  and  Emanuel  Chrysoloras.    2.  The   educators, 
Guarino  and  Vittorino  de  Feltre.    3.  Collection  of  MSS.     Cosmo  de  Medici.   Nicho- 
las V.     First  printing.    4.  Platonic  Academy.    Greek  philologists.    5.  Italians.    Phila 
ielphus.     Poggius.     Laurentius.     0.  Lorenzo  de   Medici.    Ficinus.     Argyropulus 
Landinus.     Politianus.     Picus  de  Mirandola. 

4.  Leo  X.  and  his  time;  its  lights  and  shadows. 

5.  Retrospect  of  Italy.    Transition  to  Germany. 

6.  German*  and  Dutch,  from   Gerhardus   Magnus  to  Luther,  1340-1483.     1.  The 
Hieronymians.     2.  John  Wessel.     3.  Rudolf  Agricola.     4.  Alexander  Flegius.     5,  6. 
Rudolf  von  Lange  and  Herman  von  den  Busch      7.  Erasmus.     8.  School  at  Schlett- 
utadt.      Ludwig   Dringenberg.      Wimpheling.     Crato.     Lapidus.     Platter.    9.  John 
Reuchlin.     10.  Retrospect. 

Reformation.     Jesuits.     Realism. 

From  Luther  to  the  death  of  Bacon,  1483-1626.  1.  Luther.  2.  Molanethon.  3. 
Valentin  Friedland.  Trot/endorf.  4.  Michael  Neander.  5.  John  Stiirm.  6.  Wur- 
temberg.  7.  Saxony.  8.  Jesuits.  9.  Universities.  10.  Verbal  Realism.  11.  Fran- 
cis Bacon.  12.  Montaigne. 

Appendix. — I.  Thomas  Platter.     II.  Melancthon's  Latin  grammar.     III.  John  Sturm. 

VOLUME  II. 

New  ideas  and  methods  of  education.     Struggle,  mutual  influence,  and  gradual  con- 
nection add  exchange  between  the  old  and  the  new. 
From  Bacon's  death  to  that  of  Pettalozzi.     1.  The  Renovators.     2.  Wolfgang  Ratich. 

3.  The  Thirty  Years' War.    4.  Comenius.    5.  The  Century  after  the  Thirty  Years' 
War.    6.  Locke.    7.  A.  H.  Franke.    8.  Real  Schools.    9.  Reformatory  Philologists. 
J.  M.   Gesner.    J.  A.  Ernesti.     10.  J.  J.   Rousseau.     11.  Philanthropists.     12.  Ha- 
mann.     13.  Herder.     14.  F.  A.  Wolf.     15.  Pestalozzi. 

Appendix. — I.  Wolfgang  Ratich  and  his  literature.  II.  Pedagogical  works  of  Come- 
nins.  III.  Intcriorof  the  Philanlhropinum.  IV.  Pestalozzi  and  his  literature.  V.  Pes- 
tiilo/./.i's  Evening  Hour  of  a  Hermit.  VI.  Pestalozxi  on  Niederer  and  Schmid.  VII. 
Stranneis  who  remained  some  time  at  Pestalozzi's  institution.  VIII.  Rousseau  and 
Pcstaloiszi. 

VOLUME  III. 

Early  childhood.  Schools  for  small  children.  School  and  home.  Educational  in- 
stitutions. Tutors  in  families. 

Instruction.     1.  Religion.     2  Latin.     Preface. 

I.  History  of  Latin  in  Christian  times.     Speaking  Latin.     Writing  Latin. 

II.  Methods  of  reading  Latin.  1.  These  methods  changed  within  the  last  three 
centuries.  2.  Adversaries  of  the  old  grammatical  method.  3.  New  methods.  A. 
Learning  Latin  like  the  mother  tongue.  B.  Latin  and  real  instruction  in  connection. 
Comcnius.  C.  Combination  of  A  and  B.  D.  Ratich  and  similar  teachers,  a.  Ratich. 
b.  Locke,  c.  Hamilton,  d.  Jacotot.  e.  Ruthardt.  f.  Meierotto.  g.  Jacobs.  Con- 
cluding remarks. 

Aphorisms  on  the  teaching  of  history. 

Geography. 

Natural  history  and  philosophy.  Preface.  I.  Difficulties.  2.  Objections  against 
this  instruction  in  gymnasia  answered.  3.  Grades  of  natural  knowledge.  4.  Begin- 
nings. 5.  Science  and  art.  6.  Mathematical  instruction  and  elementary  instruction 
in  the  knowledge  of  nature.  7.  Instruction  in  mineralogy.  8.  Characteristics  of 
scholars.  9.  Instruction  in  Iwlany.  10.  Unavoidable  inconsistency.  11.  "  Mysteri 
ously  clear,"  (Goethe.)  12.  Law  and  liberty.  Concluding  remarks. 

Geometry. 

Arithmetic. 

Physical  training.  1.  Hygiene.  2.  Hardening  the  body  to  toil  and  want  3. 
Gymnastics.  4.  Cultivation  of  the  senses.  Concluding  observations. 

Appendix. — I.  Ruthardt's  new  Lori  Mentoriales.  II  Teachers  of  nvneralogy  *1I. 
Use  of  coiinterx  in  the  elementary  instruction  in  arithmetic.  IV.  Exp'anntion  of  'he 
common  abbreviated  counting  with  cyphers. 

The  entire  Contents  of  this  work,  including  the  fourth  volume,  and  the  addi- 
tions referred  to  fcn  the  preceding  page,  have  been  translated  expressly  for,  and 
oublished  in  the  ' '  American  Journal  of  Education." 


RAUMER'3  HISTORY  OF  PEDAGOGICS.  jg 

Since  the  foregoing  sketch  of  Prof.  Raumer's  own  educational  life 
and  labors  was  published,  we  have  received  a  fourth  and  concluding 
volume  of  his  "  History,  <£c.,"  entitled  "  The  German  Universities?  in 
which  he  introduces  his  own  experience  as  a  student  and  professor,  to 
give  personal  interest  to  the  narrative.  We  copy  the  Dedication  and 
Preface,  and  give  the  Contents  of  the  American  edition,  as  translated 
originally  for  the  "American  Journal  of  Education" 

TO  THE 

STUDENTS  OF  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT, 

WHO  HAVE  BEEN  MY  COMPANION'S  FROM  1811  TO  1854, 

I    DEDICATE    THIS     BOOK, 

IK  TRUE  AND  HEARTFELT  LOVE. 
KARL  VON  RAVMER. 

PREFACE. 

The  reader  here  receives  the  conclusion  of  my  work. 

It  is  a  contribution  to  the  history  of  the  Universities.  When  I  commenced  it, 
I  hoped  confidently  to  be  able  to  make  it  greater ;  but  in  proportion  as  I  gained 
an  insight  into  the  difficulty  of  the  enterprise  of  writing  a  complete  history  of  the 
German  Universities,  my  courage  failed.  Many  of  the  difficulties  which  the  his- 
torian of  the  German  people  has  to  overcome,  are  here  also  found  in  the  way,  and 
in  much  increased  dimensions. 

If  all  the  German  universities  possessed  the  same  features,  if  the  character- 
istics of  one  of  them — important  modifications  excepted — would  stand  for  all,  then 
the  task  of  their  historian  would,  apparently,  be  quite  simple.  But  how  different, 
and  how  radically  different,  are  the  universities  from  each  other ! 

Even  the  multiplicity  of  the  German  nationalities,  governments,  and  sects  had 
much  to  do  in  distinguishing  them.  To  compare,  for  instance,  the  universities 
of  GSttingen  and  Jena,  as  they  were  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century ; 
what  a  contrast  appears  between  them !  And  how  much  greater  is  the  difference 
between  these  two  Protestant  universities  and  the  Catholic  one  of  Vienna ! 

Further  than  this,  each  single  university  undergoes  such  changes  in  the  course 
of  time,  thjft  it  appears,  as  it  were,  different  from  itself.  To  instance  the  Uni- 
versity of  Heidelberg :  Catholic  in  the  beginning,  it  became  Lutheran  in  1556, 
Keformed  in  1560,  Lutheran  in  1576,  Reformed  again  in  1583 ;  afterward  came 
under  the  management  of  the  Jesuits ;  and,  at  the  destmction  of  their  order, 
returned  to  Protestantism. 

To  these  difficulties,  in  the  way  of  the  historian  of  all  the  German  universities, 
is  added  this  one :  that  the  most  important  sources  of  information  fail  him ;  as  we 
have,  namely,  but  few  competent  histories  of  single  universities — such,  for  ex- 
ample, as  Kllipfel's  valuable  "History  of  the  University  of  Tubingen." 

These  considerations  will  sufficiently  excuse  me  for  publishing  only  contribu- 
tions to  a  history  of  the  German  universities,  which  will  sooner  or  later  appear. 

What  I  have  added  under  the  name  of  "Academical  Treatises,"  is  also  a  con- 
tribution to  history ;  for  the  reason  that  these  treatises  will,  of  necessity,  not  be 
worthless  for  some  future  historian  of  the  present  condition  of  our  universities. 

In  conclusion,  I  desire  gratefully  to  acknowledge  the  goodness  of  Chief  Libra- 
rian Hoeck,  for  books  furnished  me  from  tbe  Gsttingen  library.  Mr.  Stenglein, 
librarian  at  Bamberg,  also  most  willingly  furnieiied  me  with  books  from  it.  The 
use  of  the  Royal  Library  at  Berlin  was  also  afforded  me,  with  distinguished 
friendliness  and  kindness ;  for  which  I  would  once  more  most  heartily  thank 
Privy  Councilor  and  Chief  Librarian  Pertz,  and  Librarians  Dr.  Pinder  and  Dr. 
Friedlander. 

EKLANGEIT,  9tA  April,  1854.  KABL  VON  RACKS*. 


16  GERMAN  UMVEKSITIES. 

THE  GERMAN  UNIVERSITIES.  Being  the  fourth  volume  of  the  History 
oj  Education.  By  KAKL  VON  RAUMER.  Re-published  from  the  "Ameri- 
can Journal  of  Education,"  edited  by  HENRY  BARNARD.  LL.D.  New 
York  :  F.  C.  BROWNELL,  250  pages.  Price  $1.50. 

CONTENTS. 

PAO«. 

IHTRO  DUCT  row 3 

1.  THK  CKKMAN  U.MvtRsrnti.     From  tlie  German  of  Karl  von  Uaumer 9 

I.  Historical 9 

1.  Introduction.     Universities  of  Salerno,  Bologna,  and  Paris 9 

2.  Li*t  of  German  Universities,  with  tlnte  of  their  foundation 10 

3.  The  tier  inn  M  Universities  in  the  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth  centuries 11 

A.  Charteri,  or  Ix-tlers  of  Foundation 11 

B.  The  Pope  nnil  the  Universities 12 

I*.   The  Em|«ror  nnil  the  Universities 16 

1).  Organization  of  the  curliest  German  Universities 17 

n.  The  Four  Nations.     Four  Faculties.     Rector.     Chancellor.    Endowments.     18 

b.  The  Four  Faculties 20 

1.  Faculty  of  Arts 20 

2.  Faculty  of  Theology 21 

3.  Faculty  of  Canon  and  Civil  Law 24 

4.  Faculty  of  Medicine 26 

c.  Customs  and  Discipline 27 

I.  University  of  Wittenberg  and  its  relations  to  the  earlier  Universities 30 

5.  History  lit'  the  Customs  of  the  Universities  in  the  Seventeenth  Century 37 

A    The  Deposition 42 

B.  Pennalism 52 

6.  History  of  the  Universities  in  the  Eighteenth  Century 52 

A.  Nationalism.     National  Societies 52 

II.  Students'  orders 56 

7.  History  of  tlie  Universities  in  the  Nineteenth  Century 58 

Introduction  ;  the  author's  academical  experience 59 

A.  Entrance  at  Halle,  171)9;  a  preliminary  view 59 

B.  Uulliiigen;  Easter  1801  to  Easter  1803 '  59 

C.  Halle;  Easter  1803  to  Sept.  1805 68 

I).  Breslau;  1810  to  1817 76 

a.  Establishment  of  the  Jena  Burschenschaft,  July  18,  l.-lli.     Wartburg  Festi- 

val, Oct.  18,  1817 80 

b.  Establishment  of  the  general  Burschensclmft,  in  1818 91 

E.  Breslau,  1817  to  1819 92 

a.  Sand 102 

b.  'I'll,'  consequences  of  Sand's  crime.     Investigations.     Breaking  up  of  the 

societies.     Destruction  of  the  Hnrsehensclinft 134 

F.  Halle,  1819  to  1823 136 

Conclusion 153 

II.  APPENDIX 155 

I.  Bull  of  Pius  It.,  creating  University  of  Ingoldstudt J37 

II.  List  of  Lectures  in  the  Faculty  of"  Arts  in  130G 159 

III.  Bursaries 160 

IV.  The  •' Comment"  of  the  National  Societies Nil 

V    Statutes 105 

A.  Constitution  of  the  General  German  Burschenschaft 105 

B.  The  Jena  Burschenschaft 108 

VI.  The  Wnrtburjr  Letters 183 

VII.  Bahrdt  with  the  iron  forehead 186 

VIII.  Pnbstnnre  of  Tubingen  Statutes  for  orsiini/.inj.'  a  students'  committee 187 

IX.  Extract  from  an  Address  of  Prof.  Heyiler,  at  Jena,  in  1007 188 

X.  Synonyms  of  "  Beanui  " 191 

XI.  M'eyfart's  "Jlrrtiniii"  or  Student  Life  in  the  Sixteenth  Century 1'Jl 

Ml.  Grant  of  Privileges  by  Leopold  I.  to  the  University  of  Halle 192 

XIII.  Works  referred  ti 253 

XIV.  The  Universities  in  the  summer  of  1853 198 

[II.   ACAMUHCAfcTaBATUU 201 

1.  l<ecture  system.     Dialogic  instruction 201 

2.  Examinations 206 

3.  Obligatory  lectures.     Optional  attendance.     Lyceums.     Relations  of  the  philo- 

sophical faculty  and  their  lectures,  to  those  of  the  professional  studies 213 

4.  Personal  relations  of  the  professors  ami  students 229 

5.  Small  and  large  universities.     Academies 236 

6.  University  instruction  in  elementary  natural  history 941 

7.  Student  songs 245 

Conclusion 049 

'tint 255 


INTRODUCTION. 
HISTORY    OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY. 

[Translated,  for  the  American  Journal  of  Education,  from  the  German  of  Karl  von  Raumer.] 


I.       THE    MIDDLE    AGES. 

THE  14th  century  ushered  in  a  new  era,  the  era  of  the  restoration 
of  the  Greek  and  Roman  classics.  Classical  learning  became  the 
goal  of  every  desire ;  and  this  new  ideal,  pursued  as  it  was  with  un- 
remitting ardor,  gave  birth  to  new  modes  of  teaching  and  of  training. 

Far  different  had  been  the  ideal  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  their 
character  bad  been  marked  with  striking  peculiarities.  But  the  Mid- 
dle Ages  had  now  passed  away.  Nevertheless  their  influence  contin- 
ued to  be  felt,  even  down  to  the  time  of  the  Reformation  ;  for  not 
until  then  did  the  new  ideal  obtain  full  and  undisputed  sway  over  the 
human  mind. 

Meanwhile  the  defenders  of  classical  learning  rejected  with  contempt 
every  thing  that  savored  of  the  past,  and  with  them  originated  the  so 
long  received  opinion  of  the  darkness  and  barbarism  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  For  it  is  only  within  our  own  times  that  champions  have 
arisen  to  assert  the  claims  of  mediaeval  learning  also.  The  first 
question  that  here  suggests  itself  is  :  what  standard  ought  we  to 
adopt  in  judging  of  a  period  in  which  human  efforts  and  achievements 
presented  so  many  remarkable  contrasts — grandeur  and  littleness, 
strength  and  weakness,  depth  and  insipidity,  beauty  and  repulsive- 
ness,  being  mutually  opposed  to  each  other  on  every  hand  ?  But  when 
we  have  fixed  upon  a  correct  standard,  we  are  to  apply  it  correctly  and 
conscientiously  ;  nor  regard  with  a  partial  eye  the  bright  side  alone 
of  our  favorite  epoch,  and  refuse  to  see  any  but  the  dark  side  of  the 
period  to  which  we  are  adverse. 

Now  Latinity  constituted  the  chief  standard  by  which  the  earlier 
moderns  measured  all  attainments  in  learning.  By  as  much  as  the 
Middle  Ages  were  removed  from  the  style  of  Cicero,  by  so  much  were 
they  destitute  (so  thought  these  moderns)  of  all  true  learning,  and 
given  over  to  barbarism.  Baronius  applied  to  the  period  from  the 
10th  to  the  12th  century,  the  epithets,  iron,  leaden,  and  dark.  Com- 
pilations were  made  of  the  wretched  Latin*  of  those  centuries :  es- 

"  Take,  for  instance,  the  etymology  of  Presbyter  :  "  homo  qui  prscberet  suis  iter ;  "  or  such 
a  blunder  as  the  following:  "  Baptize  te  in  nomine  patria,  filia  et  ppiritus  sanctus."  In  the 
'•  Epitiles  of  Obscure  Men,"  this  sort  of  Latinity  is  held  up  to  ridicule. 

1} 


18  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY. 

pecially  was  ridicule  aimed  at  the  anti-classical  terminology  of  the 
schoolmen,  and  boys  even  who  had  been  moderately  drilled  in  Latin 
writing  were  thought  far  superior  to  those  mediaeval  barbarians. 

But  this  narrow-minded  pedantry  early  met  with  a  severe  rebuke 
from  Erasmus,  in  his  spirited  treatise  against  the  imitation  of  Cicero. 
"  It  is  astonishing,"  he  says,  "  with  what  arrogance  they  look  down 
upon  what  they  style  the  barbarism  of  Thomas  Aquinas,  Scotus, 
Durandus,  and  the  like;  and  yet,  if  we  scan  the  merits  of  these 
authors  critically,  although  they  laid  claim  neither  to  eloquence  nor  to 
Ciceronianism,  we  shall  nevertheless  see  that  in  both  they  far  outstrip 
their  detractors,  this  blustering  crew,  who  all  the  while  deem  them- 
selves not  Ciceronians  alone  but  veritable  Ciceros."  The  unbiased 
intellect  of  Erasmus  perceived  that  Ciceronianism  consisted  not  in  the 
imitation  of  words  and  periods  alone,  but  chiefly  in  thoughts  ad- 
equately expressed.  Without  defending  the  style  of  the  scholastics 
in  other  respects,  he  yet  ranked  their  awkward,  and  uncouth,  but 
pointed,  expressions  far  before  all  the  smooth  but  meaningless  phrases 
of  the  Ciceronians. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  last  century,  Leyser  defended  the 
Middle  Ages  against  this  charge  of  barbarism,  adducing  as  his  chief 
argument  the  old  Latin  lyrics  of  the  church.  From  him  too  we 
learn  that  the  stigma  of  barbarism  was  attached  to  all  that  was  not 
graceful.  But  it  was  reserved  for  our  own  day  to  accord  full  and 
complete  justice  to  the  Middle  Ages,  since  they  are  now  no  longer 
measured  by  the  pedantic  standard  of  the  schools,  but  all  their  aims 
and  achievements  have  been  explored  and  appropriately  rated 
by  men  of  superior  intellect — by  Goethe,  Tieck,  A.  W.  and  F. 
Schlegel,  J.  and  W.  Grimm,  the  brothers  Boisseree,  Schlosser,  and 
others. 

Says  Schlosser,  "  We  have  been  too  apt  to  conceive  of  the  intellect- 
ual life  of  the  Middle  Ages  as  sluggish  and  well-nigh  dead,  because 
the  scholars  of  that  period  were  not  chiefly  busied  with  the  writers 
of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome.''  But  this  fact  is  sufficiently  accounted 
for  by  the  scarcity  of  manuscripts  at  that  period.  Even  the  far-famed 
Paris  Library  contained,  at  the  beginning  of  the  14th  century,  but  four 
old  authors — Cicero,  Ovid,  Lucan.  and  Boethius. 

If  others  were  cited  in  the  writings  of  the  Middle  Ages,  it  was  not 
often  from  first  sources,  but  chiefly  from  Augustin's  "  City  of  God," 
and  from  Isidore  of  Spain.  In  this  dearth  of  Latin  classics,  it  was 
no  wonder  if  men  gradually  lost  the  pure  style  of  the  Gold  and  Silver 
Ages,  and  framed  their  Latin  for  themselves.  And  yet  in  such  Latin 
were  composed  those  immortal  lyrics  of  the  church,  the  "Dies  tree" 
and  the  "Media  vita."  A  single  hymn  such  as  these  outweighs  all  the 


HISTORY  OP  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY.  jg 

servile  imitations  of  Horace  and  other  poets,  that  theater  philologists 
expended  so  much  pains  upon. 

In  the  epoch  under  consideration  no  one  had  yet  ventured  to  dis- 
sent from  the  doctrines  of  the  church.  There  were  two  men,  whose 
dicta  formed  the  highest  human  authority  ;  and  as  they  differed  wide- 
ly from  each  other,  so  different  was  their  influence.  These  men  were 
Aristotle  and  Augustin ;  the  first  however  was  not  read  in  the  orig- 
inal. Nevertheless  in  one  respect  they  occupied  common  ground, 
viz.,  that  both  of  them  furthered  the  scholastics  in  their  speculations 
upon  church  djoctrines.  In  these,  Anselm  of  Canterbury,  Albertus 
Magnus,  Thomas  Aquinas,  and  other  dogmatics,  proceeded  from  knowl- 
edge and  understanding ;  mystics,  like  Bernard  and  Bonaventura, 
from  emotion  and  faith  ;  while  in  Hugo  and  Richard  St.  Victor,  both 
elements,  the  dogmatical,  and  the  mystical,  were  united.  And  lastly, 
sceptics,  like  Abelard  and  Duns  Scotus,  started  with  doubt  and  denial. 
But  all  these  aimed  to  leave  the  authority  of  the  church  intact,  for  they 
directed  their  speculations  into  lines  parallel  with  the  teachings  of  the 
church  and  never  ventured  to  touch  or  run  athwart  those  teachings.* 

The  later  philologists  were  never  weary  in  their  attacks  upon  the 
scholastics.  "  But  the  philosophical  queries  of  scholasticism  appeared 
ridiculous  and  absurd,"  says  Schlosser,  "  only  because  none  of  them 
were  cited  except  the  most  trivial  and  childish." 

In  any  case  it  was  unfair  to  overlook  the  great  difference  which 
subsisted  between  the  men  who  bore  the  general  name  of  scholastics, 
and  to  pass  the  same  condemnation  upon  deep  thinkers  like  Anselm, 
Hugo  St.  Victor,  and  Bonaventura  as  upon  the  later  sophistical 
word-mongers.  Yet  the  repulsive,  odious,  and  even  boorish  air  of 
these  latter  formed  a  species  of  justification  for  the  hostility  that  the 
philologists  manifested  toward  them.f  But  the  holy  ire  of  the  re- 
formers, as  they  saw  the  word  of  God  in  manifold  ways  utterly  set 
aside  by  the  arrogant  human  traditions  of  the  scholastics — this 
needs  no  justification.  In  the  schools  of  the  Middle  Ages  the  seven 

*  We  find  in  Cicero  a  similar  distinction,  when,  in  the  "  Nntura  Deorum,"  he  speaks  of  the 
different  modes  in  which  the  same  person,  now  in  the  character  of  an  auiur,  and  now  iu 
that  of  a  philosopher,  views  and  pronounces  judgment  upon  the  same  fact. 

t  The  following  extract  from  Walter  St.  Victor,  cited  by  Schlosser,  will  serve  lo  show  that  the 
sophists  of  the  Middle  Ages  bore  a  striking  resemblance  to  the  same  class  in  modern  times. 
"The  logicians,"  he  says,  "spin  nets  of  all  manner  of  ratiocinations,  and  surround  themselves 
with  the  thorn-hedge  of  syllogisms.  Propositions  and  facts  are  alike  forever  indeterminate 
with  them,  one  and  the  same  thing  being  now  true  and  now  false  and  again  neither  true  nor 
false.  For  a  thousand  refined  distinctions  lead  them  at  one  time  to  deny,  at  another  to  assert, 
the  same  thing.  If  you  allow  yourself  to  be  guided  by  them,  you  are  speedily  involved  in  a 
whirl  of  questions  and  counter-questions,  so  that  you  will  no  longer  know  whether  God  is 
God  or  not  God,  whether  Christ  is  man  or  not  man,  or  whether  there  be  in  existence  any 
thing  or  nothing,  nothing  or  not  nothing,  a  Christ  or  no  Christ ;  and  so  it  is  to  the  end  of 
the  chapter. 


20  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY. 

liberal  arts  wei§  taught.  The  trivium  comprehended  grammar, 
rhetoric,  and  logic ;  the  guadrivium,  which  came  subsequent  in  the 
course,  arithmetic,  geometry,  music,  and  astronomy.  Logic  was  fore- 
most, while  grammar  stood  in  the  background.  Further  on,  we  shall 
see  how  after  the  lapse  of  -time  this  order  was  inverted,  when  the 
philologists  gained  the  upper  hand.  In  the  13th  century,  Henry 
d'Andely  wrote  a  satirical  poem,  the  subject  of  which  was  '•'The  bat- 
tle of  the  seven  arts."  Grammar  had  its  camp  in  Orleans,  while  logic 
intrenched  itself  at  Paris  ;  grammar,  in  whose  ranks  were  enrolled 
the  ancient  poets,  was  nevertheless  finally  defeated  by  the  other  arts. 

The  chief  seat  of  the  mathematics  in  the  Middle  Ages  was  among 
the  Arabians.  Gerbert,  afterward  Pope  Sylvester  II.,  who  became 
distinguished  as  a  mathematician  above  all  his  cotemporaries,  learned 
of  them ;  Campanus  Novara,  with  the  English  Benedictine  monk, 
Athelard,  translated  in  the  12th  century  Euclid  from  the  Arabic  ;  and 
Jordanus  Nemoratius  wrote  an  arithmetic  in  ten  books. 

In  the  13th  century,  Alphonso  X.  employed  Arabians  to  construct 
astronomical  tables  (the  tabula  Alphonsince,}  and  the  Emperor  Fred- 
erick II.  set  on  foot  a  version  of  the  Almagest.  John  de  Sacrobusto 
wrote  a  little  astronomical  text-book,  which  continued  to  be  used  in 
schools  down  to  the  16th  century,  and  was  thought  worthy  to  be 
republished  in  1531,  under  the  auspices  of  Melancthon,  who  wrote  a 
preface  to  it.* 

Natural  history  in  the  Middle  Ages  was  exceedingly  barren.  With 
extraordinary  credulity,  the  most  incredible  things  were  received  as 
true;  and  mankind,  led  astray  by  accounts  of  unreal  monsters  and 
marvels,  had  no  eye  for  the  unfeigned  marvels  of  God  in  the  creation. 
One  man  there  was,  however,  who  stood  apart,  and,  as  a  natural  phil- 
osopher and  mathematician,  was  greatly  in  advance  of  his  age.  This 
was  the  gifted  Franciscan  monk,  Roger  Bacon  of  Ilchester,  in  Som- 
ersetshire, England,  (1214 — 1294.)  Among  other  inventions,  that  of 
the  telescope,  if  not  in  its  perfection,  lay  in  the  clearest  outlines  in 
his  mind  ;f  and  he  appears  also  to  have  known  of  gunpowder.  His 

•  He  was  commonly  called  Holywood,  from  the  place  of  his  birth  in  the  county  of  York, 
England.  He  died  in  Paris  in  1256.  His  text-book  above  referred  to  is  entitled  "  Libeling  de 
Sphttra."  Melancthon  says  of  it :  "This  little  book  has  received  the  approbation  of  all  the 
learned  now  for  many  generations."  It  is  simple  and  clear,  and  as  a  text-book,  aside  from 
its  advocacy  of  the  Ptolemaic  system,  it  surpasses  many  astronomical  compendiums  of 
modern  times.  He  wrote  also  an  "  Ecclesiastical  Calendar,"  "  De  Compute  Ecclf.tiagtico," 
and  an  •'  Algorithm." 

t  In  his  "  Opu*  Majut "  he  says,  "  There  are  still  greater  results  dependent  on  "  broken 
vision  "  or  refrangibility  ;  for  the  canons  above  laid  down  clearly  prove  that  large  objects 
may  be  made  to  appear  small,  and  distant  objects  near,  and  the  reverse.  We  can  so  shape 
transparent  substances,  and  so  arrange  (hem  with  respect  to  our  sight  and  objects,  that  rays 
can  be  broken  and  bent  as  we  please,  so  that  objects  may  be  seen  far  off  or  near,  under  what- 
ever angle  we  please,  and  thus  from  an  incredible  distance  we  may  read  the  smallest  letter.'1 


HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY.  21 

jmst  views  of  nature,  and  of  the  true  method  of  investigating  nature, 
entitled  him  to  the  praise  of  being  a  forerunner  of  his  great  fellow- 
countryman  and  namesake,  Lord  Bacon. 

Had  no  other  production  of  the  Middle  Ages  come  down  to  us 
than  that  great  poem,  the  Lay  of  the  Nibelungen,  it  alone  would 
have  sufficed  us  in  proof  of  the  superior  character  of  our  early  Ger- 
man poesy ;  and  no  one,  who  has  seen  either  the  Cologne  cathedral, 
or  the  minsters  of  Strasburg  or  Freiburg,  can  hesitate  for  a  moment 
to  admit  the  sublimity  of  mediaeval  architecture.  Yet  time  was,  and 
that  not  very  long  ago,  when  these  greatest  works  of  art  that  the 
world  has  ever  seen  passed  for  unsightly  monstrosities.  After  all 
that  he  had  read  and  heard,  Goethe  feared,  he  tells  us,  lest  he  should 
find  the  Strasburg  cathedral  a  "shapeless  excresence,  bristling  with 
deformity."  "  But,"  he  goes  on  to  say,  "  what  an  unexpected  feeling 
overpowered  me,  as  I  stood  before  it!  My  soul  was  filled  with  one 
entire  and  grand  impression,  which,  because  it  was  made  up  of  a 
thousand  harmonizing  unities,  I  could  indeed  feel  and  enjoy,  but  by  no 
means  understand  and  explain.  And  how  often  did  I  come  back,  to 
taste  again  the  celestial  joy,  and  again  to  commune  with  the  mighty 
spirits  of  our  elder  brothers,  manifested  to  me  in  their  works." 

The  Germanic  and  Roman  races  were  distinguished  in  the  Middle 
Ages,  notwithstanding  all  national  diversities,  for  their  common  Eu- 
ropean character;  "they  formed  as  it  were  one  general  politico-ec- 
clesiastical state."  The  authority  of  the  church  was  the  main  bond 
which  united  them,  nor  should  we  overlook  in  this  connection  the 
important  fact  that  pope,  emperor,  and  kings  invariably  made  use  of 
the  Latin  language  in  all  their  communications,  whether  religious  or 
secular.  Moreover  all  the  clergy  spoke  and  wrote  in  Latin,  and 
Latin  was  every  where  employed  in  divine  service.  German  priests 
could  minister  to  churches  in  England,  France,  etc.,  and  English 
priests  to  German  churches.  Alcuin  was  Bishop  of  Tours,  Boniface 
Archbishop  of  Mentz,  and  Albertus  Magnus  taught  at  Paris. 

But  in  succeeding  centuries  the  distinctive  features  of  these  various 
nations  became  more  prominent,  while  their  common  European 
character  was  proportionably  effaced,  as  the  bonds  which  united  them 
were  gradually  rent  asunder. 

With  these  brief  outlines  of  the  learning  of  the  Middle  Ages,  we 
shall  now  be  prepared  to  trace  the  steps  by  which,  from  the  14th 
century  onward,  this  learning  was  supplanted  by  another  type,  viz., 
the  classical.  For  the  introduction  of  this,  the  Italians  were  the  first 
to  pave  the  way,  and  they  gave  themselves  with  ardor  to  the  study 
and  imitation  of  the  ancients.  Their  enthusiasm  afterward  infected 

No.  18.— [Vol.  VI.,  No.  3.]— 27. 


22  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY. 

the  Germans,  and  these  also,  like  the  Italians,  though  with  other  mo- 
tives and  under  other  conditions,  adopted  classical  culture  as  their 
ideal.  But  the  ideal  of  attainment  of  any  people  shapes  and  controls 
the  whole  course  of  education  among  them.  To  this  principle  is  to 
be  ascribed  the  great  influence  which  the  Italians  directly  exerted 
upon  German  education,  and  the  history  of  this  education  would  be 
accordingly  incomplete  did  it  not  recognize  this  influence.  Hence  it 
becomes  necessary  for  us  to  take  a  survey  of  the  intellectual  devel- 
opment of  Italy  during  the  period  from  the  14th  to  the  16th  century. 
There  were  three  Italians  who  were  foremost  in  striking  out  new 
paths;  Dante,  Boccaccio,  and  Petrarch — of  whom  we  will  now  speak. 

II.       DANTE    AND    BOCCACCIO. 

DANTE  ALLIGHIERI,  who  sprang  from  an  illustrious  line  of  ances- 
tors, was  born  at  Florence,  on  the  27th  of  May,  1265,  became  fath- 
erless at  the  early  age  of  five  years.  His  teacher  was  Brunetto  Latini, 
secretary  of  the  Republic  of  Florence,  and  author  of  an  encyclopedia, 
which  treated  not  only  of  the  philosophical  sciences,  but  of  geogra- 
phy, astronomy,  history,  and  natural  history :  it  contained  also  re- 
markable traditions,  and  stories  of  ghosts  and  demons,  and  accounts 
of  strange  freaks  of  nature.  With  such  a  teacher,  Dante  might  well 
have  laid  the  foundation  of  that  universal  learning  for  which  he  after- 
ward became  so  distinguished. 

It  was  in  his  ninth  year  (1274,)  that  he  saw  for  the  first  time 
Beatrice  Portinari,  a  little  girl  of  the  same  age  as  himself,  and  daugh- 
ter of  an  influential  citizen  of  Florence.  That  passing  glance,  he  tells 
us,  enkindled  within  him  the  power  of  love ;  though  he  rarely  met 
her  again.  She  died  in  early  womanhood,  in  the  year  1290.  Dante's 
love  for  Beatrice  was  no  earthly  passion,  but  a  love  which  one  might 
cherish  for  a  saint  in  glory  :  this  his  poems  abundantly  show. 

The  contest  between  the  Ghibellines,  the  partisans  of  the  emperor, 
and  the  Guelphs,  who  sided  with  the  pope,  in  Dante's  time  was  rag- 
ing at  its  higlit.  Florence  was  under  the  dominion  of  the  Guelphs, 
but  they  were  here  divided  into  two  opposing  factions,  the  Blacks 
and  the  Whites ;  to  the  latter  of  these  Dante  belonged.  He  played 
an  important  part  in  the  city  of  his  birth  ;  was  present  in  many  cam- 
paigns, and  was  often  chosen  to  fill  the  post  of  ambassador;  in  his 
35th  year  he  was  elected  to  one  of  the  twelve  influential  priorships. 
When  the  faction  of  the  Whites  incurred  the  suspicion  of  having 
made  overtures  to  the  Ghibellines,  Dante  was  dispatched  to  Rome, 
to  ingratiate  them  into  favor  with  Pope  Boniface  VIII.*  While  there, 
lie  probably  heard  that  Charles  Valois,  with  the  aid  of  the  Blacks, 

*  He  accepted  this  embassy  reluctantly,  yet  proudly,  saying,  "  If  I  go,  who  will  be  left  be- 
hind, and  if  I  stay,  who  it  there  to  go  I  " 


HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY.  23 

had  seized  upon  the  government  of  Florence,  and  that  he  himself  to- 
gether with  his  party  had  been  banished  from  the  city.  He  continued 
in  exile  for  nineteen  years,  until  his  death,  "  and  felt  the  bitterness  of 
eating  the  bread  and  salt  of  strangers,  and  crossing  a  threshold  not 
his  own." 

Once  only  did  he  entertain  the  hope  of  re-entering  his  native  city  ; 
it  was  in  the  year  1310,  when  the  Emperor  Henry  VII.  came  into 
Italy.  In  a  letter,  bearing  date  April  16,  1311,  Dante  implored  the 
emperor  to  take  possession  of  Florence.  He  accordingly  directed  his 
march  thither,  and  on  the  12th  of  September,  1312,  pitched  his 
camp  before  the  city,  but  was  forced,  on  the  3 1st  of  October,  to  depart 
without  success ;  and  in  August,  1313,  he  died,  not  without  suspicion 
of  poison.  But  Dante  had  in  this  step  taken  decided  ground  in  favor 
of  the  emperor  and  the  Ghibellines  and  against  Florence,  and  there 
now  remained  for  him  no  further  hopes  either  of  reconciliation  or  of 
return. 

In  the  closing  years  of  his  life,  1319 — 1321,  and  after  his  long  and 
weary  wanderings,  he  at  length  found  with  Guido  di  Polenta,  at 
Ravenna,  a  friendly  reception  and  patronage.  Here  he  died,  on  the 
14th  of  September,  1321,  at  the  age  of  56.  His  corpse,  decorated 
with  the  insignia  of  a  poet,  was  borne  to  the  Church  of  the  Fran- 
ciscans and  there  interred.  The  following  epitaph  was  afterward 
carved  upon  the  tablet  that  marks  his  resting-place  : — 

"  Jura  monarchiae,  superos,  phlegetonta,  lacusque 
Lustrando  cecini  voluerunt  fata  quousque  ; 
Sed  quia  pars  cessit  melioribus  hospita  castris 
Auctoremque  suum  petiit  felicior  astris, 
Hie  claudor  Dantes  pntriis  extorris  ab  oris, 
Quern  genuit  parvi  Florentia  rnater  amoris/'* 

Of  all  the  works  of  Dante  the  "  Divina  Commedia  "  is  by  far  the 
greatest.  As  the  mighty  Strasburg  cathedral  looks  out  upon  us  in 
its  enduring  majesty  from  the  far  period  of  the  Middle  Ages,  so  like- 
wise does  this  powerful  poem.  In  it  are  embodied  all  the  elements 
of  that  period  ;  its  Paganism  and  Christianity,  its  imperially  and 
hierarchy,  its  sciences  and  its  arts,  all  are  mirrored  in  the  "  Divina 
Commedia?  From  the  blackness  of  hell,  where  God's  justice  is  terri- 

'  The  above  may  be  versified  thus  :— 

The  rights  of  kings— the  Paradise  of  God, 

Dim  chaos,  and  that  awful  stygian  flood, 

I've  seen  and  sung,  while  so  the  Fates  decreed : 

But  when  injustice  forced  my  soul  to  bleed, 

She  spurned  the  earth,  and  starward  sped  her  flight, 

To  seek  her  Author  'mid  unchanging  light. 
So  Dante's  exiled  form  lies  moldering  here  in  foreign  earth, 
But  time  will  ne'er  remove  the  stain  from  Florence,  city  of  his  birth. 

[Tranttator.] 


24  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY. 

bly  displayed,  the  poet  comes  up  again  into  the  light  of  the  sun  and 
ascends  the  mount  of  purgatory,  which  is  fabled  to  lie  at  the  anti- 
podes of  Jerusalem  ;  and  from  the  summit  of  this  mount,  he  soars  up 
amid  the  heavenly  spheres  of  Paradise.  This  poem  combines  a  rare 
speculative  philosophy  with  the  most  exquisite  sense  of  beauty. 
With  a  wondrous  range  and  power  of  fancy,  it  portrays  the  torments 
of  hell,  the  joys  of  Paradise,  spirits  of  darkness,  angels  of  light,  the 
holy  anger  and  implacable  wrath  of  the  Judge,  and  a  love  full  of 
tenderness  and  irradiated  by  celestial  glory, 

But  not  only  does  this  work  of  Dante's  reflect  the  elements  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  we  detect  here  and  there  foreshadowings  also  of  the 
coming  centuries. 

He  commenced  the  "  Commedia "  in  Latin;  soon  however  he 
turned  to  the  Italian  in  preference.  He  loved  his  Italy,  and  he  longed 
to  see  her  dismembered  territories,  kept  apart  as  they  had  been  by 
their  fourteen  different  dialects,  united  once  more  by  a  common  lan- 
guage in  one  common  nationality.  Already  had  the  first  steps  to 
this  consummation  been  taken,  especially  by  the  polished  court  of 
Frederick  II.  of  Sicily,  of  the  family  of  the  Hohenstaufen.  But  it 
it  was  none  other  than  Dante  who  first  created  the  "  Vulgare  illus- 
tre,"  or  pure  vernacular,  and  who  presented  a  living  exemplar  in  his 
great  poem  of  a  loftier  dialect  that  was  to  supersede  all  others  and 
yet  to  be  common  to  the  whole  of  Italy.  It  was  at  a  subsequent 
period  that  he  composed  his  admirable  little  work  entitled  "  De  vul- 
gari  eloquio"  in  which  we  have  his  views  upon  language.  He  here 
distinguishes  between  the  "vulgaris  locutio"nnd  the  "  grammatica 
elocutio,"  or  the  language  of  the  people  and  that  of  the  grammarians. 
The  one  is  that  vernacular  which  we  learn  from  the  mouths  of  our 
nurses  by  imitation  alone,  not  by  rule ;  the  other  is  a  language  at 
second  hand  (elocutio  secundaria,)  not  found  in  every  nation,  and, 
where  found,  thoroughly  mastered  only  by  a  very  few  individuals,  and 
after  long  years  of  study.  "  The  vernacular,"  Dante  continues,  "  has 
the  decided  advantage  over  the  grammatical  that  it  was  the  earliest 
language  of  men,  is  coextensive  with  the  various  tribes  that  people  the 
earth,  and  comes,  as  we  say,  by  nature,  while  the  grammatical  is  based 
wholly  upon  art." 

Having  laid  down  this  general  distinction  between  the  two  forms 
of  language,  he  pronounces  the  Italian  of  his  own  day  in  all  its 
dialects  a  vernacular,  vulyaris  locutio,  and  the  Latin,  an  educated 
tongue,  grammatica  elocutio.  These  various  dialects  now  come  under 
his  consideration  :  some  he  rejects  altogether,  for  their  utter  coarse- 
ness and  rusticity ;  in  each  of  the  remainder  he  finds  beauties  pecul- 
iarly its  own.  The  higher  or  pure  vernacular  was  to  be  eclectic,  at- 


HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY.  25 

tracting  to  itself  all  these  diverse  and  separate  graces,  but  carefully 
repelling  every  thing  of  a  harsh  and  discordant  nature.  It  was  sheer 
arrogance  in  the  Tuscans  to  impose  their  dialect  upon  Italy  as  in  itself 
such  a  pure  vernacular. 

Thus  did  Dante  draw  a  sharp  dividing  line  between  the  Latin  and 
the  Italian ;  placing  the  Latin  among  those  learned  and  dead  lan- 
guages that  were  no  longer  capable  either  of  life  or  of  growth. 

Nor  did  he  merely  enunciate,  as  a  philological  ideal,  this  plan 
of  a  language  to  be  common  to  the  whole  of  Italy,  a  fair  and  noble 
blossom  to  unfold  from  the  union  of  her  separate  dialects,  but  he 
embodied  this  ideal  in  its  full  splendor  in  the  "  Divina  Commedia? 
Thus  he  bequeathed  to  the  great  intellects  of  coming  time  the  rich 
legacy  of  a  perfected  native  tongue. 

As  this  distinction  between  Latin  and  Italian  became  generally 
received,  there  appears  to  have  arisen  a  new  mode  of  reading  and 
of  enjoying  the  classics,  and  their  value  as  works  of  art,  which  had 
been  wholly  lost  sight  of  in  the  Middle  Ages,  was  again  felt  and  ac- 
knowledged. Dante  placed  the  highest  estimate  upon  Virgil ;  this 
poet  is  his  guide  through  hell  and  purgatory.  That  he  was  thor- 
oughly acquainted  with  the  ^Eneid,  numerous  passages  conclusively 
show.  He  had  also  read  Horace  and  Statius,  but  Greek  he  never 
learned. 

And  as  he  longed  to  see  Italy  one  and  undivided,  so  he  advocated 
for  her  a  purely  temporal  government,  a  Roman  imperialty.  In  his 
three  books  on  monarchy,  he  defended  the  claims  of  the  emperor 
against  the  popes  in  so  plain-spoken  a  manner,  that  at  Rome  his 
treatise  was  shortly  after  condemned  to  the  flames. 

On  the  contrary  he  attacked  the  temporal  sovereignty  of  the  pope  : 
"  sword  and  crosier  befit  not  the  same  hand  ;  for  the  pope  should 
guide  men  to  the  rewards  of  heaven,  while  the  emperor  is  to  lead 
them  toward  earthly  felicity." 

The  more  earnestly  he  labored  for  the  unity  of  the  church,  the 
more  implacable  was  his  hatred  of  corrupt  popes.  Pope  Anastasius 
he  placed  in  hell  among  the  heretics,  Nicholas  III.  and  Boniface  VIII. 
with  the  Simonists.  He  was  unsparing  in  his  denunciations  of  the 
avarice  of  these  popes.  And  it  was  only  his  reverential  regard  for 
the  keys  of  St.  Peter  that  withheld  him  from  applying  to  them  severer 
language  than  this  : — 

"  Trampling  the  good,  and  raising  up  the  bad — 
Your  avarice  o'erwhelms  the  world  in  woe. 
To  yoa  St.  John  referred,  ye  shepherds  vile, 
When  she,  who  sits  on  many  waters,  had 
Been  seen  with  kings  her  person  to  defile." 


20  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY. 

And  in  the  27th  canto  of  the  "Paradise"  St.  Peter  is  represented 
as  saying  of  Boniface  : — 

"  He  wlio  on  earth,  my  place, 

My  place  usurps,  my  place,  which  in  the  eyes 
Of  God's  own  Son  is  vacant,  hath  long  space 
Rendered  my  burial-ground  a  sink  abhorred 
Of  blood  and  filth,  which  to  the  inveterate  foe, 
Who  fell  from  heaven,  doth  high  delight  afford."* 

And  in  a  third  passage  a  lost  spirit  is  made  to  curse  Boniface  Till., 
because  this  pope  had  lulled  him  into  security  by  an  indulgence, 
which  he  found  when  too  late  was  powerless  to  rescue  him  from  the 
clutches  of  the  devil.  But  despite  this  sweeping  denunciation  of  god- 
less popes,  he  was  not  wanting  in  a  due  regard  for  the  dignity  of  the 
vicegerent  of  Christ,  for  we  find  him  hurling  anathemas  without  stint 
against  Philip  the  Fair,  for  injuries  done  to  this  same  Boniface  VIII. 

BOCCACCIO. 

Hardly  was  Dante  in  his  grave,  when  the  Florentines  entreated  for 
permission  to  remove  his  remains,  but  Guido  di  Polenta  turned  a  deaf 
ear  to  their  suit,  and  to  this  day  the  bones  of  Dante  rest  in  Ravenna, 
where  in  life  the  tired  wanderer  found  his  last  refuge  and  repose. 

Within  a  little  more  than  fifty  years  after  his  death,  or  in  1373, 
Florence  founded  a  special  chair  for  the  interpretation  of  the  "  Divina 
Commedia"  and  called  Boccaccio  to  occupy  it. 

GIOVANNI  BOCCACCIO  was  born  at  Florence,  in  the  year  1313, 
eight  years  prior  to  the  death  of  Dante.  Destined  by  his  father  for 
the  mercantile  profession,  he  was  placed  with  a  merchant,  with  whom 
he  remained  from  his  10th  to  his  16th  year.  After  the  conviction 
had  been  forced  upon  the  father  that  he  had  mistaken  the  bent  of 
his  son's  genius,  he  altered  his  plan,  and  put  him  to  the  study  of  the 
canon  law,  "  with  which,"  the  son  informs  us,  "  I  wearied  myself  for 
six  long  years,  but  all  to  no  purpose."  In  his  25th  year,  Boccaccio 
visited  the  tomb  of  Virgil,  near  Naples,  and  there  he  conceived  the 
resolution  to  devote  himself  to  the  pursuit  of  knowledge  and  the 
arts.  In  Naples  too  it  was,  "  on  the  anniversary  of  that  day,"  we 
quote  his  own  words,  "  on  which  men  celebrate  the  glorious  return  of 
the  son  of  Jupiter  from  the  despoiled  realms  of  Pluto,"  that  is  on  the 
Saturday  before  Easter,  in  the  year  1341,  and  in  the  Church  of  St. 
Lorenzo,  that  he  first  saw  his  beloved. 

But  how  different  the  love  of  Boccaccio  from  the  pure  and  lofty 
idolatry  of  Dante ! 

The  energies  of  Boccaccio  were  directed  both  to  the  study  of  the 

*  The  two  quotations  from  the  •'  Divina  Conimedia  "  made  above,  are  from  Wright's  trans- 
lation, published  in  Bonn's  Standard  Library. 


HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY.  27 

ancient  classics  and  to  the  elevation  of  Italian  prose.  He  collected  orig- 
inal manuscripts  of  the  classics,  had  copies  made,  and  wrote  a  Genealogy 
of  the  Gods.  In  one  respect  he  surpassed  Dante,  and,  as  we  shall  see 
hereafter,  even  Petrarch  ;  namely,  in  the  acquisition  of  Greek.  This 
he  learned  from  Leontius  Pilatus,  whom  in  the  year  1360  he  brought 
to  Florence.  This  Leontius  professed  to  be  a  Thessalian,  but  was  in 
reality  a  native  of  Calabria.  Boccaccio  read  Homer  with  him,  and 
was  afterward  the  means  of  his  giving  pxiblic  lectures  upon  this  poet. 

The  Latin  poems  of  Boccaccio  were  held  in  very  high  esteem  by 
his  cotemporaries,  his  eclogues  being  ranked  higher  even  than  those 
of  Virgil. 

But  these  Latin  poems  are  forgotten,  while  on  the  contrary  one  of 
his  Italian  works,  the  " Decameron"  after  passing  through  ninety- 
seven  editions,  is  yet  at  the  present  day  being  continually  reprinted. 
This  work  has  exercised  and  still  is  exercising  a  vast  influence  for  the 
elevation  and  purity  of  Italian  prose.  Of  its  origin  we  have  the  fol- 
lowing account.  In  the  year  1348  Florence  was  visited  by  that 
frightful  pestilence  the  plague.  After  describing  its  ravages,  Boccac- 
cio goes  on  to  relate  how,  to  escape  from  it,  seven  ladies  and  three 
young  men  withdrew  to  a  country  seat,  and  there  during  the  space 
of  ten  days  improvised  or  recited  stories,  to  the  number  of  ten  each 
day. 

Preceding  novels  had  been  extremely  simple.  They  were  sketched 
with  a  few  bold  and  prominent  touches  ;  but  these  of  Boccaccio,  on 
the  contrary,  are  rich  in  musical  words  and  graceful  in  incident,  and 
reproduce  the  refined  conversational  style  of  a  highly  polished  society. 
Many  of  these  novels  are  familiar  under  different  forms  to  many  per- 
sons who  perhaps  are  not  aware  that  they  originated  with  Boccaccio. 
Of  this  class  is  the  story,  in  Lessing's  "  Nathan  the  Wise,1"  of  the 
"  Three  Rings." 

We  find  here  the  most  unsparing  attacks  upon  the  hierarchy  and 
the  monks.  Instance  the  story  of  Abraham,  the  Paris  Jew.  A 
Christian  urges  him  to  be  baptized  ;  but  first,  lo  assure  himself,  he 
takes  a  journey  to  Rome,  the  center  of  Christendom.  There  he  finds 
all  the  clergy,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  wallowing  in  the  most 
abandoned  impiety,  avarice,  sensuality,  gluttony,  and  unnatural  lusts, 
and  carrying  on  a  most  shameless  traffic  in  spiritual  things,  etc.  On 
his  return  to  Paris  he  tells  his  Christian  friend  how  he  found  at  Rome 
neither  holiness  nor  devotion,  but  rather  the  very  opposite  of  these. 
"In  short,"  said  he  to  the  Christian,  "your  shepherd  and  all  his  flock 
appear  to  think  of  nothing  pise  than  how  they  may  annihilate  the 
Christian  religion,  and  drive  it  from  the  world  ;  since  however  their 
efforts  do  not  succeed,  but  this  religion  emerges  all  the  more  radiant 


28  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY. 

and  glorious,  it  is  doubtless  upheld  and  directed  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 
And  for  this  reason  I  will  permit  myself  to  be  baptized." 

Many  among  these  novels  are  prurient  and  obscene,  and  in  their 
composition  the  inventor  did  not  trouble  himself  even  for  a  fig-leaf  to 
hide  their  shame.  It  indicates  an  extreme  corruption  of  morals  that 
he  put  such  words  in  the  mouths  of  Florentine  ladies,  and  we  should 
judge  his  fiction  a  slander,  if  we  had  not  Dante's  express  assurance, 
that  at  that  period  even  sermons  were  preached  from  the  pulpit 
against  the  immodesty  of  the  Florentine  women. 

About  the  year  1860,  Boccaccio  was  warned  by  a  dying  monk  to 
give  up  his  studies  and  to  prepare  himself  for  death.  Seized  with 
terror,  he  wrote  to  Petrarch  for  direction.  Petrarch  consoled  him  by 
casting  suspicion  upon  the  prophecy,  and  continued  with  a  defense  of 
legitimate  studies.  "  I  well  know,"  he  wrote, "  that  one  can  be  a  holy 
man  without  learning,  but  I  also  know  that  learning  is  no  hindrance 
to  holiness,  as  many  would  have  us  believe.  We  should  be  cautious 
how  we  compare  an  ignorant  devotion  with  an  enlightened  piety." 

That  Boccaccio  did  not  give  up  his  studies,  we  have  unmistakable 
testimony ;  for  it  was  in  the  year  1373,  or  13  years  after  this  proph- 
ecy, that  his  work  on  the  Genealogy  of  the  Gods  first  made  its  ap- 
pearance. He  died  in  the  year  1375,  aged  62  years. 

His  writings  he  bequeathed  to  the  pious  care  of  Martin,  an  Augus- 
tan monk  in  Florence,  with  the  injunction  to  him  to  pray  for  his  soul. 
To  a  monastery  of  another  fraternity  he  left  a  collection  of  relics  that 
he  had  been  at  great  pains  to  bring  together.  All  this  proves  that  in 
his  later  years  he  underwent  deep  contrition  for  the  unblushing  friv- 
olity of  his  youth.  In  a  letter  he  laments  that "  no  one  will  urge  his 
youth  as  an  apology  for  the  transgressions  of  his  pen."  And  he  adjures 
fathers  not  to  place  the  "Decameron11  in  the  hands  of  their  children. 

What  an  important  part  this  book  played  two  hundred  years  later, 
in  Italian  literature,  we  shall  see  in  the  course  of  this  history. 

PETRARCH. 

Petrarch  was  born  at  Arezzo,  Aug.  1,  1304.  He  says  of  himself: 
"  In  exile  was  I  conceived  and  in  exile  born."  His  father,  a  notary 
at  Florence,  adhered,  as  did  Dante,  to  the  faction  of  the  Whites,  and 
was  likewise  driven  from  the  city  in  the  year  1302,  not  long  after 
Dante's  banishment.  He  went  thence  to  Arezzo,  where  Petrarch  first 
saw  the  light  on  the  first  of  August,  1 304.  The  child  was  not  yet  a  year 
old  when  his  mother  removed  with  him  to  Ancisa,  and  in  his  seventh 
year  his  parents  located  themselves  in  Pisa.  Well  wrapped  up  and 
intrusted  to  the  care  of  a  sturdy  horseman,  the  lad  narrowly  escaped 
drowning  as  the  horse  made  a  false  step  in  the  ford  of  the  Arno.  In  Pisa 


HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY.  29 

he  was  placed  under  the  instruction  of  Barlaam.  In  his  eighth  year  he 
journeyed  with  his  parents  to  Avignon,  where  the  pope  had  tempo- 
rarily fixed  his  See.  At  Carpentras,  not  far  from  Avignon,  he  studied, 
for  four  years,  grammar,  rhetoric,  and-  logic.  In  his  15th  year  his 
father  sent  him  to  Montpelier,  and  four  years  after  to  Bologna,  to  pros- 
ecute the  study  of  the  law.  It  was  with  great  reluctance  that  he  ac- 
ceded to  his  father's  wishes  in  this  respect,  and  we  find  him  reading 
Cicero  and  Virgil  in  preference  to  Justinian.  When  his  father  heard 
of  his  course,  he  went  forthwith  to  Bologna,  upbraided  his  son  for 
thus  misspending  his  time,  and  threw  his  manuscripts  into  the  fire. 
He  was  only  induced,  by  his  son's  promise  of  reformation,  made  on 
bended  knees,  to  spare  Cicero  and  Virgil.  Nevertheless,  on  the  death 
of  his  father  in  1820,  Petrarch  bade  adieu  both  to  Bologna  and  to  his 
studies,  returned  to  Avignon,  and  entered  the  service  of  the  church. 

In  his  27th  year,  on  Good  Friday,  1327,  and  at  church,  he  caught 
his  first  glimpse  of  Laura  de  Noves,  who  was  espoused  to  Hugo  di 
Sade.  From  that  moment  to  her  death  she  was  the  object  of  his 
pure,  idealized  love ;  and  this  love  he  has  embalmed  forever  in  can- 
zonets and  sonnets  written  in  his  native  Italian.  Then  it  was  that  he 
retired  to  the  shades  of  Vaucluse,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Avignon,  a 
spot  which  his  poems  have  rendered  sacred  to  this  day.  Here  he 
began,  in  1339,  the  composition  of  a  great  Latin  epic,  that  he  called 
"Africa."  His  hero  was  the  hero  of  Livy,  Scipio  Africamis  the  elder. 
This  poem,  he  fondly  dreamed,  was  to  bear  his  name  down  to  poster- 
ity. But  five  hundred  years  have  come  and  gone,  and  his  Italian 
poems  have  lost  none  of  their  original  freshness;  but  whoever  reads, 
nay,  we  may  ask  who  ever  hears  of,  that  Latin  epic  ?  Time,  the 
unerring  judge,  has  glorified  those,  and  drawn  an  impenetrable  veil 
over  this. 

But  Petrarch's  cotemporaries  thought  differently  :  their  opinion 
agreed  with  his  own.  On  one  and  the  same  day  he  received  two  in- 
vitations, one  from  the  chancellor  of  the  University  of  Paris,  the  other 
from  the  senate  of  Rome ;  each  offering  him  the  honor  of  a  public 
coronation.  He  decided  in  favor  of  Rome,  but  went  beforehand  to 
the  court  of  that  "great  philosopher  and  king,"  Robert  of  Naples. 
Having  presented  to  Robert  a  copy  of  his  epic,  the  monarch  urgently 
solicited  him  to  accept  the  laurel  then ;  but  his  love  for  Rome  did  not 
permit  him  to  embrace  the  proffer.  Robert  accordingly  dismissed 
him  with  a  retinue  of  envoys,  and  with  letters  to  the  Roman  senate. 
It  was  on  Easter  Sunday,  the  8th  of  April,  1341,  that  the  poet  was 
crowned  at  the  capitol.  Early  in  the  morning  the  shrill  sound  of 
trumpets  gave  notice  of  the  approaching  festivities,  and  the  streets 
were  soon  full  of  thronging  multitudes,  eager  to  witness  the  unwonted 


30  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY. 

spectacle.  And  first  a  high  mass  was  performed  at  the  altar  of  St. 
Peters  by  the  vice-legate,  the  Bishop  of  Terracina.  Then  twelve 
young  men  in  scarlet  robes  escorted  the  poet  to  the  capitol,  chanting 
verses  before  him.  After  them  came  Petrarch  himself,  sumptuously 
arrayed  in  violet-colored  vestments,  the  gift  of  the  king  of  Naples, 
and  attended  by  six  of  the  most  distinguished  citizens  of  Rome,  clad 
in  green,  and  having  their  brows  wreathed  with  chaplets  of  flowers. 
After  proceeding  thus  for  a  short  distance,  he  mounted  a  lofty  chariot, 
upon  which  were  represented  symbols  of  the  art  of  poetry,  and  whose 
throne  was  supported  by  a  lion,  an  elephant,  a  griffin,  and  a  panther. 
Around  the  throne  stood  a  group  of  personages  in  the  character  of  Gre- 
cian deities,  and  upon  it  on  either  hand  of  Petrarch  were  statues  of  the 
Graces,  of  Bacchus,  and  of  Patience.  It  was  drawn  by  four  horses, 
and  preceded  by  a  maiden,  singing.  After  it  came  Envy,  attended 
by  satyrs,  fauns,  and  nymphs,  dancing.  When  Petrarch  had  thus 
arrived  at  the  capitol,  he  solicited  the  laurel  in  a  Latin  speech,  whose 
theme  he  had  selected  from  Virgil.  Then,  amid  the  threefold  accla- 
mation, "  Long  live  the  Roman  people  ! "  "  Long  live  the  senate  !  " 
"  God  guard  our  liberties  ! "  he  kneeled  before  the  Senator  Orlo,  Count 
of  Angnillara,  who  placed  a  laurel  crown  upon  his  brows,  with  these 
words  pronounced  in  a  loud  voice :  "  This  crown  is  the  reward  of 
merit."  The  count  then  declared  Petrarch  to  be  a  great  poet  and 
historian,  and,  by  virtue  of  the  authority  of  Robert,  king  of  Xaples, 
of  the  senate,  and  of  the  people  of  Rome,  he  accorded  to  him  full 
privilege,  "as  well  in  this  all -consecrated  city  as  in  every  land  in 
Christendom,  to  teach  in  public,  to  hold  disputations,  to  comment 
upon  old  books,  to  compose  new,  and  to  produce  poems,  which  by 
the  grace  of  God  might  endure  to  the  end  of  time;"  and  this  per- 
mission was  confirmed  to  him  by  a  written  decree.  Petrarch  then 
recited  a  sonnet  in  honor  of  the  heroes  of  Rome,  and  all  the  people 
clapped  their  hands,  and  shouted  with  a  voice  of  thunder,  "  The  cap- 
itol forever  !  long  live  the  poet !  "  His  friends  wept  tears  of  joy,  and 
Stephen  Colonna  spoke  publicly  in  his  praise. 

The  same  escort  then  conducted  him  to  the  Church  of  St.  Peter; 
here  he  scattered  amongst  the  people  four  hundred  gulden,  furnished 
him  for  this  purpose  by  the  family  of  Colonna.  Count  Anguillara 
presented  him  with  a  ruby  valued  at  five  hundred  ducats,  the  Roman 
people  five  hundred  ducats  more,  together  with  all  the  paraphernalia 
used  in  the  coronation.  He  then  bowed  in  prayer  before  the  altar, 
and  dedicated  to  the  apostle  his  threefold  crown  (of  ivy,  laurel,  and 
myrtle,)  to  be  suspended  from  the  dome.  At  last  the  procession 
returned  to  the  palace  of  the  Colonnas,  where  the  festival  was  closed 
with  a  sumptuous  supper  and  ball. 


HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY.  31 

An  honor  such  as  this  coronation  had  l>een  conceded  to  no  one 
within  the  memory  of  man.  Nor  could  it  well  be  said  of  any  one, 
in  any  former  age,  that  during  his  lifetime  he  had  enjoyed  so  much 
reputation  in  such  a  wide  circle,  and  had  been  so  highly  honored  both 
by  kings,  emperors,  and  people,  as  had  Petrarch.  Hence  in  his  old 
age  he  became  surfeited  with  renown. 

Petrarch,  in  common  with  many  of  his  countrymen,  cherished  the 
memory  of  the  ancient  glories  of  Rome,  and  longed  to  see  those 
glories  restored.  For  the  power  of  the  hierarchy,  that,  under  Gregory 
VII.,  Innocent  III.,  and  others,  had  made  the  nations  of  Christian 
Europe  mere  dependencies  of  Rome,  had  since  the  division  of  the 
church  greatly  declined. 

Every  movement  that  tended  to  the  restoration  of  Rome,  Avas  hailed 
by  Petrarch  with  delight.  Hence,  when  Rienzi,  in  the  year  1346, 
during  the  Pontificate  of  Clement  VI.,  attempted  the  sublime  scheme 
of  reinaugurating  the  Roman  Republic,  Petrarch  wrote  enthusiastic 
letters  to  the  Romans,  in  which  he  compared  Rienzi  to  the  elder 
Brutus.  But  this  man,  who,  in  the  delirium  of  his  pride,  had  sum- 
moned emperors  and  kings  before  his  throne,  and  who  had  arrogated 
to  himself  the  possession  of  the  seven  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  was 
in  the  following  year  driven  from  the  city. 

Petrarch  then  turned  his  eyes  upon  Charles  IV.,  and  invited  him 
as  the  descendant  of  Charles  the  Great  to  come  to  Italy  and  recon- 
struct the  Roman  Empire.  He  came  finally  in  1354,  but  played  a 
cowardly  part  at  Milan  and  at  Rome,  and  made  all  haste  back  again 
to  Germany.  At  this  Petrarch  was  incensed,  and  wrote  him  a  letter 
full  of  bitter  reproaches.  "  Thou,"  he  said,  u  thou,  lord  of  the  Ro- 
man Empire  !  Thou  hast  no  aspirations  which  reach  beyond  Bo- 
hemia. When  had  thy  grandfather  or  thy  father  acted  thus  ignobly  ? 
But  virtue,  I  perceive,  is  no  inheritance."  The  retreat  of  Charles  he 
stigmatized  as  "  inglorious,  not  to  say  infamous." 

But  he  used  still  stronger  language  of  the  hierarchy.  The  Papal 
See,  at  Avignon,  he  called  the  second  Babylon ;  and  he  laid  bare  its 
corruptions  both  in  prose  and  in  verse.  "  Here  thou  mayest  behold 
a  people,"  thus  he  wrote  to  a  friend,  "  that  is  not  only  at  variance 
with  Christ,  but  that  arrays  itself  against  his  cause  while  marching 
under  his  banner;  a  people  that  serves  Satan,  and  thirsting  for  the 
blood  of  Christ,  taunts  him  with  the  words,  'Our  lips  are  our  own  : 
who  is  Lord  over  us  ?  '  They  are  a  froward,  godless,  smooth-tongued, 
and  avaricious  generation,  and,  like  Judas,  they  betray  their  master. 
They  have  the  name  of  Christ  in  their  mouths  by  day  and  by  night, 
but  yet  they  are  ever  ready  to  sell  him  for  silver."  In  another  let- 
ter he  says,  "  In  this  stronghold  of  avarice,  nothing  is  deemed  iniqui- 


32  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY. 

tous,  provided  only  that  the  pay  is  secure.  The  hope  of  life  everlast- 
ing, and  all  the  terrors  of  the  second  death,  have  become  to  them  as 
n  fable ;  the  resurrection  of  the  flesh,  the  end  of  the  world,  and  tho 
coming  of  Christ  in  judgment,  they  look  upon  as  the  devices  of  a 
juggler.  Truth  they  call  folly,  moderation  weakness,  and  modesty 
a  disgrace.  In  fine,  a  life  of  open  sin  they  make  their  highest  wisdom 
and  their  truest  liberty  ;  the  more  scandalous  the  conduct  the  more 
worthy  they  think  it,  and  the  greater  the  crime  the  greater  the 
glory."  In  still  another  place  he  says,  "  Shall  I  choose  Babylon 
(Avignon)  for  my  residence,  where  I  shall  be  compelled  to  see  the 
good  abused  and  the  vile  exalted,  eagles  creep  and  asses  soar  aloft, 
where  wolves  roam  at  large  but  lambs  are  led  to  the  slaughter,  where 
Christ  is  persecuted  and  Anti-Christ  is  Lord,  while  Beelzebub  sits  in 
the  seat  of  judgment  ?  " 

Such  is  the  picture  which  he  gives  of  the  pope  and  the  clergy,  not 
upon  hearsay  evidence,  but  as  he  himself  had  seen  them  ;  and  of  the 
cardinals  he  relates  deeds  that  are  absolutely  too  shameless  to  repeat. 

Petrarch's  attainments  belonged  wholly  to  a  subsequent  age  ;  he 
was  the  precursor  of  the  philological  poets.  Hence  it  was  that  he 
apparently  had  no  sympathy  with  Dante,  that  gigantic  spirit  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  prophetic  not  of  one  age  alone  but  of  all  coming  time. 

Cicero  was  his  delight,  even  from  boyhood.  "At  an  age,"  he 
writes,  "  when  I  could  not  understand  him  in  any  degree,  I  was  at- 
tracted to  him  purely  by  the  sweetness  and  the  rhythmic  flow  of  his 
words."  So  likewise  was  he  enthusiastic  in  his  love  for  Virgil.  And 
the  study  of  the  law  tended  in  his  opinion  to  diminish  this  enthusi- 
asm. "  Nothing,"  he  writes  to  Thomas  of  Messina,  "nothing  suc- 
ceeds that  is  undertaken  against  nature.  She  has  formed  me  for 
solitude  and  not  for  the  forum.  I  do  not  venture  to  say  that  I  acted 
with  a  wise  forecast,  but  only  that  I  happened  upon  the  right  course, 
when  I  threw  off  the  fetters  of  Bologna." 

Petrarch  had  a  most  ardent  desire  to  learn  the  Greek.  His  earlier 
teacher,  Bai  laam,  a  Calabrian  of  the  Order  of  St.  Basil,  first  met  him 
at  Avignon,  in  1342.  "With  glowing  hopes  and  eager  desire,"  he 
writes,  "did  I  apply  myself  to  the  Greek;  but  the  complete  foreign- 
ness  of  the  language,  and  the  sudden  decease  of  my  teacher,  put  an 
end  to  rny  project."  Nicholas  Sigeros  subsequently  sent  him  a  Homer 
from  Constantinople.  He  acknowledged  the  gift  in  these  terms : 
"  You  have  sent  me  a  great,  a  priceless  treasure ;  I  only  wish  that 
you  yourself  had  come  with  it ;  then  could  I  learn  this  difficult  lan- 
guage under  your  direction,  and  so  enjoy  your  gift.  But,  alas  !  what 
shall  1  do  ?  For  you  live  in  a  distant  land,  and  Barlaam  has  been 
snatched  from  me  by  death.  To  me  Homer  is  dumb,  or,  much  more, 


HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY. 


33 


I  am  deaf  for  him.  Yet  I  delight  myself  in  gazing  on  him,  and 
often  do  I  embrace  him,  and  exclaim  with  a  sigh,  '  O  thou  great  man, 
how  joyfully  would  I  listen  to  thy  numbers,  but  my  ears  are  sealed, 
the  one  by  death,  the  other  by  long  distance.' "  Petrarch  added, 
notwithstanding,  the  request  to  Sigeros  to  send  him  a  Hesiod  and  a 
Euripides.  His  enthusiasm  for  the  Roman  classics  was  that  of  an 
Italian  who  honored  in  them  the  genius  of  his  ancestors,  and  who 
longed  for  the  restoration  of  the  olden  power  and  glory  of  Rome. 
He  must  have  had,  moreover,  as  his  poems  show,  a  most  delicate  ear 
for  the  sweetness  of  the  language.  The  charming  periods  of  Cicero, 
and  the  stately  hexameters  of  Virgil,  exercised  a  magical  influence 
upon  him.  His  absorbing  devotion  to  the  ancient  classics,  his  daily 
and  constant  communion  with  them,  and  withal  his  endeavors  to  im- 
itate them,  are  every  where  evidenced  ;  in  his  letters  especially.  So 
much  the  more  must  we  honor  him,  in  that  he  was  not  warped  from 
Christianity  by  his  attachment  to  the  ancients.  MIt  is  permitted  to 
us,"  he  writes  to  John  Colonna,  "  to  admire  and  to  esteem  the  philos- 
ophers, provided  that  they  do  not  turn  us  aside  from  truth,  nor  blind  our 
eyes  to  the  chief  end  of  our  existence.  Should  any  of  them  tempt 
us  to  this,  even  were  it  Plato,  Aristotle,  Varro,  or  Cicero,  then  must 
he  with  an  unyielding  steadfastness  be  despised  and  trodden  under 
foot.  No  acuteness  of  argumentation,  no  seducing  array  of  words, 
no  authority  of  great  names,  should  be  allowed  to  have  any  weight 
with  us.  For  they  were  but  men,  their  learning  was  no  deeper  than 
human  penetration  and  experience  could  go ;  and,  though  their  elo- 
quence was  surpassing,  and  their  intellectual  gifts  of  the  highest  order, 
yet  we  should  compassionate  them,  because  they  lacked  that  good 
which  is  unspeakable  and  above  all  price.  Inasmuch  as  they  trusted 
to  their  own  strength,  and  turned  away  from  the  true  light,  they  have 
stumbled  and  fallen,  after  the  manner  of  the  blind.  We  may  admire 
their  talents,  but  at  the  same  time  we  should  not  forget  to  give  the 
glory  to  Him  who  bestowed  those  talents  upon  them.  We  may  feel 
compassion  for  the  errors  of  these  men,  but  we  should  not  forget  to 
be  grateful  for  our  lot,  and  to  acknowledge  that  we  have  been  more 
highly  favored  than  our  ancestors,  and  that,  without  any  merit  of  our 
own,  but  purely  through  the  grace  of  Him  who  conceals  his  myster- 
ies from  the  wise  but  reveals  them  unto  babes.  Let  us  so  philosophize 
as  to  abide  by  the  true  wisdom.  But  the  true  wisdom  of  God  is  in 
Christ.  To  philosophize  then  in  the  true  spirit,  we  must  love  and 
honor  Christ  first  of  all.  Let  us  be  Christians,  6rst  and  foremost. 
Let  us  so  read  philosophy,  poetry,  and  history,  that  Christ's  gospel 
shall  ever  sound  in  the  ears  of  our  heart,  that  gospel  through  which 

alone  we  can  become  sufficiently  learned  and  blessed,  but  without 

c 


34  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY. 

which  our  highest  accomplishments  will  but  render  us  more  ignorant 
and  wretched.  Upon  the  gospel  alone,  as  upon  the  only  immovable 
basis  of  all  true  knowledge,  can  human  diligence  build  with  safety." 

But  clearly  as  Petrarch  beheld  the  relation  which  the  classics  sus- 
tained to  the  gospel,  and  just  as  was  the  opinion  which  he  pronounced 
upon  them,  yet  lie  was  equally  free  from  the  narrow-mindedness  of 
those  who  foolishly  deem  themselves  the  more  acceptable  to  God  the 
more  they  clip  the  wings  of  their  own  spirits.  "You  tell  me,"  PQ- 
trarch  wrote  to  James  Colonna,  "  that  I  only  feign  a  love  for  Angus- 
tin  and  his  works,  while  in  truth  I  can  not  divorce  myself  from  the 
poets  and  philosophers.  But  why  should  I  tear  myself  away  from 
those  studies  in  which  Augustin  himself  took  so  much  delight? 
Had  it  not  been  so  with  him,  he  had  never  put  together  those  sub- 
lime books  '  of  the  City  of  God ' — to  say  nothing  of  his  other  works 
— with  so  much  cement  borrowed  from  the  poets  and  philosophers, 
nor  adorned  them  with  so  many  colors  drawn  from  the  orators  and  his- 
torians. And  he  himself  moreover  freely  testifies  that  he  found  much 
of  the  Christian  element  in  the  works  of  the  Platonists,  and  that  the 
Hortensius  of  Cicero  made  a  wonderful  change  in  his  views,  so  that 
lie  was  diverted  thereby  from  vain  expectations,  and  the  profitless 
controversies  of  sects,  and  attracted  to  the  unmingled  study  of  truth. 
Thus  was  this  great  teacher  of  the  church  not  ashamed  to  put  him- 
self under  the  guidance  of  Cicero,  although  Cicero's  ideal  was  in  the 
main  so  widely  different  from  his.  And  why  should  he  have  been 
ashamed  ?  We  ought  not  to  refuse  the  aid  of  any  leader,  who  points 
to  us  the  way  of  the  soul's  safety.  I  do  not  deny  that  much  is  to  be 
found  in  the  classics  that  we  ought  to  avoid  ;  so  too  in  Christian 
writers  there  are  often  many  things  which  will  mislead  an  incautious 
reader.  Yea,  Augustin  himself  has  given  us  a  laborious  work,  in 
which,  with  his  own  hand,  he  has  rooted  out  the  tares  from  the  rich 
wheat-field  of  his  writings.  In  short,  the  books  are  very  few  that  we 
can  read  without  danger,  unless  the  light  of  divine  truth  shall  shine 
into  our  minds,  and  discover  to  us  what  to  choose  and  what  to  shnn. 
And  if  we  have  this  light  to  guide  us,  we  shall  walk  every  where  in  a 
sure  place." 

But  the  men  of  that  day  did  not  all  share  Petrarch's  opinions.  He 
lamented,  as  Augustin  had  done  before  him,  "  that  so  many,  in  their 
enthusiasm  for  study,  neglected  to  strive  after  holiness,  and  thought 
in  ire  highly  of  eloquence  and  renown  than  of  a  blameless  lite  and  of 
virtue.  Poets  were  more  willing  to  be  faulty  in  their  conduct  than 
in  their  verse  :  historians  cared  more  to  trace  the  annals  of  the  world 
than  to  render  an  account  of  their  own  short  lives;  and  orators 
shrank  with  far  more  disgust  from  deformity  in  style  than  from 


HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY.  35 

crooked  dealings  with  their  fellow-men.  Theologians  had  degenerated 
into  logicians,  nay,  into  sophists  ;  they  did  not  seek  to  love,  only  to 
know  God,  nor  this  except  for  appearance'  sake  and  to  deceive  others, 
while  in  secret  they  cherished  their  unholy  passions." 

The  preceding  paragraph  discloses  Petrarch's  aversion  to  the  logi- 
cians, that  is,  the  scholastics.  In  two  letters  to  Thomas  of  Messina  he 
holds  up  to  ridicule  an  old,  contentious  logician,  depicts  his  bloodless, 
lanthorn-jawed  visage,  his  sunken  eyes,  his  ragged  attire,  and  his  rough, 
austere  manner.  Accusations  and  slanders  form  the  staple  of  his  dis- 
course. With  hoarse  yelping  he  has  given  utterance  to  the  dictum 
that  Petrarch's  art,  i.  e.,  the  art  of  poetry,  was  the  least  useful  of  all 
the  arts.  Petrarch  admits,  in  passing,  that  it  ministers  to  the  desire 
for  delight  and  for  beauty,  not  to  mere  utility.  But  the  logician 
argues,  that,  if  the  poetic  art  is  the  least  useful,  it  is  therefore  the  least 
elevated.  According  to  such  an  irrational  conclusion,  the  barest  hand- 
icraft is  to  be  held  in  the  highest  honor.  "  Out  upon  this  new  and 
barbarous  doctrine,"  Petrarch  continues,  "  a  doctrine  unknown  even 
to  Aristotle,  whose  name  they  sully  by  the  imputation." 

The  hatred  of  the  scholastics  toward  Petrarch  was  subsequently 
displayed  in  the  most  violent  manner.  At  Venice  they  sat  in  judg- 
ment upon  him,  and  decreed  that  he  was  devoid  of  learning ;  upon 
which  he  wrote  the  treatise  "On  his  own  ignorance  and  that  of  others." 
In  another  quarter  he  was  cried  down  as  a  disciple  of  the  "  black 
art,"  because  he  read  Virgil  so  constantly,  a  poet  regarded  in  the  Mid- 
dle Ages  as  a  sorcerer,  and  also  because  he  wrote  poems  himself. 
The  chief  and  most  rancorous  enemy  of  the  poets  at  that  period  was 
Solipodio,  a  Dominican  and  a  Grand  Inquisitor. 

In  his  youth,  Petrarch  was  accounted  beautiful :  in  a  letter  to  his 
brother  he  alludes  jocosely  to  their  mutual  pride  of  personal  appear- 
,  ance.  "  Yet  would  that  I  could  say  with  truth,"  he  writes,  "  that  I 
had  ever  remained  entirely  free  from  the  dominion  of  pleasure  !  But 
I  thank  God  that,  while  I  was  yet  in  the  flower  of  youth,  He  rescued 
me  from  this  debasing  and  detested  yoke."  He  owed  his  safety 
to  his  pure,  poetical  love  for  Laura,  who  remained  to  the  end  true 
to  her  marriage-vow. 

In  the  year  1348,  that  terrible  pestilence,  the  Black  Plague,  raged 
throughout  Asia  and  Europe,  from  China  to  Iceland.  During  that 
period,  Petrarch  wrote  to  his  brother  as  follows : — "  My  brother,  ah  !  my 
dearest  brother,  what  shall  I  tell  you  ?  Where  shall  I  begin,  or  what 
shall  I  speak  of  first  ?  All  is  anguish  and  terror.  Oh  !  my  brother, 
would  that  I  had  never  been  born,  or  at  least  that  I  had  not  lived 
to  witness  these  horrors  ! "  "  Was  it  ever  heard,  does  history  any 
where  show  the  record,  of  houses  emptied,  and  cities  depopulated,  of 


36  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY 

fields  piled  with  the  dead,  in  short,  of  the  whole  globe  being  changed 
into  a  waste,  howling  wilderness?  Ask  the  historians,  they  are 
dumb  ;  ask  the  physicians,  they  are  struck  with  amazement ;  ask  the 
philosophers,  they  shrug  their  shoulders,  draw  down  their  eyebrows, 
and,  with  their  finger  on  their  mouth,  they  bid  you  be  silent.  Will 
posterity  credit  this,  when  we  ourselves,  who  are  eye-witnesses,  can 
scarce  believe  it  ?  "  In  a  tone  of  despairing  sadness  he  mourns  over 
the  loss  of  numbers  of  his  friends.  In  these  dark  days  his  thoughts 
were  continually  with  his  absent  Laura.  On  the  6th  of  April,  he  tells 
us,  she  appeared  to  him  in  a  morning-dream,  fair  as  an  angel.  "  Dost 
thou  not  know  me  ?  "  she  said;  "  I  am  she  who  led  thee  aside  from  the 
beaten  paths  of  worldliness,  when  first  thy  young  heart  inclined  itself 
to  me."  To  his  question  whether  she  yet  lived,  she  replied  :  ''  I  am 
living,  but  thou  art  dead,  and  so  thou  wilt  remain,  until  thou  hast 
left  the  earth  behind  thee.  Thou  wilt  never  find  true  happiness,  so 
long  as  thou  courtest  the  favor,  or  art  awed  by  the  displeasure,  of  the 
populace.  Thou  wouldst  rejoice  at  my  death  rather  than  mourn  over 
it,  couldst  thou  realize  but  a  tithe  of  the  bliss  which  is  now  my 
portion." 

On  the  19th  of  May,  next  following,  Petrarch  received  the  news 
that  Laura  had  died  upon  that  dream-night,  the  6th  of  April ;  it  was 
on  the  6th  of  April,  twenty-one  years  before,  that  he  had  first  seen 
her.  At  such  a  trying  period,  and  with  such  experiences,  it  is  not  to 
be  wondered  at  that  Petrarch,  as  he  advanced  in  years,  became  mel- 
ancholy and  austere,  withdrawing  himself  more  and  more  from  the 
vanities  of  the  world.  He  had  from  the  first,  however,  cherished  an 
especial  reverence  and  love  for  the  austere  Augustin  above  all  the 
church  fathers;  the  "  Confessions"  chiefly  had  exercised  a  marked 
influence  upon  him.  This  book  he  had  with  him  as  he  once  ascended  to 
the  summit  of  the  lofty  Veutoux,  and  from  thence  enjoyed  the  glorious 
prospect  over  the  Alps  of  Dauphiny,  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  and  the 
Oevennes — while  the  Rhone  flowed  at  his  feet.  He  there  opened  the 
book,  and  the  first  passage  upon  which  his  eye  alighted  was  the  fol- 
lowing :  "  Men  go  on  long  journeys  to  admire  lofty  mountains  and 
mighty  oceans,  but  meanwhile  they  forget  themselves/'  This  thought 
made  a  profound  impression  upon  him,  and  "was  the  occasion  of  his 
afterward  writing  the  "  Conversations  with  Augustin.'1'1  In  his  last 
years  he  resided  at  Arqua,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Padua.  On  the 
18th  of  July,  1374,  he  was  found  dead,  his  head  resting  upon  a  book. 
Sixteen  doctors  bore  his  coffin  to  the  grave ;  nobles,  clergy,  and 
multitudes  of  the  common  people  joined  in  the  funeral -procession. 
The  following  epitaph,  which  he  had  himself  composed,  is  upon  his 
tombstone : — 


HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY.  37 

"  Frigida  Francisci  tegit  hie  lapis  ossa  Petrarchse  ; — 
Suscipe  Virgo  parens  animam  ;  Sate  Virgiiie  parce, 
Fessaque  jam  terris  Coeli  reqniescat  in  arce."* 

In  his  will  he  bequeathed,  amongst  other  things,  money  to  Boccaccio 
to  buy  himself  a  winter-robe  to  wear  whilst  studying  at  night.  His 
choice  library  he  had  before  his  death  given  to  the  Venetians,  and  it 
formed  the  nucleus  of  the  afterward  so  celebrated  Library  of  St. 
Mark.  He  had  spent  an  extraordinary  amount  of  labor  in  collecting 
manuscripts,  and  many  he  had  copied  with  his  own  hand,  .while 
others  he  had  employed  his  scholar,  John  of  Ravenna,  subsequently 
renowned  as  a  teacher,  to  copy. 

III.       RETROSPECT.       DANTE,    BOCCACCIO,    AND    PETRARCH. 

Looking  back  for  a  moment  at  these  three  men,  let  us  ask  ourselves 
what  they  had  in  common,  and  wherein  they  differed  from  one  an- 
other. All  three,  sons  of  Florentine  citizens,  they  first  fashioned  a 
common  national  and  written  language  for  the  whole  of  Italy.  This 
they  did,  not  so  much  by  means  of  convincing  philological  demon- 
strations, based  upon  established  principles,  as  by  recognizing  and 
authenticating  the  language,  in  the  works  of  their  genius.  "  Poets  and 
authors,  in  the  lofty  moods  of  their  inspiration,  feel  the  invisible  sway 
of  the  untiringly  creative  spirit  of  language."! 

All  three  of  them  moreover  paved  the  way  for  the  study  of  the 
classics,  and  in  them  first  we  behold  an  awakening  feeling  of  classical 
beauty,  and  an  enthusiastic  love  for  the  ancients ;  nevertheless  Dante 
and  Petrarch  were  familiar  with  Roman  writers  only,  though  Boccac- 
cio read  the  Greek  also.  This  enthusiastic  love  for  the  classics  was 
destined  sooner  or  later  to  come  into  conflict  with  the  Christian 
faith.  In  Dante  however  this  faith  ruled  in  a  sublime  and  undisputed 
tranquillity.  Petrarch's  passion  for  the  classics  was  likewise  uncon- 
ditionally subordinate  to  the  doctrines  of  the  church.  And  it  is  only 
later,  and  chiefly  among  the  Italians,  that  we  find  the  Pagan  element 
frequently  victorious  over  the  Christian. 

Side  by  side  with  this  conflict  we  behold  an  extremely  singular 
intermingling  of  Pagan  and  Christian  words,  metaphors,  and  senti- 
ments. Thus  we  find  in  Dante  the  following  : — 

"  Forgive,  O  highest  Jove,  enthroned  in  light, 
Thou  who  on  earth  wast  crucified  for  mortals." 

*  The  above  epitaph,  a  compact  rhyming  triplet,  in  dactylic  hexameter,  1  have  reproduced 
in  trochaic  heptameter,  as  follows,  viz : — 

"  Cold  the  bones  of  Francis  Petrarch  here  beneath  this  marble  lie : 
Take  his  soul.  O  Virgin  parent ;  Virgin's  eon  in  grace  draw  nigh 
From  the  weary  earth  to  bear  it  to  thy  peaceful  courts  on  high." 

[  Translator. I 

t  Jacob  Grimm,  in  the  preface  to  his  German  Grammar. 
No.  18.— [Voi.  VI.,  No.  3.J— 28. 


38  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY. 

We  have  seen  that  Boccaccio  calls  Christ  "  the  son  of  Jupiter,  who 
ravished  the  realms  of  Pluto."  It  was  of  a  piece  too  with  this  mode 
of  representation  that,  at  the  coronation  of  Petrarch,  satyrs,  fauns, 
and  nymphs  were  made  to  dance  before  the  poet,  when  lie  was  about 
to  offer  his  prayers  at  the  altar  of  St.  Peter,  and  to  devote  his  crown 
as  a  sacrifice  to  the  apostle. 

This  Christian-Pagan  intermixture  was  carried  by  the  later  Italians 
into  the  grossest  caricature. 

Tfce  mediaeval  method  of  writing  Latin,  and  heedlessly  corrupting 
it  without  any  knowledge  of  the  Roman  writers  of  the  golden  age, 
now  began  to  die  out ;  the  classics  were  sought  for  and  read,  and  all 
possible  efforts  were  made  to  imitate  them. 

Although  these  three  men  thus  prepared  the  way  for  the  Italian 
writer  whether  of  prose  or  verse  to  express  his  thoughts  in  his  own 
living  vernacular,  yet  more  than  a  century  passed  before  any  new 
works  meriting  attention  were  composed  in  the  Italian  language.  On 
the  contrary,  so  absorbing  was  the  enthusiasm  for  the  classics  during 
•  the  15th  century,  that  the  Italian  scholars  of  that  period  treated  their 
native  tongue  with  contempt.  In  the  Latin  Dialogues  of  Leonardo 
Aretino  we  find  that  well-known  statesman  and  scholar,  Nicolo  Nicoli, 
speaking  in  the  following  manner  of  Dante  : — "  I  can  not  conceive 
how  any  one  can  place  this  man,  who  wrote  such  poor  Latin,  among 
poets  and  scholars,  or,  as  some  do,  prefer  him  even  to  Virgil :  he 
ought  rather,  I  think,  to  be  classed  with  belt-makers  and  bakers,  and 
people  of  that  kidney." 

Even  up  to  the  time  of  Lorenzo  di  Medici,  Florentine  fathers  and 
teachers  forbade  their  boys  to  read  books  written  in  Italian,  which 
language  they  contemptuously  styled  a  vulgar  tongue. 

But  when,  toward  the  close  of  the  15th  and  in  the  16th  centuries, 
the  vernacular  was  again  brought  into  repute  through  the  efforts  of 
master  writers  both  of  proso  and  poetry,  then  the  Academy  delta 
Crusca  constituted  itself  a  supreme  tribunal  to  decide  between  good 
and  bad  Italian.  By  it,  Petrarch's  poems,  and  of  Boccaccio's  prose 
the  "Decameron"  were  pronounced  the  highest  authority  in  Italian,  in 
the  same  manner  as  Cicero  was  in  Latin.  Men  had  indeed  been  so 
long  accustomed  to  imitation,  that  they  did  not  even  deem  it  possible 
to  be  original.  That  Dante,  the  inimitable,  must  necessarily  have 
been  neglected  by  the  Academy,  is  hence  quite  natural.  It  is  worthy 
of  remark  that  both  Dante,  Petrarch,  and  Boccaccio,  were  unanimous 
in  condemning  the  gross  corruption  of  the  clergy.  They  did  not 
even  spare  the  pope ;  Dante's  sharp  rebuke  of  indulgences  was  em- 
inently a  prelude  to  the  contests  of  the  Reformation.  In  the  succeed- 
ing centuries,  the  advancement  and  upbuilding  of  classical  culture — 


HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY.  39 

in  Germany  especially — was  most  closely  leagued  with  the  cause  of 
reformation  in  the  church  ;  so  closely  in  fact,  that  Erasmus,  for  exam- 
ple, was  often  unable  to  determine  precisely  what  he  was  advocating, 
whether  the  claims  of  sound  learning  or  of  ecclesiastical  purity. 

Dante's  powerful  imagination  and  most  delicate  appreciation  of 
beauty  were  made  tributary  to  an  intellect  flashing  with  the  keenest 
subtleties  of  scholasticism.  Petrarch,  on  the  other  hand,  belonged 
rather  to  the  coming  time,  as  his  antipathy  to  the  repulsive  and  de- 
generate logic  of  most  of  the  schoolmen  indicates.  They  too  on 
their  part  regarded  his  poetry  as  altogether  useless,  and  solemnly 
stigmatized  the  poet  as  an  unenlightened  dunce.  It  was  a  Grand 
Inquisitor,  and  a  Dominican,  who  in  that  age  testified  the  greatest 
degree  of  hatred  toward  all  the  poets.  What  an  apt  introduction  is 
this  to  the  battles  which,  in  the  loth  and  the  16th  centuries,  raged 

7  '  O 

between  the  well-meaning,  though  often  superficial,  champions  of  an- 
tiquity and  the  last  representatives  of  an  unlearned  and  misshapen 
scholasticism,  with  the  Dominicans  at  their  head  ! 

With  these  preliminary  hints,  we  resume  our  history,  in  the  course 
of  which  it  will  become  more  and  more  apparent  that  the  influence 
of  Dante,  Petrarch,  and  Boccaccio  upon  the  learning  of  Germany, 
if  not  direct,  was  nevertheless  immense. 

IV.   GROWTH  OF  CLASSICAL  LEARNING  IN  ITALY,  FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  PETRARCH 
AND  BOCCACCIO  TO  THE  AGE  OF  LEO  X. 

1.     John  of  Ravenna  and  Emanuel  Chrysoloras 

Three  sons  of  Florentine  citizens,  Dante,  Petrarch,  and  Boccac- 
cio, had  thus  laid  the  foundation  of  a  new  style  of  culture.  Within 
a  century  and  a  half  after  the  death  of  the  latter,  the  passion  for  clas- 
sical studies  ran  high.  Florence  fostered  these  studies  above  all  other 
cities,  and  chiefly  through  the  influence  of  Cosmo  and  Lorenzo  di 
Medici.  Next  to  Florence,  Rome,  Venice,  Milan,  and  Ferrara  were 
conspicuous;  in  fact  no  city  of  note  in  Italy  remained  entirely  aloof; 
all  desired  to  see  one  or  another  philologist,  if  only  for  a  time,  as  a 
teacher  within  their  walls.  Hence  the  most  distinguished  men  were 
constantly  called  from  one  city  to  another.  Among  the  earliest 
teachers  there  were  two  who  formed  many  illustrious  scholars.  One 
of  these  was  John  Malpaghino,  commonly  called,  after  the  place  of  his 
birth,  John  of  Ravenna.  He  was  born  in  1352.  He  spent  several 
years  with  Petrarch,  who  treated  him  with  the  fondness  of  a  father, 
and  gave  him  instruction.  Having  superior  talents,  and  a  wonderful 
memory,  he  made  rapid  progress.  Nevertheless  he  left  Petrarch  sud- 
denly, from  a  disgust  for  transcribing,  joined  to  a  desire  to  see  the 
world.  Some  time  after,  he  taught  at  Padua,  and  was  there  distin- 
guished as  well  for  his  blameless  life  as  for  his  learning.  In  the  year 


40  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY. 

1397  he  was  appointed  by  the  city  of  Florence  to  a  professorship  of 
the  Roman  language  and  eloquence.  In  the  year  1412  he  obtained 
the  further  honor  of  lecturing  upon  and  explaining  the  "Divina  Corn- 
media  "  of  Dante,  upon  feast-days  in  the  cathedral.  He  died  some- 
where between  1412  and  1420. 

As  John  promoted  the  study  of  the  Roman  classics,  so  did  Einan- 
uel  Chrysoloras  the  like  for  the  Greek.  At  first  a  teacher  in  Constan- 
tinople, he  was,  after  the  year  1391,  sent  by  the  Emperor  John 
Palaeologus  repeatedly  into  the  West,  to  secure  help  against  the  in- 
roads of  the  Turks.  In  the  year  1396  he  was  invited,  upon  a  salary 
of  100  gulden,  to  Florence  to  teach  Greek  literature.  He  was  the 
first  native  Greek  who  taught  in  Italy.  "  For  700  years,"  thus  wrote 
his  scholar,  Leonardo  Aretino,  "  no  Italian  has  known  any  thing  of 
Greek  literature,  and  yet  we  acknowledge  that  all  our  learning  is 
derived  from  the  Greeks."  Afterward  Chrysoloras  taught  in  Pavia, 
Venice,  etc.  He  was  sent  in  1415,  by  Pope  John  XXIII.,  to  the 
Council  of  Constance,  in  which  city  he  died. 

John  of  Ravenna  and  Chrysoloras  were  succeeded  by  a  host  of 
teachers,  both  of  Latin  and  Greek;  for  the  new  style  of  culture  de- 
manded a  knowledge  of  both  these  languages.  Latin  was  the  chief 
language  in  vogue  among  the  higher  orders  in  Italy;  for  it  had  been 
the  language  of  their  great  Roman  forefathers,  and  they  were  there- 
fore too  proud  of  it  to  regard  it  as  dead.  Greek  too  had  been  taught 
by  Chrysoloras  as  his  own  living,  native  tongue,  not  as  a  dead  book- 
language  ;  and  as  he  had  done,  so  did  other  Greeks,  who  afterward 
came  to  Italy. 

2.     The  Teachers  Guarino  and  Vittorino  di  Fellre. 

Of  the  many  philologists  who  now  came  into  notice,  I  will,  agreeably 
to  the  plan  that  I  have  marked  out  for  myself,  give  a  sketch  of  two 
who  became  eminent  both  as  public  instructors  and  as  private  tutors, 
viz.,  Guarino  ami  Vittorino  di  Feltre. 

Guarino  was  born  in  1370,  at  Ferrara,  and  as  early  as  1388  he 
betook  himself  to  Constantinople  to  Chrysoloras.  On  his  return  home, 
he  taught  in  Verona,  Padua,  and  Bologna,  in  Ferrara  superintended 
the  education  of  Prince  Lionello,  translated  Strabo  and  other  classics, 
gave  comments  on  Cicero,  Persius,  Juvenal,  Martial,  Aristotle,  <fec., 
and  wrote  a  Latin  grammar. 

He  became  distinguished  for  his  sincere  piety,  and  he  used  great 
caution  lest  his  scholars,  by  a  constant  perusal  of  the  ancients,  the 
grosser  portions  of  their  writings  especially,  should  become  heathenish 
in  their  sentiments  or  loose  in  their  morals.  Hence  he  insisted  upon 
a  diligent  study  of  the  Bible  and  an  attendance  upon  divine  service. 
His  mode  of  teaching  was  highly  applauded,  and  above  all  the  way 


HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY.  41 

in  which  he  trained  his  scholars  to  eloquence.  He  placed  before 
them  classical  models,  and  censured  with  indignation  the  scholastics, 
who  looked  no  further  than  their  bigoted  pedantry  could  carry  them. 
"  They  waste,"  he  says,  "  an  unspeakable  amount  of  pains,  to  make 
their  scholars  twice  as  silly  and  ignorant  as  they  were  before."  In 
the  year  1438,  Guarino  was  appointed  interpreter  between  the  Latin 
and  Greek  fathers  at  the  Council  of  Ferrara,  where,  as  is  well  known, 
an  attempt  was  made  to  unite  the  Greek  and  Roman  churches. 
He  died  in  the  year  1460,  at  the  age  of  90. 

Though  Guarino  showed  by  his  noble  pupil,  Prince  Lionello  of  Fer- 
rara, what  were  his  talents  as  a  teacher,  yet  he  was  surpassed  by 
VITTORINO  DE  FELTRE,  who  was  the  most  widely-famed  master  in  that 
age  in  Italy.  Born  in  1378,  of  poor  parentage,  he  not  merely  studied 
philology  under  John  of  Ravenna,  but  directed  his  attention  to  the- 
ology and  philosophy  also.  In  the  space  of  six  months  he  attained 
to  a  perfect  understanding  of  the  first  ten  books  of  Euclid ;  "  a  feat 
without  a  parallel  in  our  days,''  said  Francesco  da  Castiglione.  His 
Greek  he  learned  from  Guarino. 

After  Vittorino  had  taught  at  Padua  and  at  Venice,  he  was  invited  in 
1 424  by  the  Marquis  Gonzaga  to  Mantua,  to  take  charge  of  the  education 
of  his  two  sons.  As  a  teacher,  he  avoided  all  pedantic  one-sidedness. 
His  pupils  were  trained  to  practise  themselves  in  riding,  wrestling, 
fencing,  archery,  swimming,  &c.,  in  short,  to  harden  their  bodies  in 
every  way,  and  to  shun  all  Epicureanism.  When  in  the  course  of 
time  there  began  to  flock  to  him,  not  only  from  Italy,  but  from 
Germany,  France,  and  Greece,  pupils  in  great  numbers,  and  he  could 
only  give  a  limited  attention  to  them  with  his  two  princely  pupils,  he 
found  it  necessary  to  establish  a  separate  school  for  their  instruction. 
In  addition  to  gymnastics,  they  were  taught  the  languages,  logic,  met- 
aphysics, mathematics,  music,  painting,  and  dancing. 

"  In  his  instructions  in  logic  he  steered  clear  of  the  subtleties  of  the 
scholastics,  and  their  writings  were  not  admitted  into  his  school :  '  For,' 
he  said,  'I  intend  that  my  pupils  shall  learn  the  art  of  thinking,  not 
that  of  splitting  hairs.'  " 

"  Like  other  classical  scholars  of  that  age,  Vittorino  probably  neg- 
lected the  Italian  language,  for  he  nowhere  appeared  to  regard  the 
works  of  Dante,  Petrarch,  and  Boccaccio  as  safe  guides  in  the  culti- 
vation of  taste."  He  directed  his  scholars  to  the  ancients  exclusively, 
and  to  imitation  of  them  ;  and  of  Carraro,  a  scholar  of  his,  who  was  well 
versed  in  Virgil,  he  said,  "he  will  become  a  second  Maro."*  Traver- 

*The  enthusiasm  of  Ihe  Mantuans  for  the  Manttian  bard,  Virgil,  was  unbounded.  And  this 
enthusiasm  was  shared  by  Vittorino.  The  poet  was  even  mentioned  in  a  hymn  sung  at  the 
Mass  of  St.  Paul.  Paul  has  landed  at  Posilippo,  near  Virgil's  grave. 


42  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY. 

sari,  who  visited  Vittorino  in  tbe  year  1435,  relates  with  rapture  how 
beautifully  the  young  Prince  Gonzaga,  only  14  years  old,  declaimed 
two  hundred  original  lines,  and  how  moreover  he  had  discovered  two 
new  proposition!  additional  to  those  of  Euclid.  The  Princess  Cecilia 
Gonzaga,  who  was  only  ten  years  of  age,  he  says,  wrote  Greek  as  ele- 
gantly as  any  of  Vittorino's  scholars.* 

Vittorino  exercised  the  utmost  care  over  the  deportment  and  the 
jnorals  of  his  pupils  ;  the  looser  order  of  classics  were  not  read  at  all, 
and  single  impure  passages,  wherever  occurring,  were  omitted  or 
altered.  A  bad  man,  he  thought,  can  never  be  a  finished  scholar, 
much  less  a  good  orator.  A  faultless  style  is  of  far  less  importance 
than  a  blameless  life. 

He  imparted  religious  instruction  in  person,  exhorted  his  pupils  to 
the  duty  of  prayer,  and  accompanied  them  to  mass  daily.  With 
ascetic  inflexibility  he  locked  himself  in  his  room  every  morning,  and 
there  prayed  kneeling,  and  scourged  himself.  He  also  went  often  to 
the  confessional.  The  poor  and  the  sick  he  assisted  by  every  means 
in  his  power,  and  he  was  utterly  heedless  of  wealth.  It  is  no  wonder 
that  he  was  held  in  the  highest  esteem,  not  only  as  an  educator  but 
also  as  a  man.  When  Pope  Eugene  IV.  was  entreated  by  a  monk 
for  permission  to  enter  Vittorino's  school,  he  replied,  "  Go,  my  son, 
with  good  will  do  we  put  you  under  the  charge  of  the  godliest  and 
holiest  of  all  living  men."  His  great  temperance,  joined  to  the  reg- 
ular bodily  exercise  which  he  took  among  his  pupils,  secured  him 
vigorous  health  even  to  his  closing  days.  He  died  without  a  sigh, 
and  with  a  serene  smile  upon  his  lips,  in  the  68th  year  of  his  life, 
in  1446. 

3.     Manuscript-Collecting.     Cosmo    di    Medici.      Nicholas    V.      The    First 
Printed  Books. 

While  teachers  and  educators,  like  Guarino  and  Vittorino,  were 
displaying  the  highest  intellectual  animation  and  energy  in  the  pro- 
motion of  classical  learning,  there  arose  at  the  same  time  a  necessity 
for  much  labor  that  was  chiefly  mechanical.  We  have  seen  that,  in 
Petrarch's  day,  copies  of  the  ancient  classics  were  exceedingly  scarce. 
But  in  the  loth  century  a  most  eager  rivalry  was  manifested  to  collect 

At  this  point  in  the  narration  occurs  the  verse  which  we  quote,  as  follows: — 
"  Ad  Marnnis  mausoleum 
Ductus  fuilit  super  eum 
Piae  rorem  lacrymae  : 
Quern  te,  iuquit.  reddidissem 
Si  te  vivuin  invenisscm, 
I'oetarum  maxime !  " 

*  Italy  was  celebrated  in  the  15lh  nnd  IGlh  centuries  for  many  such  accomplished  and 
learned  ladies.  Witness  Hippolyta  Vittoria  Colonna.  In  this  we  are  reminded  of  Goethe's 
Princess  Eleonore,  the  cludent  of  Plato. 


HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY.  4g 

manuscripts,  and  neither  pains  nor  expense  were  spared  in  the  pursuit. 
Says  Fabronius,  "  Scholars  were  like  hounds,  snuffing  at,  and  prying 
into,  every  nook  and  corner." 

Cosmo  and  Lorenzo  di  Medici  ranked  foremost  among  the  collect- 
ors ;  next  after  them  came  Pope  Nicholas  V.  The  Medici  expended 
large  sums  for  this  purpose,  and  availed  themselves  therein  of  their 
extensive  mercantile  relations.  Aurispa  brought,  back  to  Cosmo,  as 
the  fruits  of  one  journey,  238  manuscripts.  And  when  Cosmo's 
friend,  Nicoli,  bequeathed  400  manuscripts  to  the  city  of  Florence, 
Cosmo  built,  at  an  outlay  of  76,000  ducats,  a  library-editice,  in  which 
in  the  year  1444  those  manuscripts  were  deposited.  This  was  the 
origin  of  the  Medicean  Library.  Subsequently  Lorenzo  di  Medici 
dispatched  John  Lascaris  at  two  separate  periods  to  Greece,  to  pur- 
chase manuscripts;  during  the  second  journey  he  collected  200, 
mostly  from  Mount  Athos. 

In  the  arrangement  of  the  library,  Cosmo  was  assisted  by  Thomas 
Sarzano,  the  same  person  who  afterward,  in  1447,  under  the  name 
of  Nicholas  V.,  filled  the  papal  chair.  Nicholas  bore  sway  but  eight 
years,  until  1455 ;  yet  within  this  period  occurred  the  conquest  of 
Constantinople  by  the  Turks,  in  consequence  of  which  event  Greek 
scholars  and  Greek  manuscripts  poured  in  great  numbers  into  Italy. 
Nicholas  appears  to  have  collected  5,000  manuscripts,  thus  laying  the 
foundation  of  the  famed  Vatican  Library. 

About  this  period  also  Cardinal  Bessarion,  whom  we  shall  have  occa- 
sion to  know  more  particularly  hereafter,  sent  a  number  of  manuscripts 
to  Venice,  and  with  these  commenced  the  formation  of  the  Library  of 
St.  Mark. 

Multitudes  of  scribes  too  were  actively  employed  in  neatly  tran- 
scribing manuscripts,  thus  increasing  their  number,  and  in  this  work 
the  most  learned  men  did  not  hesitate  to  engage.  The  youthful 
John  of  Ravenna,  when  he  formed  the  sudden  resolution  to  leave 
Petrarch,  and  was  asked  by  the  latter  what  impelled  him  to  go,  re- 
plied with  tears,  "  Nothing  but  my  unwillingness  to  write  any  more ; 
I  can  never  again  be  persuaded  to  copy  manuscripts."  And  Ambrose 
Traversari  lamented  that  the  constant  use  of  the  pen  had  brought  on 
spasms  in  his  fingers  and  pains  in  his  arms. 

We  have  here  an  intimation  of  the  delight  with  which  the  inven- 
tion of  printing  must  have  been  welcomed  by  the  scholars  of  Italy. 
They  had  made  large  collections  of  manuscripts.  And  when  these 
came  to  be  printed,  they  collected  them  with  care,  and  selected  only 
the  most  approved  texts  for  publication.  At  Florence,  Virgil  was  the 
first  book  printed.  This  was  in  the  year  1472.  The  Juntas  ac- 
quired a  high  reputation  there  as  printers.  At  Rome,  German 


44  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY. 

printers  established  themselves,  and  the  earliest  work  printed  by  them 
was  Lactautius.  The  Greek  grammar  of  Lascaris,  printed  at  Milan  in 
1476,  was  the  first  Greek  book  which  was  issued  in  Italy.  But 
among  all  the  printers  of  that  age  the  learned  Aldus  Manutius  of 
Venice  stands  foremost.  And  Venice  far  excelled  all  the  cities  of 
Italy  in  the  number  of  works  published  there  during  the  16th  cen- 
tury. For  it  amounted  to  2835,  while  all  the  other  cities  together 
could  show  but  2000. 

4.     The  Platonic  Academy.     Greek  Philologist*, 

After  the  digression  which  we  have  now  made,  we  will  cast  our 
glance  again  at  the  most  eminent  philologists  of  that  epoch.  There 
were  however  so  many  of  them,  that  I  shall  only  notice  some  of  the 
most  distinguished  and  most  active.  I  have  already  stated  that,  after 
Emanuel  Chrysoloras,  many  other  Greeks  migrated  to  Italy.  The 
Council  of  Ferrara  of  the  year  1438,  and  that  in  the  following  year 
changed  its  sittings  to  Florence,  had  in  view  a  union  between  the 
Greek  and  the  Western  churches.  The  Greek  emperor,  John  Palseo- 
logus  VII.,  came  to  Ferrara  in  person,  bringing  with  him  Greek  schol- 
ars of  note.  Among  these  was  Gemistus  Pletho,  a  profound  student 
of  Plato.  Cosmo  di  Medici  induced  Gemistus  to  deliver  lectures  at 
Florence  upon  the  Platonic  philosophy.  Hitherto  in  Italy,  as  in  the 
rest  of  learned  Europe,  the  Aristotelian  scholastic  philosophy  had 
reigned  supreme,  and  Plato  was  known  only  by  name.  But  now 
Cosmo  was  completely  won  over  to  Plato,  and  with  him  many  Flor- 
entine scholars,  and  he  founded  a  Platonic  academy.  The  youthful  Mar- 
silius  Ficinus,  son  of  a  surgeon,  he  set  apart  wholly  to  the  study  of 
Plato ;  and  Ficinus  applied  himself  to  his  task  with  such  effect  that 
his  Latin  translation  of  Plato's  writings  are  held  to  this  day  in  high 
esteem.  He  translated  moreover  the  new  Platonists.  Bessarion  of 
Trebizond,  a  scholar  of  Gemistus  and  like  him  a  Platonist,  was  also 
a  member  of  the  Council  of  Ferrara.  Originally  Archbishop  of  Nice, 
he  went  over  to  the  Western  Church,  was  made  a  cardinal,  and  lived 
mostly  in  Venice. 

Still  earlier  than  Bessarion,  George  of  Trebizond  came  to  Italy. 
He  was  a  most  devoted  adherent  of  Aristotle,  and  he  wrote  an  essay 
in  disparagement  of  Plato.*  To  this  Bessarion  replied. f  There  now 
commenced  a  hot  contest  between  the  enthusiastic  Platonists,  tho 
Florentines  especially,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  defenders  of  Aristo- 
telian scholasticism  on  the  other.  More  closely  regarded,  it  appears 
to  have  been  the  old  battle  commenced  by  Petrarch,  though  in  an- 
other guise.  The  beauty  of  Plato's  sentiments,  and  the  poetic  ele- 

*  "  Cun'jiariitio  inter  Arittoleltm  et  Platonem."        t  "  In  calumniatorem  Plulonit." 


HIOTORV  OF  EDtTCATON  IN  ITALY.  45 

ment  recognized  in  Lira,  were  his  chief  attractions  in  the  eyes  of  the 
philologists.* 

5.     Italian* — Philelphvay  Poggiits,  Laurent iua  Valla. 

The  reader  has  already  been  introduced  to  four  native-born  Italians, 
John  of  Ravenna,  Guarino,  Vittorino,  and  Marsilius  Ficinus.  To 
these  we  will  now  add  others  of  eminence. 

FRANCIS  PHILELPHUS,  who  was  born  in  1398,  at  Tolentino,  became 
go  early  mature  that  he  was  invited  when  in  his  twentieth  year  to 
give  public  instruction  at  Venice.  In  the  year  1420  he  went  to 
Greece  and  to  Constantinople,  there  learned  Greek  under  John,  the  son 
of  Emanuel  Chrysoloras,  was  promoted  to  great  honor  by  the  Em- 
perors Manuel  and  John  Palseologus,  and  sent  on  embassies  to  Sultan 
Amurath  and  the  Emperor  Sigismund.  He  did  not  return  to  Venice 
until  1427  ;  and  in  1428,  through  the  influence  of  Cosmo  di  Medici, 
he  went  to  Florence.  From  that  place  he  wrote  thus  to  Aurispa : — 
"  Florence  is  a  delightful  city,  and  all  its  inhabitants  pay  me  atten- 
tion ;  my  name  is  in  every  mouth ;  and  when  I  pass  through  the 
streets,  not  only  the  first  citizens,  but  even  the  most  noble  ladies,  make 
way  for  me  in  reverence.  I  have  daily  toward  four  hundred  auditors, 
and  these  mostly  the  elder  men  and  members  of  the  senate.  Cosmo 
has  visited  me,  not  once  alone  but  repeatedly."  A  short  time  after 
this  he  became  most  bitterly  hostile  toward  Cosmo,  especially  after 
the  latter  had  been  banished  from  the  city.  On  this  account  it  was 
that  he  left  Florence  in  1434,  when  Cosmo  returned.  He  next  lived 
for  a  long  period  at  Milan;  and,  in  1474,  Sixtus  IV.  induced  him, 
by  the  otfer  of  500  ducats  yearly,  to  come  to  Rome.  From  thence, 
having  become  many  years  previous  reconciled  to  Cosmo,  he  returned, 
at  the  instance  of  Lorenzo  di  Medici,  to  Florence,  where  he  died  in 
1481,  in  his  83d  year. 

Philelphus  was  actively  employed  even  to  his  extreme  old  age  in 
communicating  the  choicest  instruction ;  even  in  his  77th  year  he 
lectured  at  Rome  with  the  highest  eclat  upon  Cicero's  "Tusculan  Ques- 
tions.'' At  the  same  time  he  carried  on  an  extensive  correspondence,1 
and  translated  many  of  the  writings  of  Aristotle,  Xenophon,  Plutarch, 
and  other  Greek  authors  into  Latin.  His  "  C'onvivia  "2  are  conver- 
sations upon  subjects  drawn  from  the  literature  of  the  ancients ;  in 

'  Besides  the  Greeks  already  named,  the  following  attained  to  eminence  :— Theodore  Gaza, 
who  was  born  at  Thessalonica  in  1396,  and  died  in  1478.  He  composed  a  Greek  grammar, 
ami  translated  Aristotle's  History  of  Animals  and  Theophrastus'  History  of  Plants.  Of 
John  Argyropulas,  of  Constantinople,  we  shall  speak  further  on.  His  successor  in  teaching 
at  Florence  was  Demetrius  Chalcondyles,  who  however  was  supplanted  by  Politian,  and 
died  at  Milan,  in  1511,  at  the  age  of  87.  He  edited  the  Florentine  edition  of  Homer  of  the 
year  1438. 

1  Epistolartim,  libri  XXXVII.     Paris.  Io03. 

t  Conririoruin,  libri  II.,  de  miillarum  oriu  et  incremento  disctplinarum. 


46  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY. 

his  satires'  lie  sought  retaliation  for  insults  to  his  vanity ;  he  also 
wrote  tables8  in  elegiac  verse. 

The  character  of  Philelphus  appears  to  have  been  despicable.  His 
vanity  was  excessive,  and  his  disposition  was  bitter  and  revengeful. 
He  was  profligate  too,  if  we  are  to- admit  as  true  a  tithe  of  what  we 
are  told  of  him  by  another  profligate  character,  viz., 

POGOIUS  BRACCIOLINI.  Poggius  was  born  in  1380,  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Arezzo,  and  was  a  scholar  of  John  of  Ravenna  and  of 
Emanuel  Chrysoloras.  From  1402  to  1453  he  was  a  member  of  the 
papal  chancery,  then  government-secretary  of  the  city  of  Florence 
till  his  decease  in  1459.  He  was  never  a  teacher,  and  his  chief  merit 
consisted  in  discoveries  of  ancient  classics.  Among  other  manuscripts 
brought  to  light  by  him  was  Quintilian.  This  he  found  at  St.  Gall. 
In  1415  he  was  present  at  the  Council  of  Constance.  In  a  letter  to 
Leonard  Aretinus  he  gives  a  graphic  description,  as  an  eye-witness, 
of  the  last  days  of  Jerome  of  Prague.  On  leaving  Constance,  he 
visited  the  baths  of  Baden,  in  Switzerland.  In  the  same  letter  in 
which  the  pleasure-seeking  man  describes  the  innocent  gambols  of  the 
Swiss  women — and  at  reading  which  one  might  imagine  himself 
transported  amid  the  early  scenes  of  Tahiti — he  mentions  the  instruc- 
tions in  Hebrew,  which  he  was  privileged  to  receive  from  a  Jewish 
proselyte.  "  If  this  study,"  he  writes,  "is  not  from  my  point  of  view 
useful  to  increase  my  knowledge  of  philosophy,  it  nevertheless  enlarges 
the  field  of  my  scholarship  in  this  respect,  viz.,  that  by  means  of  it 
I  am  able  to  lay  bare  the  method  of  interpretation  employed  by  St. 
Jerome."  The  Germans  passed  with  Poggius,  as  with  most  of  the 
Italians  of  that  day,  for  barbarians. 

The  clergy  and  the  monks  he  could  not  speak  of  but  with  indigna- 
tion. "Of  the  cardinals,"  he  writes,  "I  scarcely  dare  express  my 
opinion.  It  were  to  be  desired  that  those  who  wear  such  exalted 
honors  would  spend  less  of  their  energy  in  amassing  wealth,  and  in 
the  perversion  of  justice  and  judgment.  The  same  may  be  said  of 
the  bishops." 

"There  is  a  class  of  monks  called  the  '  begging  friars,'  although 
they  would  seem  to  bring  others  to  poverty,  while  they  themselves 
are  idle,  living  upon  the  hard  earnings  of  their  fellow-men.  They 
are  a  conceited  and  useless  generation,  that  only  take  up  their  sacred 
calling  as  a  cloak  for  their  vices.'' 

Ik-sides  letters,  we  have  from  the  hand  of  Poggius  speeches,  con- 
versations, (kistoria  cmvivalet,,)  and  treatises  upon  various  topics. 
His  defamatory  attacks  upon  Philelphus  and  Laurentius  Valla  made 
no  small  stir ;  there  was  no  baseness  of  which  he  did  not  accuse 

I  Satyrurum  hecatobfichoii  dccadis  dtccm.        SFrancisci  Philelplii  Fabulae,  1480. 


HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY.  47 

them,  and  many  of  the  allegations  are  too  foul-mouthed  to  translate. 
Philelphus  indeed  had  laid  himself  open  to  a  large  share  of  the 
charges  ;  Valla,  on  the  contrary,  in  his  rejoinders,  triumphantly  con- 
victed his  antagonist  of  falsehood,  lie  had  grievously  offended  the 
vain  Poggius  by  some  criticisms  which  he  had  made  upon  the  Latin- 
ity  of  the  latter.  The  invectives  which  were  thus  called  out  fill  six- 
ty-three folio  pages  ;  we  are  amazed  at  the  torrent  of  words  which 
pour  from  the  blackguard's  mouth. 

Aside  from  the  consideration  of  the  truth  or  the  falsity  of  these 
polemical  essays,  they  certainly  do  not  support  the  often  quoted  sen- 
timent contained  in  the  following  lines  : — 

"  Didicisse  fideliter  artes 
Emollit  mores ;  nee  sinit  ease  feros.'1 

"  A  thorough  intellectual  discipline  softens  the  manners ;  nor  does  it 
consist  with  rudeness." 

On  the  contrary  they  prove  but  too  clearly  the  lamentable  state 
into  which  religion  had  fallen  in  Italy,  when  the  most  finished  scholars 
of  that  day — men  whom  not  only  princes  and  kings  but  even  popes 
deigned  to  honor — when  such  men  as  these  could  write  in  such  a 
coarse,  despicable,  and  filthy  manner. 

And  the  same  Poggius,  who  reproached  his  antagonist  with  sins 
against  chastity,  was  himself  the  author  of  the  "  Facetiae"  a  collection 
of  extremely  low  and  sensual  jokes.  With  justice  did  Valla  affirm 
that  he  would  not  defile  his  mouth  and  his  pages  with  citations  from 
the  obscenities  of  Poggius,  but  would  choose  rather  to  pass  them  over 
in  silence,  even  at  the  risk  of  being  branded  as  a  traducer.  And 
what  reply  did  Poggius  make  to  him  on  this  point  ?  No  other,  ex- 
cept to  scoff  in  the  grossest  terms  at  his  austerity,  and  to  boast  that 
his  own  elegant  production  had  been  circulated  not  merely  through 
the  whole  of  Italy,  but  also  in  France,  Germany,  Spain,  and  England. 
And  this,  alas!  was  no  empty  boast;  for  within  the  short  space 
between  the  years  1470  and  1500  there  appeared  no  fewer  than 
twenty  editions  of  this  work. 

LAURENTIUS  VALLA  was  born  at  Rome,  in  1415.  His  most  im- 
portant philological  work  was  the  "  Eleganlice  Latini  Sermonis,"  in 
six  books.  In  the  preface  to  the  first  book  he  praises  the  ancestors 
of  the  Romans,  (mvjores  nostros,)  in  that  they  were  not  merely  con- 
querors, but  that  they  extended  the  empire  of  the  Latin  language 
over  vast  realms.  "  Great  is  the  divinity  of  the  Latin  tongue,"  he 
thus  expresses  himself,  "for  it  has  been  enshrined  through  all  these 
many  centuries,  by  foreigners,  by  barbarians,  by  enemies  even  ;  hence 
ought  we  Romans  rather  to  rejoice  that  to  mourn.  True  indeed  we 


48  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY. 

have  lost  Rome,  and  we  have  lost  empire,  though  (it  should  be  said,) 
not  from  any  fault  of  ours,  but  in  obedience  to  the  behest  of  time ; 
nevertheless,  by  the  might  of  this  more  glorious  dominion,  we  yet  rule 
over  a  great  portion  of  the  globe.  Italy  is  ours,  Spain  is  ours,  and  so 
are  Germany,  Pannonia,  Dalmatia,  Illyricum,  and  many  other  lands. 
For  where  the  Roman  tongue  has  left  its  impress,  there  is  the  Roman 
Empire" 

"But  grief  and  shame  overwhelm  me  when  I  consider  that  for 
many  centuries  none  have  spoken,  nor  have  any  understood,  Latin." 
"  Yet,"  he  continues,  "  the  time  is  at  hand  when  the  Latin  shall  again 
flourish.  And,  out  of  regard  for  my  country,  I  will  labor  for  this 
consummation,  and  will  strive  beyond  others  to  become  a  reformer  of 
her  languages." 

His  work  contains  most  excellent  grammatical  notes,  especially 
upon  synonyms.  It  met  with  such  general  applause  as  to  reach  its 
69th  edition  between  the  years  1471  and  1536.  Valla  also  translated 
Herodotus  and  Thucydides. 

He  was  the  first  to  apply  the  newly  revived  classical  philology  to 
the  interpretation  of  the  New  Testament,  and  he  likewise  wrote  crit- 
ical notes  upon  the  Vulgate,  and  emended  many  passages  of  the 
same. 

His  controversy  with  Poggius  we  have  mentioned  already ;  he 
moreover  defended  Quintilian  against  George  of  Trebizond,  who  in  his 
ardor  for  Cicero  had  decried  the  former. 

Valla's  treatise  " De  falso  creditaet  ementita,  Constantini  donatione" 
made  great  commotion,  as  it  contained  most  severe  censures  of  the 
popes,  especially  of  their  grasping  after  temporal  dominion.  "  To  the 
power  of  the  keys,  which  was  bestowed  by  the  Lord,"  he  said,  "noth- 
ing can  be  added.  Who  is  not  content  with  this,  must  seek  what  he 
desires  from  the  devil,  who  once  made  bold  to  offer  to  our  Lord  all 
the  kingdoms  of  this  world,  if  he  would  but  fall  down  and  worship 
him.  The  pope  resorts  to  war  for  temporal  aggrandizement.  All 
piety  disappears,  and  wicked  men  appeal  in  their  own  justification  to 
the  example  of  the  pope.  Simony  prevails.  The  scribes  and  phar- 
isees  sit  in  Moses'  seat.  Does  this  pomp  and  glitter  befit  the  humil- 
ity that  should  characterize  the  vicegerent  of  Christ?" 

He  defended  Epicurus,*  and  thereby  drew  upon  himself  the  con- 
demnation of  the  theologians  of  Rome,  and  was  obliged  to  flee  to  King 
Alphonso  of  Naples.  Here  again  he  narrowly  escaped  being  burned 
at  the  stake  by  the  Inquisition.  But  when  Nicholas  V.  became  pope 

'  In  his  es«iy  "  DC  r*ro  bono."    The  treatise  "  DC  libero  arbitrio  "  was  likewise  assailed. 
In  reply  he  wrote  the  "  I'allte  pro  ae  et  cirntra  culutntiiulurc*  cut  Evgeninm  {V.  apologia." 


HISTORY  OP  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY.  49 

he  returned  to  Rome,  where  he  died  in  1465,  in  his  50th  year.     In 
his  epitaph  he  is  styled  canon  and  papal  secretary. 

G.     Lorenzo  di  Medici,  Ficinut,  Argyropulus,  Sandinut,  Politian,  Picus  di 

Mirandola. 

Cosmo  di  Medici  died  in  1564,  in  the  75th  year  of  his  age. 
Machiavelli  says  of  him,  "  Cosmo's  enemies  mourned  for  him  as 
well  as  his  friends,"  and  Machiavelli  was  himself  an  enemy  of  the 
Medici.  Here  is  not  the  place  to  speak  of  Cosmo's  merits  as  a  states- 
man ;  but  how  he  founded  expensive  and  choice  libraries,  collected 
works  of  art,  patronized  scholars  and  artists,  and  built  churches  and 
palaces,  we  have  already  narrated. 

Cosmo  was  succeeded  in  the  government  by  his  son  Peter  di  Medici. 
Peter  died  in  1469 ;  his  son  and  successor,  the  grandson  of  Cosmo, 
was  the  famous  Lorenzo. 

LORENZO  DI  MEDICI  was  favored  with  the  best  of  teachers.  One 
of  these,  Marsilius  Ficinus,  we  have  already  met  with  ;  he  was  the 
same  whom  Cosmo  caused  to  be  educated  for  the  study  of  Plato. 
He  communicated  his  own  love  for  Plato  to  Lorenzo,  under  whom  the 
Platonic  academy  founded  by  Cosmo  continued  to  flourish.  And  we 
find  among  the  Italian  poems  of  Lorenzo  some  of  the  Platonic  cast. 

Besides  Marsilius,  the  Platonist,  John  Argyropulus,  an  Aristotelian, 
was  one  of  Lorenzo's  teachers.  So  too  was 

CHRISTOPHER  LANDINUS,  who  was  born  at  Florence,  in  1420,  and 
studied  under  Carl  Aretino.  In  the  year  1457,  Landinus  became  a 
professor  of  rhetoric  and  poetics,  and  had  many  pupils.  His  Latin 
poems  are  less  widely  known  than  his  commentaries  on  Horace,  Vir- 
gil, and  Dante.  Pliny's  Natural  History  he  translated  into  Italian. 
His  M  Camaldttnensian  Questions"  are  in  imitation  of  the  "  Tuscu- 
lan"  of  Cicero.  He  died  in  1504,  in  the  80th  year  of  his  age. 

In  addition  to  these  three  teachers,  Lorenzo  enjoyed  the  society  of 
two  younger  friends,  who  were  men  of  high  distinction,  namely,  An- 
gelius  Politianus  and  Picus  di  Mirandola. 

ANOELICS  POLITIANUS  (or  Ambrogini)  was  the  son  of  a  poor 
jurist,  and  was  born  at  Monte  Pulciano,  in  1434.  When  a  boy  of 
only  thirteen,  being  six  years  younger  than  Lorenzo,  he  inscribed  to 
him  a  Latin  epigram,  in  which  he  lamented  his  own  poverty.  In 
consequence  of  this,  he  was  received  into  Lorenzo's  family,  and,  in 
company  with  him,  was  instructed  by  Ficinus  and  Landinus.  But 
he  came  into  much  higher  favor  through  an  Italian  poem  upon  the 
knightly  victory  of  Julian,  the  brother  of  Lorenzo. 

In  later  years  Lorenzo  intrusted  to  Politian  the  education  of  his 
sons  Peter  and  John  ;  the  latter  of  whom  is  better  known  as  Leo  X. 
In  1480  Politian  became  a  teacher  of  Greek  and  Roman  literature 


50  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY. 

at  Florence.  He  read  comments  upon  many  of  the  classics,  A  ristotld 
among  the  number.  This  was  objected  to ;  it  was  said  of  him,  that 
he  had  never  devoted  himself  to  philosophy,  and  yet  offered  to  teach 
what  he  had  not  learned.  To  this  he  replied  as  follows  : — "  I  profess 
to  be  an  expositor  of  Aristotle,  not  a  philosopher.  Were  I  interpret- 
er to  a  king,  I  would  not  therefore  imagine  myself  a  king.  Servius 
and  Aristarchus  did  not  claim  to  be  poets.  The  office  of  a  gram- 
marian is  to  comment  upon  writings  generally,  whatever  may  be  their 
subject."  That  in  his  capacity  as  grammarian  he  made  himself  troub- 
lesome to  the  scholastics,  "  who,"  as  he  said,  "  were  naturally  enough 
inimical  to  writers  whose  elegant  diction  was  the  very  reverse  of  their 
own,''  this  we  see  clearly  by  his  own  testimony.  "  I  once  waded 
through,"  he  writes,  "  some  of  the  commentaries  on  Aristotle,  which 
those  philosophers  extol  so  highly  ;  and  truly  what  monstrosities  did 
I  find  them  to  be  !  I  also  compared  the  Greek  Aristotle  with  the 
Teutonic,  (cum  Teutonico,)  that  is  to  say,  the  most  finished  with  the 
most  unformed  and  expressionless,  and  ah !  how  altered  did  he  ap- 
pear !  I  saw  him,  and  it  pained  me  so  to  see  him,  not  in  a  masterly 
manner  transferred  from  the  Greek,  but  barbarously  distorted,*  so  that 
no  trace  of  the  real  Aristotle  could  be  gleaned  from  the  translation. 
And  yet  these  blockheads  do  not  blush  to  assume  the  name  of  phil- 
osophers." 

Here  again  we  behold  the  warfare  between  scholastic  and  classical 
learning.  The  grammarian  convicted  the  philosopher  of  not  under- 
standing Aristotle  in  the  least,  and  thus,  by  removing  the  corner-stone 
of  the  philosophical  edifice,  caused  it  to  tumble  into  ruins. 

At  that  time  there  subsisted  a  great  jealousy  between  the  Greek 
and  the  Italian  scholars.  "  It  is  incredible,"  says  Politian,  "  how  re- 
luctant are  the  Greeks  to  share  with  us  Latins  (Latinos  homines,) 
their  language  and  erudition.  They  imagine  they  have  the  kernel, 
and  they  say  that  we  have  the  shell."  On  the  contrary  he  said,  in  a 
speech  delivered  at  Florence,  "  Florentines,  in  your  city  has  Greek 
learning,  which  long  ago  has  gone  to  decay  in  Greece  herself,  again  so 
revived  and  bloomed  that  some  of  your  fellow-citizens  publicly  teach 
Greek  literature,  and  boys  of  the  noblest  families — a  thing  unheard 
of  within  a  thousand  years  in  Italy — speak  the  Attic  dialect  with 
such  purity  and  grace  that  Athens  appears  to  be  transported  to 
Florence." 

Politian  was  exceedingly  indignant  when  Argyropulus  asserted  that 
Cicero  neither  understood  philosophy  nor  yet  Greek.  He  held  it,  he 

*  ".Von  eonrtrsum  e  Gretco  ted  plane ptrrerntm  "  are  the  words  of  Politian.  Hy  Teutonic 
he  ilnublless  meant  not  German,  but  scholastic  Latin.  Hermolaus  called  the  scholastics 
'•  Teutonei  et  Germani."  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Polilian  understood  the  language  of 
the  Germans,  who  were  then  despised  as  barbarians. 


HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALV.  51 

said,  to  be  his  duty  and  the  duty  of  every  "  Latin  professor  to  defend 
the  reputation  of  Cicero.  Yet  he  was  by  no  means  a  Ciceronian  in 
the  restricted  sense  of  that  term."  This  is  evident  from  a  letter  of 
his  to  Paul  Cortesius.  Cortesius  had  sent  him  a  collection  of  letters, 
which  the  former  proposed  to  edit  "  I  return  you,"  writes  Politian, 
"  the  letters,  and  to  speak  frankly  I  have  wasted  in  their  perusal  many 
golden  hours.  I  do  not  wholly  agree  with  your  sentiments  upon 
style.  For,  as  I  hear,  that  style  alone  meets  with,  your  approval  which 
bears  the  features  of  Cicero.  But  I  prefer  the  face  of  a  bull  or  a  lion 
before  that  of  an  ape,  notwithstanding  the  latter  more  nearly  resem- 
bles that  of  a  man.  According  to  Seneca,  the  early  orators  were  by 
no  means  like  to  one  another,  and  Quintilian  made  sport  of  such  as 
imagined  themselves  cousins  to  Cicero,  when  they  had  closed  their 
periods  with  lesse  videatur.'1  Horace  too  satirized  those  imitators 
who  were  imitators  merely,  and  who  composed  upon  a  model,  speaking, 
like  parrots  and  magpies,  words  that  they  did  not  understand.  What 
such  persons  wrote  had  neither  force  nor  life;  it  was  false  to  nature, 
unconnected,  and  pointless."  He  then  proceeds  to  advise  Cortesiu:?, 
to  the  effect  that,  after  he  has  spent  much  time  in  the  perusal  of  Cic- 
ero and  other  good  books,  has  digested  them,  and  so  become  pos- 
sessed of  a  rich  store  of  knowledge,  then  he  may  cut  himself  loose 
from  his  painful  dependence  on  Cicero,  and  boldly  venture  to  be- 
come original.  "  He  who  in  running  strives  to  tread  in  the  footsteps 
of  the  man  before  him  can  not  run  well,  neither  can  he  write  well 
who  has  not  the  courage  to  deviate  from  a  given  model.  In  short,  it  is 
an  indication  of  a  barren  intellect  in  any  writer,  when  he  never  creates, 
but  only  imitates."  Cortesius  was  naturally  enough  somewhat  dis- 
pleased at  the  tenor  of  this  reply.  In  the  year  1484  Politian  accom- 
panied a  Florentine  embassy,  sent  to  congratulate  Innocent  VIII.  on 
his  accession  to  the  throne:  in  1492  he  composed  for  Sienna  a  con- 
gratulatory address  to  Alexander  VI. 

Politian  was  honored  and  applauded  by  his  cotemporaries  in  a 
remarkable  degree,  and  his  Italian  productions  received  as  much  favor 
as  did  his  Latin.  The  collection  of  essays  which  he  entitled  "Mis- 
cellanea "  won  him  especial  notice.  It  is  chiefly  occupied  with  expo- 
sitions of  different  passages  from  the  classics.  "  When  I  hear  or  read 
you,"  Acciarius  wrote  to  him,  "I  no  longer  envy  the  ancient  Romans. 
Let  them  delight  themselves  in  their  Cicero,  we  will  glory  in  ours." 
The  following  expressions  of  a  certain  Pulcius,  in  respect  to  the  "Mis- 
cellanea" are  quite  of  a  serio-comic  cast.  "  That  you  may  be  con- 
vinced," he  writes  to  Politian,  "  that  I  regard  the  immortality  of  your 
work  as  a  thing  established,  I  confess  to  you  that  I  envy  Ugolinus 
and  many  of  my  cotemporaries  and  friends  not  a  little,  because  their 


{2  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY. 

names  have  been  introduced  into  the  excellent  preface  to  your  boob, 
thereby  to  be  handed  down  to  posterity,  and  with  yourself  to  become 
•  immortal  and  renowned.  Had  I  thought  of  it  earlier,  I  would,  by 
request,  or  by  bribe,  (aut  pretio  etiam,)  in  short,  by  all  manner  of 
solicitation,  have  endeavored  to  secure  a  mention  among  this  hon- 
ored century."  .We  can  scarcely  trust  our  eyes  when  we  read  this 
sentence. 

Yet  Politian  found  some  opponents.  George  Merula,  of  Milan, 
was  about  to  commence  an  acrimonious  controversy  with  him  on  the 
subject  of  the  Miscellanies,  but  was  interrupted  by  death  ;  and  Scala 
reproved  him  for  straining  after  obscure  terms. 

In  short  he  was  attacked  by  some,  and  by  some  defended.  Was  it 
to  be  wondered  at,  that  a  man  like  him,  who  was  conscious  of  his  supe- 
riority, and  who  was  beyond  measure  applauded  by  his  cotemporaries, 
should  become  giddy  and  vainglorious  ?  How  vainglorious,  his  let- 
ter to  Matthias  Corvinus,  king  of  Hungary,  will  amply  show.  "  I 
have  taught,"  he  says,  "Latin  literature  for  many  years,  as  all  do 
know,  with  universal  satisfaction,  and  even  the  Greek  I  have  publicly 
commented  on  with  at  least  as  much  approbation  as  any  native 
Grecian ;  a  thing,  so  far  as  I  know,  and  I  say  it  boldly,  unprecedented 
with  any  of  us  Latins  for  a  thousand  years.  I  have  moreover  suc- 
cessfully employed  my  pen  upon  all  conceivable  subjects ;  so  that  I 
deserve — I  blush  to  say  it,  although  it  is  an  admitted  truth — I  deserve, 
I  say,  the  praises  of  all  the  eminent  scholars  of  the  age."  Next  he 
specifies  all  the  various  things  that  he  deems  himself  competent  to  do  ; 
as  "  to  translate  Greek  classics,  to  immortalize  the  paintings  and  statues 
of  the  king  in  poems,  to  write  histories  of  wars  or  annals  of  peaceful 
times  in  Latin  or  in  Greek,  in  prose  or  in  undying  verse,  and  more- 
over to  enliven  earnest  philosophy  with  a  sprinkling  of  jest."  Pol- 
itian was  addicted  to  the  worst  species  of  licentiousness.  Nor  did  he 
attempt  to  conceal  his  shame  in  the  least.  Some  of  his  poems  in 
fact  far  outgo  in  prurience  and  filth  the  worst  productions  of  Horace. 
Witness  his  mocking  verses  addressed  to  an  old  woman.  And  is  not 
it  something  more  than  accident  that  has  assigned  to  this  abominable 
lyric  a  place  directly  before  two  hymns  to  the  Virgin  Mary  ?  It  was 
characteristic  of  Politian,  the  teacher  of  Leo  X.,  yea,  it  was  charac- 
teristic moreover  of  many  of  the  most  gifted  Italians  of  that  period,  to 
join  piety  and  devotion  by  an  almost  incomprehensible  chain  of  associa- 
tion to  pure  and  unmixed  profligacy.  Can  there  be  "  no  sublimation 
without  its  precipitate  ?  " 

That  Politian  possessed  distinguished  talents,  no  one  lias  ever  dis- 
puted. He  was  a  philologist  in  the  most  comprehensive  sense  of  the 
term  ;  in  his  epitaph  it  is  recorded  of  him  that  he  had  three  tongues 


HISTORY  OP  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY.  53 

in  one  head.*  His  delicate  sense  for  the  niceties  of  language  and 
his  extensive  learning  were  not  the  only  qualifications  that  rendered 
him  such  an  ardent  and  appreciative  commentator  upon  the  classics, 
for  he  likewise  possessed  the  faculty  of  composing,  in  an  easy  and 
graceful  style,  both  prose  and  poetry  in  Italian  as  well  as  in  Latin. 
The  stanzas  already  alluded  to  upon  the  Tournay  of  Julian  di  Medici, 
in  the  opinion  of  Bouterwek,  "  surpass  in  purity,  elegance,  and  grace 
of  expression  all  the  productions  in  verse  that  had  appeared  since  the 
poems  of  Petrarch." 

Politian's  literary  controversies  were  marked  by  a  greater  degree 
of  decorum  than  those  of  the  preceding  age ;  the  era  of  coarse 
brutality  had  gone  by.  The  petty  and  disgusting  vanities  and 
jealousies  of  a  Poggius  and  a  Philelphus  were  exchanged,  under  the 
influence  of  Lorenzo  di  Medici,  for  warm  and  sincere  friendships. 
Politian  loved  and  revered  both  Lorenzo  and  Ficinus,  but  above 
all  that  man  whom  in  his  admiration  he  styled  the  phoenix  of  the 
age,  viz., 

JOHN  Picus,  COUNT  OF  MIBANDOLA,  who  was  born  in  1463.  While 
yet  in  his  14th  year,  he  repaired  to  Bologna,  and  there  studied  ca- 
nonical law ;  from  his  16th  to  his  23d  year  he  traveled.  When  but 
22  years  old,  (in  1485,)  the  learned  Hermolaus  Barbarus  wrote  to 
him  as  follows : — "  I  behold  in  thee  a  poet  of  distinction  and  a  most 
excellent  orator.  Once  an  Aristotelian,  thou  hast  now  become  a 
Platonist.  Greek  thou  hast  thoroughly  mastered.  Thou  knowest 
that,  within  the  many  centuries  in  which  the  study  of  the  Greek  has 
been  neglected,  not  a  single  Latin  work  of  merit  has  appeared ;  for 
I  do  not  count  among  Latin  authors  those  Germans  and  Teutons,  who 
have  not  lived  even  in  their  lifetime,  to  say  nothing  of  their  contin- 
uing to  live  after  their  death ;  though  haply,  if  any  do  survive,  it  is 
only  for  their  greater  punishment  and  disgrace.f  They  pass  for  a  low, 
uncouth,  uncultivated,  and  barbarous  horde ;  and  who  would  accept 
existence  at  such  a  price  ?  I  will  not  deny,  although  I  might  well 
do  so,  that  they  have  brought  some  useful  things  to  pass,  and  have 

*  Politianus  in  hoc  tutnulo  jacet  Angelas,  iiniim 

Qui  caput  et  linguas,  res  nova,  tres  habuit. 

1  That  by  these  epithets,  "  Germans  and  Teutons,"  the  scholastics  only  were  designated  \» 
manifest  from  the  laudatory  epitaph  which  Hermolaus  composed  upon  Rudolph  Agricola, 
who  died  in  1485,  ihe  very  year  that  this  letter  was  written.  This  is  the  epitaph  :— 

"  Invida  clauserunt  hoc  marmore  fata  Rudolphum 

Agricolam,  Frisii  gpemque  decusque  soli, 
Scilicet  hoc  vivo  meruit  Geimania  lainlis. 

Quidquid  habet  I. at  mm.  Graecia  quidquid  babet." 

"The  envious  fates  have  inclosed  within  this  marble  tomb  Rudolf  Ajrricola,  the  hope 
and  the  glory  of  Friesland.     While  he  lived,  Germany,  without  doubt,  deserved  all  the  re- 
nown that  either  Latium  or  Greece  ever  obtained."    The  Italians  appear  to  have  used 
u  Teutons  "  in  a  sense  kindred  to  that  afterward  so  erroneously  applied  to  the  term  "  Goths.'» 
No.  18.— [You  VI.,  No.  3.]— 29. 


54  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY: 

moreover  displayed  some  intelligence,  learning,  and  research ;  but  it  is 
only  a  graceful  and  elegant,  or  at  least  a  pure  and  chaste  style,  that 
can  insure  lasting  renown  to  the  writer.  But  perhaps  I  have  spoken 
of  these  bears  too  much  already." 

To  this  letter  Picus  replied  substantially  as  follows  : — 
"  That  which  Hermolaus  had  said  impressed  him  forcibly.  He 
had  spent  six  years  with  Thomas,  Scotus,  and  their  fellows,  but 
had  felt  that  his  time  and  labor  were  all  lost.  But  perhaps,"  he 
continues,  "these  scholastics  might  justify  themselves  somewhat  in 
this  manner ;  we  have  achieved  fame  before  the  days  of  Hermolaus, 
and  our  name  will  continue  to  exist  after  he  is  no  more — not 
however  in  the  schools  of  grammarians  and  of  boys,  but  in  the  cir- 
cles of  philosophers,  and  amid  the  fraternities  of  the  wise,  where 
their  time  is  not  thrown  away  in  tracing  the  pedigree  of  Andromache, 
or  the  history  of  the  sons  of  Niobe,  but  is  employed  rather  upon  the 
great  fundamental  truths  which  govern  both  human  and  divine  affairs. 
"And  these,  our  contemplations,  inquiries,  and  analyses,  have  been 
characterized  by  so  much  minuteness,  subtlety,  and  acumen  as  to 
give  us  at  times  an  anxious  and  toil-worn  look,  if  indeed  one  can  be  too 
anxious  and  careful  in  the  search  after  truth.  Should  our  accusers 
put  us  to  the  proof,  they  would  learn  that  we  are  not  deficient  in  wis- 
dom, however  it  may  be  in  regard  to  eloquence  ;  to  disjoin  these,  the 
one  from  the  other,  is  perhaps  not  merely  excusable,  but  possibly  we 
should  be  inexcusable  if  we  united  them.  For  rouge  "and  false  curls 
are  not  seemly  in  an  honorable  maiden,  but  in  a  vestal  they  are  a 
mockery.  In  fact  there  is  a  heaven-wide  difference  between  the  ends 
that  the  orator  and  the  philosopher  respectively  propose  to  them- 
selves." He  accuses  the  rhetorician's  art  of  putting  black  for  white, 
and  white  for  black,  and  of  so  ensnaring  the  hearer  in  a  magical 
network  of  brilliant  periods  as  that  he  shall  see  things  not  in  their 
reality  but  only  in  the  light  in  which  the  orator  places  them.  Can 
such  an  orator  possibly  have  any  thing  in  common  with  the  philoso- 
phers, whose  sole  desire  is  to  know  the  truth  and  to  place  it  clear 
before  others  ?  For  this  purpose  a  dazzling  array  of  words  is  need- 
less and  unsuitable,  and  only  excites  mistrust.  The  harsh-toned,  bar- 
barous terms  of  the  philosophers  ought  not  to  be  condemned ;  the 
car  is  a  good  guide  in  music,  but  not  in  philosophy — nothing  more 
powerfully  moves  and  convinces  us  than  the  reading  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  and  yet  these  words  which  so  overcome  us  are  simple  and 
without  any  admixture  of  art.  They  live,  and  breathe,  and  full  of 
fire  they  penetrate  the  soul,  and  change  the  whole  man.  We  will 
grant  that  the  philosophers  have  wisdom  without  eloquence  ;  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  have  not  there  been  historians,  orators,  and  poets  who 


HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY.  55 

have  possessed  eloquence  without  wisdom,  being  all  tongue  and  no 
heart  ?  The  true  philosophizing  of  a  Scotus,  though  it  may  have  been 
in  bad  taste,  is  far  more  noble  than  the  elegant  untruthfulness  of  a 
Lucretius.  "  Thus,"  says  Picus,  "  might  these  barbarian  philosophers 
exculpate  themselves."  As  for  his  unsparing  attack  upon  eloquence, 
it  was  only  made  to  call  out  a  defense  from  Hermolaus,  for  his  own 
feelings  and  his  very  nature  itself  were  repugnant  to  such  an  attack. 
"  Yet,"  he  concludes,  "  to  say  the  truth,  I  am  provoked  with  the  airs 
assumed  by  certain  grammatists,  who,  if  they  light  upon  two  or  three 
new  derivations,  take  occasion  to  boast  of  their  own  greatness,  and  to 
undervalue  the  philosophers.  '  Your  philosophers,'  they  say,  '  are 
beneath  our  notice.'  '  Dogs  are  no  judges  of  Falcrnian.'  " 

But  Hermolaus  regarded  this  letter  of  Picus  as  a  jocose  and  highly 
eloquent  attack  upon  eloquence,  and  moreover  as  an  equally  eloquent 
apology  for  rough  and  uncultivated  philosophers  ;  yet  these  latter,  he 
said,  would  not  thank  Picus  at  all  for  pressing  the  art  of  rhetoric  into 
the  defense  of  their  cause,  while  they  were  themselves  striving  to 
overthrow  this  art  by  every  means  in  their  power.  It  is  nevertheless 
evident  that  this  attack  upon  eloquence  and  defense  of  the  scholastics 
was  no  mere  jest  with  Picus,  although,  as  he  informs  us,  he  wrote  thus 
somewhat  against  the  promptings  of  his  own  nature.  This  appears 
unmistakably  from  the  nine  hundred  Theses  which  in  the  ensuing  year, 
1486,  he  posted  up  at  Rome  for  the  purpose  of  public  disputation. 
It  was  to  be  a  disputation  "  de  quolibet,"  as  the  phrase  ran,  or  on 
every  branch  of  knowledge.  Many  of  the  propositions  were  borrowed 
from  the  scholastics,  as  from  Albertus  Magnus,  Thomas  Aquinas,  and 
Scotus ;  and  Picus  expressly  remarked  that  he  had  couched  these 
propositions,  not  in  classical  but  in  scholastic,  or  as  it  was  also  called 
Parisian  Latin. 

Five  hundred  of  them  owe  their  authorship  to  Picus  himself ;  upon 
the  question  of  their  harmony  or  disagreement  with  the  doctrines  of 
the  church,  he  submitted  himself  entirely  to  the  decision  of  Popo 
Innocent  VIII.  Many  were  branded  by  his  opponents  as  heretical, 
and  these  he  defended  in  an  "  Apology? 

On  a  careful  reading  of  these  Theses  we  are  astonished  at  the 
universality  of  Picus.  Especially  surprising  are  bis  Oriental  attain- 
ments ;  he  had  learned  Hebrew,  Chaldee,  and  Arabic.  In  the  Cab- 
bala he  hoped  to  find  the  solution  of  many  difficulties.  To  unite  the 
Bible,  Zoroaster,  Orpheus,  Pythagoras,  Plato,  and  Aristotle — all  in 
one  vast  harmony — this  was  the  leading  purpose  of  his  studies  ;  for 
proof  of  this,  we  need  look  no  further  than  to  his  "  Heplaplus? 
or  commentary  upon  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  this  man,  whose  field  of  research  was  so 


56  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY. 

wide  and  comprehensive,  wrote  a  treatise  against  astrology,  which 
brought  that  spurious  science  into  much  disrepute.  In  regard  to 
magic,  he  discriminated  carefully  between  a  false  and  a  true  ;  in  the 
latter  he  saw  the  consummation  of  natural  philosophy. 

His  views  upon  mathematics  were  peculiar.  "The  moderns,"  he 
said,  "  who  employ  mathematical  reasoning  upon  natural  phenomena, 
subvert  the  very  foundations  of  natural  philosophy."  ''Nothing  is 
more  injurious  to  a  theologian  than  frequent  and  close  attention  to 
Euclid's  mathematics." 

Thus  we  perceive  in  Picus  the  universal  philosopher,  the  historian, 
and  the  theologian  ;  we  imagine  him  as  a  man  in  middle  life,  and 
of  a  thoughtful,  introverted  look  ;  and  though,  when  he  posted  up  the 
Theses  he  was  but  23  years  of  age,  we  seem  to  hear  in  them  the 
voice  of  some  venerable  sage.  But  according  to  the  concurrent  tes- 
timony of  his  cotemporaries,  he  had  none  of  the  features  of  age,  but 
was  on  the  contrary  an  extraordinarily  beautiful  young  man,  a  favorite 
with  the  fair  sex.  and  a  poet  of  love.  He  himself  alludes  in  a  sportive 
manner  to  his  twofold  nature.  "  While  I  endeavor,"  he  wrote  to 
Politian,  "  to  sit  upon  two  benches,  I  fall  between  them  ;  so  it  comes 
to  pass  that  I  am  neither  poet  nor  orator,  nor  yet  philosopher."  It 
was  as  though  the  scholasticism  of  the  Middle  Ages  coexisted  in 
Picus  with  the  elements  of  the  later  classical  learning,  but  without 
such  organic  union  as  had  been  earlier  exhibited  in  Dante. 

In  his  latter  years  he  committed  his  love-sonnets  to  the  flames,  and 
gave  himself  up  entirely  to  more  serious  studies  and  to  a  life  of  sancti- 
fication ;  thus  intimating  his  penitence  for  even  the  intellectual  follies 
of  his  earlier  youth.  "  Philosophy,"  he  wrote  to  Aldus  Manutius, 
four  years  before  his  death,  "  philosophy  searches  after  truth,  and 
theology  finds  it,  but  religion  enters  upon  its  possession." 

At  a  later  date  he  wrote  to  Francis  Mirandola  as  follows: — "I 
exhort  you,  from  my  deepest  convictions,  to  turn  away  from  the  fables 
and  the  vain  conceits  of  the  poets,  and  day  and  night  to  read  the 
Holy  Scriptures.  Do  not  forget  that  the  Son  of  God  has  died  for 
you,  and  that  you,  long  as  you  may  live,  must  yet  shortly  die."  This 
letter  was  written  on  the  15th  of  May,  1492.  But  a  little  over  a 
month  previous,  or  on  the  2d  of  April,  Picus  had  stood  with  Politian 
by  the  death-bed  of  their  common  friend,  Lorenzo  di  Medici. 

The  letter  of  Politian  to  James  Antiquarius,  in  which  he  describes 
Lorenzo's  last  moments,  can  not  fail  to  surprise  the  reader.  The  grace 
and  majesty  of  classical  culture  appears  to  beam  from  the  noble 
features  of  the  dying  monarch,  but  wondrously  blended  with  the 
lowliest  and  most  penitent  spirit  of  a  true  Christian  faith.  "With  calm 
and  clear  judgment  and  a  lofty  wisdom  he  counselled  his  son  how  to 


HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY.  57 

comport  himself  in  the  affairs  of  government.  But  when  the  priest 
came  to  administer  to  him  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  not- 
withstanding his  feebleness,  he  raised  himself  up  in  his  bed,  kneeled 
down,  and  with  contrite  accents  poured  forth  the  prayer  "Lord  Jesus 
be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner."  Afterward,  perceiving  Politian,  he 
pressed  his  hand  in  affection.  But  Politian,  overcome  with  grief, 
hurried  from  the  chamber  to  give  course  to  his  tears.  On  his  return, 
Lorenzo  inquired  of  him  why  Picus  was  not  there  ?  Hearing  that 
it  was  through  fear  of  disturbing  his  repose,  he  at  once  signified  a 
desire  to  see  him.  He  received  him  with  the  most  cordial  expres- 
sions of  friendship,  and  asking  his  forgiveness  for  the  trouble  he 
had  occasioned  him,  added  that  he  should  meet  his  death  with 
more  cheerfulness  after  this  last  interview  with  his  beloved  friend. 
Then  changing  the  subject,  he  expressed  the  wish  to  Picus  and  Pol- 
itian, '"  not  without  some  degree  of  jocularity,"  that  he  could  have 
been  spared  until  he  had  completed  the  library  destined  to  their  use. 
Scarcely  had  Picus  withdrawn,  when  Hieronymus  Savonarola  entered 
the  apartment ;  "  a  man,"  says  Politian,  "  distinguished  both  for 
learning  and  sanctity ;  an  excellent  preacher  of  heavenly  truth." 
Being  exhorted  by  him  to  remain  steadfast  in  the  faith  and  to  meet 
death  with  equanimity,  Lorenzo  replied,  "  that  his  faith  was  unshaken, 
and  death  was  thrice  welcome  to  him,  if  so  God  willed  it."  He  then 
besought  Savonarola  for  his  blessing,  and  after  giving  suitable 
answers  to  his  questions,  during  which  he  remained  wholly  unmoved 
by  the  lamentations  of  his  friends,  he  received  the  benediction.  Even 
to  the  last  moment  he  retained  his  wonted  serenity  and  greatness  of 
soul,  nor  did  he  betray  the  least  sign  of  pain.  At  last  he  embraced  those 
who  surrounded  his  bed,  implored  forgiveness  of  them  all,  if  during  his 
sickness  he  had  occasioned  them  trouble,  then  received  extreme  unc- 
tion, commended  his  departing  spirit  to  the  God  who  gave  it,  and 
expired  with  his  lips  pressed  to  a  crucifix,  and  amid  the  reading  of 
the  Passion  of  Jesus."  To  this  narrative  Politian  subjoined  a  brief 
sketch  of  Lorenzo's  character.  "  He  was  born,"  he  said,  "  for  the 
highest  station  ;  was  untempted  by  prosperity,  and  unshaken  by 
adversity  ;  a  man  of  a  great,  versatile,  penetrating,  and  comprehensive 
mind ;  honest,  just,  and  worthy  of  all  confidence ;  likewise  so 
friendly  and  affable  that  he  was  beloved  by  all.  Add  to  this  that  he 
\  was  princely  in  his  bounty,  not  however  for  the  sake  of  glory  and  to 
make  to  himself  a  name,  but  out  of  a  pure  regard  to  virtue."  Last- 
ly, Politian  commends  Lorenzo  for  the  protection  which  he  extended 
to  learned  men,  and  for  the  vast  sums  of  money  which  he  spent  in 
the  purchase  of  books. 

Politian  and  Picus  survived  Lorenzo  but  two  years :  they  both  died, 


58-  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY. 

the  one  shortly  after  the  other,  in  the  year  1494  ;  the  same  year  like- 
wise witnessed  the  death  of  their  common  friend,  the  learned  and 
devout  Venetian,  Ilermolaus  Barbaras.  Picus  lived  but  thirty -two 
years.  His  cotemporaries  regarded  him  with  admiration  as  a  wonder 
of  the  world.  "Picus  di  Mirandola,"  says  Politian,  "that  unique 
man,  or  rather  hero,  was  richly  furnished  with  all  the  gifts  of  fortune, 
of  pei-son,  and  of  intellect ;  his  form  was  majestic  and  well-nigh 
divine,  his  understanding  was  searching  to  the  last  degree,  his  mem- 
ory unexampled,  his  diligence  untiring,  and  his  eloquence  rich  and 
clear ;  nor  do  I  know  whether  he  were  more  worthy  to  be  admired 
for  the  depth  of  his  judgment  or  the  splendor  of  his  manners.  In 
the  entire  territory  of  philosophy  he  was  thoroughly  versed,  and  in 
all  the  liberal  arts  likewise  equally  expert.  Early  matured  for  the 
conflict  of  life,  he  was  also  early  ripened  for  death.  Until  his  24th 
year  enamored  alike  of  the  rewards  of  fame  and  of  the  charms  of 
the  fair  sex,  he  turned  his  gaze  during  the  last  eight  years  of  his  life, 
with  an  unbending  asceticism,  away  from  the  transient  glories  of  earth, 
and  upward  to  the  heavenly  and  enduring  inheritance."  To  his 
nephew  he  confided  his  purpose,  so  soon  as  he  had  completed  some 
works  upon  which  he  was  engaged,  to  distribute  his  goods  among  the 
poor,  and  then  with  his  cross  to  go  on  a  pilgrimage  through  every 
land  to  preach  Christ  Jesus. 

LEO   X.,  AM)    HIS    AGE. 

The  year  of  the  death  of  Picus,  the  year  1494,  was  fraught  with 
disaster  to  Italy,  through  the  campaign  of  Charles  VIII.  of  France 
against  Naples. 

The  golden  days  of  Florence  had  ended  in  1492  with  the  death  of 
Lorenzo  di  Medici. 

A  succession  of  entirely  unspiritual  popes  had  borne  sway  at  Rome. 
Sixtus  IV.  (from  1471  to  1484,)  who  shrank  neither  from  conspira- 
cies or  murders,  when  these  availed  to  increase  his  power,  was  followed 
by  Innocent  VIII.  (from  1484  to  1492,)  the  father  of  sixteen  natural 
children,  and  the  prime  originator  of  the  trial  for  witchcraft  in  Ger- 
many. After  him  came  Alexander  VI.  (1492 — 1503,)  a  man  of 
shamelessly  profligate  life,  the  father  of  the  Duke  of  Candia,  Caesar 
Borgia,  that  "  virtuoso  of  crime,"  and  of  Lucretia.  Next  came  Julius 
II.  (1503 — 1513,)  a  choleric,  ambitious  warrior,  and  the  immediate 
predecessor  of  Leo  X.  (1513 — 1521,)  the  son  of  Lorenzo  di  Medici. 
"  Leo  X.,"  says  Fra  Paoli,  "  displayed  a  singular  proficiency  in  polite 
literature,  wonderful  humanity,  benevolence,  and  mildness,  the  great- 
est liberality,  and  an  extreme  inclination  to  favor  excellent  and  learned 
men.  He  would,  indeed,  have  been  a  perfect  pontiff,  if  to  these  accom- 
plishments he  had  united  some  knowledge  in  matters  of  religion,  and 


HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY.  59 

a  greater  inclination  to  piety ;  to  neither  of  which  he  appeared  to 
pay  any  great  attention.''* 

He  was  not  the  man  to  atone  for  the  sins  of  his  predecessors,  and 
to  reconcile  Christendom  with  the  vicegerents  of  Christ.  The  holier 
and  more  exalted  was  the  office  the  greater  was  the  offense,  and  the 
contrast  between  this  office  and  the  sinful  life  of  many  popes  was  so 
striking  that  earnest  and  reflecting  men,  who  strove  after  a  life  of 
sanctity,  were  led  to  the  painful  conviction  that  such  popes  were  not 
vicegerents  but  enemies  of  Christ,  or  rather  the  Anti-Christ  of 
prophecy. 

The  historians  of  the  church,  Catholic  as  well  as  Protestant,  have 
concurred  in  their  condemnation  of  Leo's  unspiritual  and  worldly 
temper,  of  his  aversion  to  the  solemn  demands  of  Christianity,  and 
his  passion  for  the  outward  serenity  and  sensuous  splendor  of  pagan- 
ism. But  he  was  the  son  of  his  age  and  his  station. 

How  great  the  depth  of  immorality  to  which  the  Italian  clergy  then 
had  sunk,  when  John  Delia  Casa,  afterward  created  Archbishop  of 
Benevento,  wrote  a  scandalous  and  profligate  poem,  in  which  he  advo- 
cated unnatural  love — when  Folengo,  also  a  priest,  composed  poems 
teeming  with  obscenities ;  "  a  feature,"  says  Roscoe,  "  which  would 
seem  in  general  to  have  distinguished  the  writings  of  the  clergy  of  that 
period  from  those  of  the  laity  "—when  Bishop  Bandello  gave  to  the 
press  three  volumes  of  novelettes,  the  greater  part  of  which  possessed  not 
even  the  thinnest  veil  of  propriety  to  cover  their  lascivious  sentiments  If 

That  most  abandoned  and  most  Mephistophelian  of  charac- 
ters, Pietro  Aretino,  whose  life  "  may  be  denominated  the  triumph 
of  effrontery,"  was  invited  by  Leo  to  his  court,  notwithstanding  his 
expulsion  from  Arezzo  for  an  indecent  satire,  his  discharge  from 
the  service  of  Chigi  for  theft,  and  the  subsequent  disgrace  and  banish- 
ment which  he  experienced  at  the  hands  of  Julius.  II.  The  pen  of  this 
Aretino  was  both  formidable  and  cheap.  He  it  was  who  composed 
those  inexpressibly  indecent  sonnets  for  the  equally  indecent  prints 
designed  by  Giulio  Romano  (happily  all  now  destroyed,)  of  which 
Vasari  said,  u  it  was  hard  to  decide  which  were  the  more  disgusting, 
the  sight  of  the  prints,  or  the  hearing  of  the  verses."  "  Aretino's 
death,"  says  Roscoe,  "  is  said  to  have  resembled  his  life.  Being  in- 
formed of  some  outrageous  instance  of  obscenity  committed  by  his  sis- 
ters, who  were  courtesans  at  Venice,  he  was  suddenly  affected  with  so  vio- 
lent a  fit  of  laughter  that  he  overturned  his  chair,  and  thereby  received 
an  injury  on  his  head  which  terminated  his  days."  And  yet  Pope 

*  Roscoe  IV.,  page  420.     Philadelphia,  1306. 

t  Not  to  dwell  longer  on  this  point,  we  need  only  to  refer  to  the  Calandra  of  Cardinal 
Bibieiui,  and  the  Mundragora  of  Machiavelli. 


60  HISTORY  OP  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY. 

Julius  111.  gave  to  this  man  a  thousand  crowns,  and  created  him  a 
knight  of  the  Order  of  St.  Peter;  although,  to  his  vexation,  he  fell 
short  of  the  dignity  of  cardinal. 

To  the  period  of  Leo  belonged  also  Pomponazzo,  who  strove  to 
bring  Christianity  into  supreme  contempt,  and  who  wrote  a  special 
treatise  against  the  doctrine  of  the  soul's  immortality.  Leo,  and 
Beinbo  his  secretary,  afterward  cardinal,  took  this  work  under  their 
protection.  Startling  as  this  fact  may  appear,  a  concurrent  testimony 
to  its  truth  may  be  found  in  the  two  following  anecdotes.  "  They  say," 
continues  Luther,  "the  pope  thus  addressed  the  one  who  argued  that 
the  soul  was  immortal :  '  You  appear  to  have  spoken  with  justice  and 
truth,  but  your  antagonist's  sentiments  and  his  rhetoric  both  confer 
more  delight  upon  the  hearer.'  So  is  it  with  the  Epicureans;  what- 
ever is  agreeable  to  the  senses,  and  likewise  consonant  to  the  reason, 
that  they  accept."  The  second  anecdote  is  substantially  as  follows  : 
"George  Sabinus,  Melancthon's  son-in-law,  was  asked  by  Cardinal 
Bembo  '  how  Melancthon  stood  with  regard  to  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead  and  the  life  everlasting;'  and,  on  his  replying  'that  Melancthon's 
writings  evinced  his  entire  faith  in  both  these  doctrines,'  the  cardi- 
nal rejoined,  'The  man,  in  my  view,  would  appear  far  more  clever,  if 
he  only  would  not  believe  this.'  " 

Nay,  in  this  same  age  of  Leo,  the  Tenth  Lateran  Council  thought 
it  necessary  to  decree  solemnly,  in  the  name  of  the  Church, "  that  the 
soul  of  man  is  immortal."  Thus  it  appears  that  the  tenets  of  the 
Church  in  this  respect  were  independent;  not  resting  upon  the  faith 
of  the  pope  and  the  clergy,  but  a  matter  external  and  foreign  to  them ; 
and  the  story  that  Leo  observed  to  Bembo,  "  It  is  well  known  to  all 
ages  how  profitable  this  fable  of  Christ  has  been  to  us,"  can  not  certain- 
ly be  refuted  by  a  resort  to  internal  evidence.  When  Savonarola 
preached  at  Florence  with  vehemence  against  the  lamentable  decline 
of  Christianity,  and  the  profligate  lives  of  its  professors,  he  succumbed 
to  his  enemies,  at  whose  head  was  the  corrupt  Pope  Alexander  VI.; 
and  in  1498  he  was  put  to  death.  But  in  the  year  1510  the  eyes  of 
another  observer  surveyed  the  abomination  of  desolation  in  the  holy 
place,  in  the  capital  city  of  Christendom.  What  this  observer  saw  he 
stored  up  in  a  good  memory ;  and  he  became  afterward  the  chosen 
avenging  angel  to  punish  this  godless  generation. 

Such  is  the  repulsive  and  dark  side  of  this  period.  He  who  refuses 
to  look  on  this  dark  side  will  not  understand  the  holy  and  righteous 
wrath  of  Luther;  and  he  who  surveys  this  side  alone  can  not  com- 
prehend how  it  is  that  so  many  extol  the  times  of  Leo  X.  as  one  of 
the  most  brilliant  epochs  in  the  history  of  the  world. 

The  most  eminent  classical  philologists  of  Italy  flourished  in  the 


HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY.  01 

fifteenth  century ;  and  we  have  already  given  a  sketch  of  them  in  the 
foregoing  pages. 

Through  the  influence  of  Lorenzo  di  Medici  and  Politian  the  Italian 
language  had  again  come  into  tha  foreground ;  and  in  the  age  of  Leo 
there  were  two  men  of  surpassing  genius,  who  contributed  above  all 
others  to  elevate  it  above  the  Latin  :  these  were  Machiavelli  (1469 — • 
1527)  and  Ariosto  (1474 — 1523.)  Bembo's  counsel  to  Ariosto  to 
translate  the  Orlando  Furioso  into  Latin,  the  poet  rejected.  Beinbo 
himself  (1471—1547)  won,  both  in  his  Italian  and  in  his  Latin  pro- 
ductions, the  praise  of  the  utmost  perfection.  Says  an  Italian  critic  of 
him,  "It  was  he  who  opened  a  new  Augustan  age,  who  emulated 
Cicero  and  Virgil  with  equal  success,  and  recalled  in  his  writings  the 
elegance  and  purity  of  Petrarch  and  Boccaccio." 

M  Whilst  these  pieces,"  (Bembo's  Italian  poems,)  says  Roscoe,  "stand 
approved  to  our  deliberate  judgment,  we  feel  a  conviction  that  any 
person  of  good  taste  and -extensive  reading  might,  by  a  due  portion 
of  labor,  produce  works  of  equal  merit.  That  this  conviction  is  well 
founded  is  proved  by  th«  innumerable  throng  of  writers  who  have 
imitated  his  example — the  whole  attention  of  these  writers  was  employ- 
ed, not  in  discovering  what  should  be  said,  but  how  it  should  be  said." 

As  in  Italian  poetry  and  prose,  so  likewise  in  Latin  prose,  Bembo 
was  a  pattern;  that  is,  he  was  regarded  as  the  most  successful  imitator 
of  the  style  of  Cicero.  This  imitation  is  wonderfully  conspicuous  at 
times,  especially  in  the  letters  that  he  wrote  in  the  name  of  Leo,  and 
while  his  secretary,  in  which  he  avoided  every  ecclesiastical  and  un- 
classic  expression.  In  a  letter  to  the  Emperor  Maximilian  he  wrote 
thus,  "  Blown  upon  by  the  breath  of  a  celestial  zephyr,  they  turn  back  hi 
true  penitence/'  To  the  inhabitants  of  Recanati  he  wrote  that  "  they 
must  furnish  better  wood  with  which  to  build  the  church  of  Loretto, 
or  they  would  be  deemed  with  their  poor  wood  to  be  making  a  mock 
of  the  pope,  nay  of  the  goddess  herself."  "  The  goddess!  "  that  is, 
Mary.  In  his  Venetian  history  he  said  of  the  pope  :  "  He  was  elect- 
ed through  the  favor  of  the  immortal  gods;"  and  he  put  into  the 
mouths  of  the  Venetians  this  address  to  the  pope,  "that  you  would 
put  your  confidence  in  the  immortal  gods,  whose  vicegerent  you  are 
upon  the  earth." 

This  is  but  one  example  of  that  extended  intermingling  of  the 
Christian  and  the  Pagan  elements  which,  first  originating  with  Dante, 
appeared  now  more  suspicious  in  proportion  as  the  Christian  church 
had  fallen  into  unbelief  and  sinful  practices. 

But  it  was  the  artists,  the  painters  above  all,  who  constituted  the 
glory  of  the  age  of  Leo  X.  In  earlier  times  the-  "  coy  art "  had  been 
wholly  engaged  in  the  service  of  the  church  ;  for  observation  of  na- 


62  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY; 

ture,  and  a  just  imitation  of  her,  there  was  then  neither  any  faculty 
nor  yet  a  fitness  acquired  by  study.  All  necessity  for  such  imitation 
also  was  precluded,  so  Jong  as  only  traditional  and  stereotype  figures, 
and  these  often  but  symbolical,  were  demanded  of  artists.  But  there 
began  to  appear  already  in  the  fourteenth  century  a  new  and  a  more 
unshackled  development  of  the  art.  In  the  fifteenth  century  this  as- 
sumed an  unwonted  energy ;  especially  since  myriads  of  old  statues, 
which  had  slumbered  in  their  graves  for  so  many  centuries,  now  arose 
and,  side  by  side  with  the  reanimated  classics,  exercised  a  magical 
power,  as  of  spirits  of  the  olden  time,  over  the  living.  Those  great 
Italians  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries  drew  their  inspiration 
and  their  creative  energy  from  these  spirits  of  the  past.  So  it  was 
with  the  eminent  philologists ;  but  these  recede  from  our  view  when 
compared  with  the  wondrous  artists  whom  that  fifteenth  century  pro- 
duced in  Italy,  with  Angelico  da  Fiesole,  John  Bellin,  Leonardo  da 
Vinci,  Francesco  Francia,  Michael  Angelo,  Peter  Perugino,  Raphael, 
and  others.  In  these  artists  two  opposite  elements  were  harmo- 
nized— the  fervor  of  religious  enthusiasm  and  a  deep  love  of  nature 
and  of  the  antique — and  both  were  fused  into  one  by  an  almost  super- 
natural power  of  expression..  How,  in  one  and  the  same  country,  and 
during  one  and  the  same  age,  were  the  most  glorious  and  the  most 
infamous  of  human  endeavors  allied  to  each  other  I  What  an  angelic 
child  must  Raphael  have  been,  and  yet  the  years  of  his  childhood  fall 
within  the  crime-polluted  days  of  Alexander  VI. !  Nay,  how  often 
\vas  the  most  dazzling  beauty  and  the  most  hideous  deformity,  the 
truest  nobility  and  the  most  contemptible  meanness,  devout  piety  and 
groveling  sensuality,  united  in  one  and  the  same  person  among  these 
heroes  of  art !  And  into  what  gross  sins  did  they  stumble  and  fall, 
when  their  love  for  nature  and  for  antiquity  had  degenerated  into  lust, 
when  all  the  sacred  restraints  of  Christianity  were  thrown  off  by  them, 
until  at  last  their  art  as  well  as  their  lives  became  thoroughly  pagan  ! 

RETROSPECT  OF  ITALY.       TRANSITION    TO    (JEKMANY. 

Let  us  now  pause  for  a  moment,  and  review  the  growth  of  Italian 
learning  and  art  from  the  fourteenth  to  the  commencement  of  the 
sixteenth  century. 

The  learning  of  the  Middle  Ages,  the  scholastic  especially,  gives 
place  by  degrees  to  the  classical.  The  Italians  become  enthusiastic 
in  their  awakened  love  for  the  old  Roman  authors,  in  whom  they  rec- 
ognize their  ancestors  ;  and  their  understanding  of  the  Greek  classics 
is  promoted  by  the  means  of  native  Greek  teachers.  After  they  are 
enabled  to  read  Plato,  a  passionate  love  for  the  beautiful  arises  with- 
in them,  and  likewise  a  corresponding  abhorrence  for  the  hideousness 
cf  the  scholasticism  basing  itself  upon  Aristotle;  but,  when  they 


HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY.  63 

•study  Aristotle  in  the  original,  and  learn  how  entirely  different  he  is 
from  the  Aristotle  of  the  scholastics,  the  authority  of  this  latter  begins 
at  once  to  decline. 

Yet  the  classical  philologists,  with  the  exception  of  Dante  and  Pi- 
cus,  overlook  the  depth,  and  the  earnest  love  of  truth,  which  charac- 
terized the  more  eminent  of  the  scholastics.  And  moreover  there  are 
many  among  them  who  become  so  foolishly  enamored  of  the  beauty 
of  the  classical  form,  whether  in  prose  or  in  poetry,  that  they  imagine 
their  own  externally  correct  imitations  of  the  ancients  to  possess  a  worth 
intrinsically  equal  to  their  models;  while  such  imitations,  on  a  close 
inspection,  often  prove  to  be  but  hollow  and  delusive  phantoms,  with- 
out either  life  or  spirit. 

After  the  elevation  of  the  Italian  language  into  a  vernacular,  it 
gradually  comes  to  supplant  the  Latin,  which  in  the  Middle  Ages  had 
been  treated  as  a  vernacular,  and  as  such  subjected  to  the  varying 
caprice  of  writers.  And  now  the  ancient  classics,  Cicero  especially, 
become  models  for  imitation,  but  an  imitation  mostly  of  a  lifeless  and 
servile  sort. 

Only  a  very  few,  Laurentius  Valla,  for  instance,  apply  their  philolog- 
ical attainments  to  New  Testament  exegesis.  Toward  the  Hebrew 
tongue  and  the  exegesis  of  the  Old  Testament  a  great  and  decided  re- 
pugnance is  manifested.  The  austere  and  sacred  earnestness  of  the  Old 
Testament  frowns  harshly  upon  every  phase  of  pagan  epicureanism, 
while  the  latter  manifests  no  desire  to  become  acquainted  with  its  own 
depravity. 

Pagan  sentiments,  a  pagan  life,  and  writings  imbued  with  paganism, 
are  characteristic  of  Italian  scholars,  and  these  often  united  to  an  ortho- 
dox faith  and  a  pious  enthusiasm  ;  united  too,  it  may  be,  innocently, 
since  the  example  and  teachings  of  the  clergy  are  such  as  to  drown  and 
deaden  the  voice  of  conscience.  Against  the  lamentable  corruption 
of  the  church,  both  in  its  head  and  in  its  members,  the  greater  part 
array  themselves  ;  a  few,  like  Dante,  with  holy  zeal,  but  the  greatef 
part  only  with  mocking  satire.  Such  in  brief  was  the  character^  of 
those  Italian  philologists  to  whom  our  attention  has  been  directed. 
And  these  men  exercised  a  vast  influence  upon  the  learning  of  the 
Germans.  Rudolf  Agricola,  Reuchlin,  Regio  Montanus,  Erasmus, 
and  many  other  distinguished  Germans,  went  to  Italy  to  perfect  them- 
selves; the  Italians  became  their  patterns,  upon  these  they  modeled 
themselves,  to  equal  them  or  if  possible  to  surpass  them  was  their 
highest  aim.  "I  indulge  the  most  sanguine  hopes,"  Rudolf  Agricola 
wrote  to  Lange,  "that  we  shall  wrest  from  haughty  Italy  her  ancient 
renown  of  eloquence,  and  shall  deliver  ourselves  from  the  reproach 
which  they  cast  in  our  teeth,  to  wit,  that  we  are  utter  barbarians, 


64  HISTORY  OP  EDUCATION  IN  ITALY. 

unlettered  and  boorish  of  speech,  or  even  worse.  I  hope  that  our 
Germany  will  arrive  at  that  degree  of  erudition  and  culture  that  her 
Latinity  shall  not  blush  when  compared  even  with  that  of  Latium." 

If  we  may  regard  any  one  man  as  the  pioneer  and  champion  of 
German  culture  in  the  fifteenth  century,  that  man  is,  without  doubt, 
Rudolf  Agricola.  But  how  evident  does  it  appear,  from  the  tenor  of 
the  quotation  above  cited,  that  he  adopted  the  Italian  ideal  of  learn* 
ing  as  the  only  genuine  and  just  one.  And  in  this  respect  all  his 
writings  agree.  Thoroughly  to  understand  the  ancients — Greeks  as 
well  as  Romans — and  in  Latin  speech  and  writing  to  reproduce  a  pure 
classicity,  this  is  Agricola's  highest  aim  ;  and  so  too  was  it  the  highest 
aim  of  the  greater  portion  of  German  scholars,  from  the  fifteenth 
down  to  the  eighteenth  century.  Although  not  descended  from  the 
Romans,  as  were  the  Italians,  the  learned  men  of  Germany,  neverthe- 
less, strove  to  be  accounted  as  "  Latini  homines." 

Never  can  such  a  powerful  influence  be  exerted  by  an  individual 
upon  other  individuals,  or  by  a  nation  upon  other  nations,  as  when  such 
individual  and  nation  infuse  into  other  minds  or  other  communities 
their  own  ideal,  especially  if  it  be  their  ideal  of  education.  For  the 
ideal  always  determines  the  practical  direction  of  the  labors  as  well 
of  nations  as  of  individuals,  and  training  and  instruction  ever 
adapt  themselves  to  the  accepted  ideal  of  culture,  and  become  both 
guide  and  path  to  lead  to  the  attainment  of  that  ideal. 

If  then  the  Italians  communicated  their  own  ideal  or  ultimate  end 
of  learning  to  the  Germans,  then  it  is  clear,  from  what  we  have  already 
advanced,  that  they  exercised  a  vast  in^fluence  upon  German  educa- 
tion. Hence  it  becomes  necessary — I  repeat  the  assertion — in  a  his- 
tory of  this  education,  to  have  respect  to  the  Italians. 

Are  we  then,  might  a  German  ask,  mere  imitators  of  the  Italians? 
By  no  means.  Because  two  pel-sons  do  the  same  thing,  they  do  not 
necessarily  arrive  at  the  same  result.  This  will  abundantly  appear 
in  the  course  of  the  following  history,  in  which  we  shall  see  that  the 
study  of  the  classics  was  pursued  by  the  Germans  in  a  totally  differ- 
ent spirit  than  by  the  Italians.  "  No  man  understood,"  says  Luther, 
"the  reason  why  God  caused  the  languages  again  to  put  on  bloom  and 
vigor ;  until  now,  at  last,  we  see  that  it  was  for  the  sake  of  the  gospel. 
Now,  since  the  gospel  is  so  dear  to  us,  let  us  hold  fast  to  the  languages. 
And  let  us  bethink  ourselves  that  haply  we  may  not  be  able  to  retain 
the  gospel  without  the  knowledge  of  the  languages  in  which  it  was  writ- 
ten." The  earnest  and  devout  spirit  of  the  German  people,  their 
Christian  life,  and  their  deep  reverence  for  the  Bible,  these  gave  a  char- 
acter to  their  study  of  the  classics  which  the  Italian  scholars,  though 
er^a^ed  in  the  same  studies,  could  neither  attain  nor  yet  appreciate. 


THE  HIERONYMIANS. 

PROM  THE  OBRMAN  OP  KARL  VON  RAVMER. 

[Translated  by  L.  W.  Fitch.]  • 

BEFORE  Italy  had  begun  to  exert  any  influence  upon  German  culture, 
there  existed  in  the  Netherlands  an  order  called  the  brotherhood  of  the 
Hieronymians.  Its  founder  was  Gerard  Groote,  better  known  as  Gerard 
the  Great,  who  was  born  in  the  year  1340,  at  Deventer.  From  1355 
to  1358,  he  pursued  his  studies  at  Paris,  where,  in  addition  to  the  ordi- 
nary branches,  he  gave  his  attention  to  the  unhallowed  arts  of  magic, 
astrology,  and  necromancy.  But,$Juring  a  dangerous  illness,  he  sent 
for  a  priest  and  gave  him  all  his  books,  pertaining  to  these  arts,  to 
burn.  On  his  return  from  Paris  he  was  chosen  a  canon,  both  in  Aix- 
la-Chapelle  and  Cologne ;  and,  in  the  latter  place,  he  taught  scholastic 
philosophy  and  theology,  and  lived  respectably  but  not  in  extravagance. 
Once,  while  diverting  himself  with  looking  at  certain  games,  a  person 
accosted  him  thus  :  "  Do  not  waste  your  time  upon  these  vanities ; 
but  change  your  course  and  become  a  different  man."  Soon  after  he 
entered  Monikhausen,  a  Carthusian  monastery  at  Arnheim,  the  prior 
of  which  had  been  his  father-confessor  at  Paris.  Here  for  three 
years,  he  led  a  life  of  penitence  and  self-mortification,  studying  the 
Holy  Scriptures  before  all  other  books.  He  then  began  his  career  as 
a  preacher,  and,  as  Thomas-a.-Kempis  relates,  he  preached  in  the 
spirit  and  the  power  of  John  the  Baptist.  No  church  was  large 
enough  to  hold  the  throngs  that  flocked  to  hear  him  ;  and  he  often 
held  his  audience  spell-bound  for  three  hours  together.  The  impres- 
sion that  he  made  was  the  greater,  inasmuch  as  he  did  not  speak  in 
unintelligible  Latin,  but  in  his  native  Belgian.  But  these  sermons  of 
his  drew  upon  him  the  wrath  of  the  begging  friars,  whose  profligate 
life  he  had  exposed ;  and  the  Bishop  of  Utrecht,  at  their  instance, 
interdicted  him  from  preaching. 

In  the  year  1367  he,  with  John  Cole,  Rector  of  Zwoll,  paid  a  visit 
to  the  venerable  octogenarian  mystic,  Ruysbrceck,  prior  of  the 
monastery  of  Grunthal,  near  Brussels.  Ruysbroeck  made  a  profound 
impression  upon  him,  as  he  had  done  upon  Tauler  before  him,  and  he 
was  specially  edified  by  the  pious  and  benignant  demeanor  which  the 
old  man  observed  toward  the  brethren  under  his  charge. 

Returning  to  Deventer,  he  gathered  around  him  a  circle,  chiefly 

£ 


66  THE  HIERONYMIANS. 

composed  of  students  from  the  seat  of  learning  at  that  place,  with 
whom  he  read  good  books.  These  all,  while  with  him,  earned  their 
livelihood  principally  by  copying;  for  he  forbade  them  to  beg. 

About  this  time  Florentius  Radewiu  filled  the  office  of  canon  at 
Utrecht.  He  was  born  in  1350,  at  Leerdam,  in  South  Holland,  and 
had  studied  at  Prague.  When  he  heard  of  Gerard's  influential  career 
at  Deventer,  he  gave  up  his  canonicate,  became  vicar  of  the  church 
of  St.  Lebuin  in  Deveuter,  and  an  intimate  friend  of  Gerard.  One 
day  he  addressed  Gerard  as  follows:  "Dear  master,  where  would  be 
the  harm,  should  I  and  those  clerkly  priests  of  yours,  those  brethren 
of  a  good  will,  (bonce  voluntatis,)  form  a  common  fund  of  the  moneys 
that  we  have  hitherto  weekly  expended,  and  live  in  common,  (in 
communi?")  Gerard  replied:  "The  begging  friars  would  set  them- 
selves against  us  with  every  resource  in  their  power."  But,  when 
Florentius  urged  the  point,  saying,  "  It  can  do  no  harm  to  begin  ;  per- 
haps God  will  crown  the  undertaking  with  success,"  Gerard  yielded, 
adding  the  promise  that  he  would  take  immediate  measures  to  carry 
out  the  plan. 

Such  was  the  origin  of  that  fraternity,  which,  taking  its  name  from 
the  words  of  Florentius,  was  known  as  the  "  brotherhood  of  good 
will,"  or  the  "  brotherhood  of  a  common  life."  They  were  also 
called,  from  Jlieronymus  and  Gregory  the  Great,  both  of  whom  they 
regarded  as  patrons,  Hieronymians  and  Gregorians. 

Their  first  house,  fratrum  domus  so-called,  was  erected  about  the 
year  1384,  at  Deventer.  There  these  brethren  lived  together;  and,  by 
the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  a  chain  of  such  houses  had  extended 
from  Cambray  in  the  Netherlands,  through  the  whole  of  Northern 
Germany,  to  Culm  in  West  Prussia;  from  the  Scheldt  to  the  Vistula. 
And  all  this  was  the  blessed  fruit  of  Radewin's  inspired  suggestion. 

Gerard  only  survived  to  witness  the  first  beginnings  of  the  institu- 
tion :  he  died  in  1384  of  the  plague.  Dying,  he  appointed  Florentius 
his  successor,  for  he  could  choose  none  worthier.  His  last  words  were 
these  :  "  Behold,  the  Lord  is  calling  me  ;  the  hour  of  my  redemption 
is  close  at  hand  :  Augustine  and  Bernard  are  waiting  at  the  door." 

Thomas-a-Kempis  depicts  Gerard  as  a  man,  who  worked  out  the 
salvation  of  his  soul  with  the  same  severe  asceticism  that  had  charac- 
terized Augustine  and  Bernard.  He  denied  himself  every  worldly 
pleasure,  even  the  most  innocent,  wore  coarse  garments,  ate  his  food 
burnt  and  unsalted,  and  avoided  all  female  society. 

His  views  of  knowledge,  I  give  in  his  own  words.  "  Make  the  gos- 
pels, first  of  all,  the  root  of  all  your  studies  and  the  mirror  of  your  life, 
for  in  them  is  portrayed  the  character  of  Christ;  then  the  lives  and 


THE  HIERONYMIAN8.  gf 

opinions  of  the  fathers,  the  acts  and  deeds  of  the  apostles,  and  the 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  to  which  you  may  add  the  devotional  works  of 
Bernard,  Anselm,  Augustine,"  <fec. 

His  curriculum  of  study  was  accordingly  contracted  within  very 
narrow  limits.  "  Spend  no  time,"  he  continues,  "  either  on  geometry, 
arithmetic,  rhetoric,  logic,  grammar,  poetry  or  judicial  astrology. 
All  these  branches  Seneca  rejects :  how  much  more,  then,  should  a 
spiritually-minded  Christian  pass  them  by,  since  they  subserve  in  no 
respect  the  life  of  faith  !  Of  the  sciences  of  the  pagans,  their  ethics 
may  not  be  so  scrupulously  shunned,  since  these  were  the  special 
field  of  the  wiser  among  them,  as  Socrates  and  Plato.  That  which 
does  not  better  a  man,  or  at  least  does  not  reclaim  him  from  evil,  is 
positively  hurtful.  Neither  ought  we  to  read  pagan  books,  nor  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  to  penetrate  into  the  mysteries  of  nature  by  the 
means."  All  literary  fame,  and  the  gloss  and  show  of  learning  alike, 
Gerard  utterly  despised. 

He  evidently  prized  those  things  alone,  which  promoted  holiness ; 
and  all  that  did  not  work  for  this  result,  even  were  it  speculative 
theology,  (dogmatics,)  to  say  nothing  of  other  sciences  and  the  arts, 
he  thrust  into  the  back-ground.  With  such  sentiments,  the  higher 
studies  of  coarse  found  no  favor  in  his  eyes;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
he  devoted  himself  with  zeal  to  the  cause  of  popular  education. 

Let  us  now  return  to  Florentius  and  his  brotherly  unions.  In  the 
ascetic  severity  of  his  character,  he  resembled  Gerard,  though  consti- 
tutionally he  was  more  cheerful,  and  endowed  with  more  practical 
abilities.  By  the  power  of  the  purest  and  the  most  unselfish  love,  he 
exerted  a  wonderful  influence  over  those  with  whom  he  had  to  do, 
and  especially  over  his  disciples,  who  revered  and  loved  him.  Says 
Thomas-a-Kempis,  "  he  was  filled  with  all  spiritual  wisdom,  and  a 
knowledge  of  God  in  Christ.  And  though  he  survived  Gerard  but 
fifteen  years,  yet  in  this  brief  time  he  founded  many  brotherly  unions." 
The  establishment  at  Deventer,  over  which  he  himself  presided,  was, 
according  to  Thomas,  modeled  upon  the  humility  of  the  apostles,  and 
formed  a  mirror  of  piety,  all  the  brethren  being  of  one  heart  and  one 
mind,  self-denying,  devout  and  full  of  mercy.  With  regard  to  the  in- 
ternal economy  of  these  houses  or  unions,  the  number  of  the  brethren 
thus  living  together  was  about  twenty,  and  they  had  a  common  table 
and  purse.  Each  house  usually  had  four  officiating  priests,  while  the 
rest  of  the  inmates  were  either  students  of  divinity  or  laymen.  The 
students  were  similar  to  monks,  yet  with  this  difference,  that  they  dis- 
pensed with  all  strict  rules  and  inexorable  vows.  The  brethren  were 
industrious,  maintaining  themselves  by  handicrafts,  especially  by 


68  THE  I1IERONYMIANS. 

copying.  And,  on  the  invention  of  printing,  it  was  the  Hieronymiana 
at  Gouda  who  set  the  first  types  in  Holland. 

Pursuant  to  the  injunctions  of  Gerard,  Florentius  founded,  in  the 
year  1386,  at  Windesheim,  near  Gouda,  a  monastery  of  regular  canons? 
"  which,  both  for  counsel  and  for  action,  should  be  a  rallying  point  for 
the  entire  '  Union  of  the  Common  Life.'"  This  was  soon  followed  by 
the  establishment  of  another  on  Mount  St.  Agnes,  at  Zwoll ;  and,  by  the 
year  1430,  there  were  forty -five  such  monasteries  in  existence.  Their 
inmates  became  most  industrious  copyists,  and  they  would  appear  at 
times  to  have  carried  their  occupation  to  excess.  And  because  many 
of  them,  through  too  great  abstinence,  became  crazed,  the  question 
was  put  to  new  applicants  at  the  monastery  of  Windesheim,  "  Do  you 
eat  and  sleep  well,  and  do  you  obey  with  alacrity  ? "  for  on  these  three 
points  their  perseverance  in  piety  was  thought  to  depend.* 

After  a  blissful  life,  such  as  falls  to  the  lot  of  few,  Florentius  died  in 
the  year  1400,  at  the  age  of  fifty  years. 

After  him  and  Gerard  the  Great,  a  third  person  exerted  a  vast 
influence  among  the  Hieronymians.  This  was  Gerard  Zerbolt,  com- 
monly styled,  from  the  place  of  his  birth,  Gerard  of  Zutphen.  He 
was  born  in  the  year  1367.  His  unremitting  efforts  were  given  to 
the  cause  of  the  "  diffusion  and  the  use  of  the  Bible  in  the  vernacular, 
as  well  as  the  employment  of  this,  (i.  e.,  the  vernacular,)  on  all  relig- 
ious and  ecclesiastical  occasions."  He  wrote  a  book  called  "  De 
libris  Teutonicalibus,"  in  which  he  expressly  insists  that  the  laity  should 
read  the  Bible  in  their  native  tongue.  "  The  books  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,"  he  says,  "  were  originally  composed  in  the  native  tongue 
of  those  for  whom  they  were  immediately  designed ;  and  for  all 
others  they  should  be  translated.  And  the  Vulgate  version  was  in 
Latin  for  this  reason  alone,  namely,  that,  when  it  was  made,  the  Latin 
tongue  was  spoken  over  the  whole  of  the  great  Roman  empire. 
And  the  Holy  Spirit  conferred  the  gift  of  tongues  upon  the  apostles, 
in  order  that  they  might  be  enabled  to  preach  to  all  the  different  na- 
tions in  their  different  languages."  And  he  closes  by  quoting,  from 
the  most  distinguished  fathers  of  the  church,  expressions  confirmatory 
of  his  own  views.  Prayer  likewise,  he  contended,  should  be  offered  in 
the  native  tongue  of  the  petitioner.  So  ceaseless  and  unresting  wore 
his  labors,  that  his  eajly  death,  in  the  year  1398,  when  he  was  but 
thirty-one  years  of  age,  is  to  be  traced  directly  to  over-much  study. 

We  should  also  speak  in  this  connection  of  a  man,  whose  name  has 
penetrated  into  all  the  world ;  and  that  man  is  Thomas-a-Kempis. 

*  Delprat  and  tUman  both  quote  this  question,  but  without  the  motive  annexed,  and  base 
upon  it  the  charge  of  epicureanism.    But  the  "  Lives"  of  Thoma»-i-Kempi«  leave  no  room 
to  il'iiiM  of  the  excewive  abstinence  of  the  monks. 
No.  12.— [VoL.  IV.,  No.  3.J— 40. 


THE  HIERONYMIANS.  69 

Born  in  1380,  at  thirteen  he  entered  the  school  of  Deventer,  and 
there  became  known  to  Florentius,  who  aided  him  in  many  ways  and 
that  right  heartily.  Seven  years  after,  or  in  1400,  he  joined  the  Mount 
St.  Agnes  monastery,  above  mentioned,  and  there  for  the  long  period 
of  seventy-one  years  he  passed  a  serene  and  contemplative  life,  dying, 
in  1472,  at  the  age  of  ninety-two  years.  Thomas  has  sketched  for 
us  the  lives  of  both  the  Gerards,  of  Florentius,  and  of  many  other 
distinguished  Hieronymians  likewise,  besides  composing  many  devo- 
tional books.  One  of  these  latter,  the  "  Imitation  of  Christ,"  has 
been  read  more  than  any  other  book  of  devotion  in  the  world.  It  has 
been  translated  into  very  many  different  languages ;  the  Latii^ 
original  has  passed  through  more  than  2000  editions, — the  French  " 
translation,  more  than  1000.* 

The  hostile  machinations  of  the  begging  friars,  which  Gerard  the 
Great  experienced,  followed  the  Hieronymians  after  his  death.  Gra- 
bow,  a  Saxon  Dominican,  brought  a  most  insidious  accusation  against 
them  before  Pope  Martin  V.,  and  was  thereby  instrumental  in  placing 
them  under"  ban.  But  Chancellor  John  Gerson  pronounced  a  decis- 
ion at  the  Council  of  Constance  against  this  accusation,  as  follows, 
namely  :  "  that  the  accusatory  document,  since  it  was  heretical,  should 
be  committed  to  the  flames."  And  accordingly  Grabow  was  com- 
pelled to  retract  his  charge.  Thus  the  Hieronymians  obtained  a 
formal  recognition  both  from  Pope  and  Council ;  for  a  Bull  of  Pope 
Eugene  IV.,  in  1437,  and  a  second  of  Sixtus  IV.,  in  1474,  invested 
them  with  full  privileges,  and  Pius  II.  likewise  shewed  himself  favora- 
ble to  them. 

In  the  year  1505  the  last  union,  that  at  Cambray,  was  established. 
The  greatest  efficiency  of  the  brotherhood  dates  in  the  16th  century. 
As  the  Reformation  was  inaugurated,  many  of  their  number  gave  in 
their  adhesion  to  it ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Jesuits  gradually- 
absorbed  many  of  their  establishments. 

After  this  cursory  glance  at  the  brotherhood  and  its  founders,  let 
us  examine  its  educational  efficiency.  For,  because  of  their  activity  in 
promoting  education,  the  brethren  were  also  called  the  "scholarly 
fraternity,"  "fratres  scholares" 

And  yet  it  is  not  an  easy  task  to  characterize  this  activity,  for  it 
bore  a  very  different  impress  according  to  times  and  circumstances. 

*  There  has  been  much  controversy  as  to  whether  Thomas  a  Kempis  were  really  its  author 
Delprat  mentions  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  different  treatises  adverse  to  his  claim.  But 
ITIman  decides  in  his  favor  on  sufficiently  weighty  grounds.  The  "  Imilatio  Christ!  "  \vns 
translated  into  Latin  by  Castellio,  the  same  who  translated  the  Vulgate  into  Latin.  "  This  lit- 
tle book,"  says  Castellio,  "  I  have  deemed  worthy  to  be  turned  from  Latin  into  Latin,  that  im 
from  a  rustic  dialect  into  more  elegant  and  polished  language." 


70  THE  HIERONYMIANS. 

The  view  which  Gerard  the  Great  took  of  knowledge  we  have 
already  seen.  It  was  the  view  of  a  man,  who,  satiated  with  scholastic 
studies,  burned  his  books  of  magic  also,  thus  bidding  a  final  adieu  to 
all  unprofitable  sciences,  to  strive  alone  after  the  one  thing  needful. 
If  he  had  before  toilsomely  pursued  shadowy  theories,  he  now  so  much 
the  more  applied  his  whole  soul  to  the  substantial  and  the  practical, 
resolutely  refraining  from  all  knowledge  except  that  which  had  a 
direct  bearing  upon  a  holy  life. 

With  him,  the  pious,  contemplative  Thomas-a-Kempis  fully  coin- 
cided. Such  expressions  as  the  following  abound  in  the  writings  of 
the  latter  :  "  Cease  from  an  inordinate  desire  for  knowledge,  for  this 
brings  great  perplexity  and  delusion  with  it.  Learned  men  crave  the 
notice  of  the  world,  and  wish  to  be  accounted  wise.  But  there  is 
much  knowledge  which  adds  little  or  nothing  to  the  welfare  of  the 
soul.  And  that  man  is  surely  most  foolish,  who  strives  after  any 
thing  which  does  not  advance  his  own  supreme  good." 

With  these  sentiments,  he  applied  himself,  as  we  might  naturally 
expect,  principally  to  the  study  of  the  Bible.  So  also  did  the  two 
Gerards.  And  these  men  were  all  prompted  by  their  love  for  souls  to 
use  every  energy  to  make  the  book  of  salvation  accessible  to  the  un- 
learned. Gerard  of  Zutphen,  especially,  was  untiring  in  his  endeavors 
to  give  the  people  a  Bible  that  they  could  read. 

And  this  is  the  beginning  and  the  foundation  of  a  Christian  popular 
education.  If  you  give  the  Bible  to  the  people,  they  must  learn  to 
read  it,  and  writing  is  linked  to  reading,  following  close  upon  its 
footsteps.  The  germ  that  began  to  sprout  here,  sprang  up,  in  the 
Reformation,  into  a  broad  and  vigorous  growth. 

The  Hieronymians  devoted  themselves,  however,  not  merely  to 
popular  instruction,  but  to  the  higher  branches  of  learning.  This  we 
may  gather  with  certainty  from  the  fact  that  distinguished  scholars 
were  formed  in  their  schools. 

It  is  nevertheless  hard  to  decide  what  schools  we  are  to  regard  as 
theirs.  For  in  some  places  the  brethren  themselves  were  principals, 
superintending  every  department  of  instruction  ;  in  others  again,  they 
gave  assistance  in  schools  already  existing,  teaching  in  a  subordinate 
capacity,  but  yet  taking  much  interest  in  the  scholars.  In  the  houses 
of  the  brethren,  reading,  writing,  singing,  and  Latin  conversation  and 
declamation  were  taught;  and  there  would  appear  to  have  been 
boarding-scholars  at  all  of  them.  In  the  house  at  Deventer,  Latin 
speaking  was  carried  to  such  an  extent,  that  a  penalty  Avas  laid  upon 
the  scholar  who  should  utter,  even  through  a  slip  of  the  tongue, 
a  word  of  Dutch.  Yet  the  style  of  Latin  which  they  aimed 


THE  HIERONYMIANS.  fj 

to  impart  was  mediaeval  and  barbarous,  such  as  the  clergy  were  then 
accustomed  to  employ. 

The  Latinity  of  the  early  Hieronymians,  and  even  that  of  Thomas- 
a-Kempis,  was  very  far  from  classical.  But  a  new  era  dawned  upon 
these  schools,  when  the  Italians  exerted  a  direct  influence  upon  them 
through  such  of  the  Netherlanders  and  Germans  as  had  in  part 
been  molded  in  them,  and  had  afterward  visited  Italy.  How  wide 
a  difference  there  was  between  the  Hieronymians  in  their  earlier 
years  and  the  Italians  of  the  14th  and  loth  centuries,  we  need 
but  a  hasty  comparison  to  determine.  Those  as  truly  as  these  re- 
jected the  divinity  of  the  schools  ;  but  how  diverse  their  motives ! 
For  the  Italians,  fascinated  by  the  beauties,  the  poetry  and  the  elo- 
quence of  the  pagan  classics,  conceived  an  aversion  for  the  hideous 
jargon  of  the  school-dialecticians,  even  when  these  were  Christian. 
The  Hieronymians,  on  the  other  hand,  turned  away  from  scholasticism, 
because  it  did  not  profit  them  ;  nay  more,  because  it  stood  directly  in 
the  way  of  all  earnest  self-consecration,  and  the  salvation  of  souls. 
And  hence  it  was,  that  they  pursued  with  so  much  eagerness  the 
study  of  the  Bible,  while  the  Italians  scarce  gave  so  much  as  a  thought 
to  it.  And  still  less  did  these  latter  think  of  circulating  the  Bible,  or 
of  promoting  popular  education,  which  cause  was  so  dear  to  the  breth- 
ren ;  but  when,  like  Guarino  and  Vittorino  di  Feltre,  they  turned  their 
thoughts  to  education,  they  devoted  themselves  chiefly  to  the  instruc- 
tion of  princes  or  nobles. 

But  when  a  love  for  the  classics  was  awakened  among  the  Germans 
and  Netherlander,  they  still  preserved  the  Christian  element,  as  the 
ground  of  all  mental  culture  and  instruction,  and  despite  their  admi- 
ration of  pagan  authors,  that  pagan  bias,  (paganitas,)  which  Erasmus 
reproves  in  the  Italians,  was  ever  an  abomination  to  them. 

"Thomas-a-Kempis  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  flower  of  the  ascetic 
piety  which  the  institution  of  the  '  Common  Life '  fostered  ;  Agricola, 
Alexander  Hegius,  and,  if  you  will,  Erasmus  also,  of  its  philosophic 
learning ;  and  "VVessel,  of  its  theological  science." 


EMINENT  TEACHERS  IN  THE  NETHERLANDS, 

PRIOR   TO    1500. 

FROM  THE  GERMAN  OF  KARL  VON  RAUMER. 
[Translated  by  L.  W.  Fitch  1    -.  ,1* ,  > 


JOHN  WESSEL. 

JOHN  WESSEL  was  a  baker's  son,  and  was  born  in  1420,  at  Groningen. 
Here  he  received  his  early  education,  after  which  he  went  to  Zwoll,  to 
the  school  of  the  Hieronymians,  where  Thomas-a-Kempis  exerted  a 
powerful  influence  upon  him.  He  then  studied  in  Cologne, — and 
about  the  year  1452  went  to  Paris,  where  he  made  the  acquaintance 
\  of  Bessarion  and  Francis  de  Novera,  afterward  Pope  Sixtus  IV.  In 
Vl  470  he  made  a  journey  to  Italy.  Already  won  over  to  Platonism 
by  Bessarion,  his  stay  in  Florence  wedded  him  more  closely  to  it. 
When  in  Rome,  Pope  Sixtus  IV.  bade  him  ask  a  favor  of  him,  and 
Wessel  accordingly  besought  him  for  a  Greek  and  a  Hebrew  Bible 
from  the  Vatican  Library.  Returning  to  Paris  in  1473,  Reuchlin, 
then  18  years  old,  made  his  acquaintance,  and  he  appears  to 
have  given  a  great  impetus  to  the  philosophical  and  humanistic 
studies  of  Reuchlin.  His  fellow-countryman,  Agricola,  was  likewise 
with  him  at  Paris;  and  was  persuaded  by  Wessel  to  the  study  of 
the  Hebrew. 

In  his  later  years  he  returned  to  his  native  country,  and  lived  at 
times  in  the  Mount  St.  Agnes  Monastery,  at  Zwoll,  where  Thomas-a- 
Kempis  also  passed  his  long  and  peaceful  life.  He  spent  likewise  much 
time  in  the  monastery  Edward,  or  Edouard,  two  hours  distance  from 
Groningen,  and  in  a  convent  at  Groningen.  He  died  a  peaceful  death 
on  the  4th  of  October,  1489,  in  his  69th  year,  and  was  buried  in  that 
Groningen  convent. 

His  contemporaries  called  him  "  Lux  mundi"  also  "  Magister  con- 
trover  star  um  ;"  the  last  epithet  he  owed  to  his  many  philosophical 
and  theological  discussions.  His  philosophy  was  originally  realism  ; 
but  later  he  became  a  nominalist,  as  were  all  the  reformers  with  the 
exception  of  Huss. 

His  theological  abilities  were  recognized  by  Luther.  "  Had  I  known 
Wessel  or  read  his  books  earlier,"  says  Luther,  "my  adversaries 
would  have  fancied  that  I  had  obtained  this  thing  or  that  from  Wes- 
sel ;  so  much  do  our  sentiments  harmonize.  It  gives  me  peculiar  joy 
and  strength,  and  removes  every  doubt  that  I  might  have  had  of  the 
soundness  of  my  doctrine,  to  find  that  he  agrees  everywhere  with  me, 


JOHN  WES8EL.  73 

both  in  thought  and  opinion,  expressing  himself  frequently  even  in 
the  same  words,  though  at  a  different  era,  when  another  air  was  over 
us,  and  another  wind  blew,  and  he  too  was  accustomed  to  another 
fashion  and  to  other  junctures."  In  another  place  Luther  says : 
"Wessel  manages  matters  with  great  moderation  and  truth."  On 
this  account  it  was  that  Erasmus,  who  so  dearly  loved  and  prized 
peace,  thus  writes :  "  Wessel  has  much  in  common  with  Luther ;  but 
in  how  much  more  modest  and  Christian  a  manner  he  conducts 
himself  than  do  they,  or  most  of  them !" 

Besides  Latin,  Wessel  understood  both  Greek  and  Hebrew.  The  nar- 
row limits  of  learning,  as  we  find  them  laid  down  by  the  earlier  Hierony- 
mians,  Wessel  far  exceeded.  His  long  residence  at  Paris,  and  the 
journey  to  Italy,  had  widened  his  intellectual  horizon  ;  for  it  was  only 
after  a  busy,  active  life  in  foreign  lands,  that  a  longing  was  created  in 
his  breast  for  his  own  land,  and  for  the  contemplative  quiet  that 
could  be  alone  secured  by  a  return  among  his  kindred. 

Greek  he  learned  from  Bessarion  and  other  Greek  scholars  in  Italy  ; 
but  who  taught  him  Hebrew  we  are  nowhere  informed. 

His  clearness  of  thought  especially  qualified  him  to  teach.  "  The 
scholar,"  he  says,  "  is  known  by  his  ability  to  teach." 

His  instructive  intercourse  appears  to  have  had  a  very  marked  in- 
fluence on  many,  as  we  have  seen  that  it  did  on  Reuchlin  and  Agri- 
cola.  Especially  must  the  frequent  converse  of  many  distinguished 
men  with  the  aged  Wessel,  as  in  the  monastery  of  Edward,  have 
been  very  edifying,  both  in  a  literary  and  in  a  religious  aspect. 

Goswin  of  Halen,  earlier,  Wessel's  scholar,  and,  at  the  close  of  the 
15th  and  the  commencement  of  the  16th  century,  head  of  the  broth- 
erly union  at  Groningen,  writes  of  this  converse  to  a  friend  as  follows  : 
"  I  have  known  Edward  for  more  than  forty  years ;  but  then  it  was 
less  a  monastery  than  a  college.  Of  this,  could  Rudolph  Agricola 
and  Wessel  bear  me  witness,  if  they  were  now  living,  as  also  Rudolph 
Lange,  of  Munster,  Alexander  Hegius,  and  others,  who  all  have 
passed  whole  weeks,  yea,  whole  mouths  at  Edward,  to  hear  and  to 
learn,  and  to  become  daily  more  learned  and  better."  "  To  become 
better,"  says  Goswin,  for  the  earnestness  of  a  Christian  morality 
animated  all  the  studies  of  Wessel,  a  depth  of  thought  which  was 
radically  opposed  to  the  zesthetic  pleasurableness  of  so  many  Italians. 
And  this  was  why  he  studied,  as  well  as  he  was  able  to  do,  the  Old 
Testament  in  the  original. 

We  can  not  better  present  to  our  view  the  love  and  the  well-directed 
labors  of  Wessel,  than  in  these  words  of  his  own :  "  Knowledge  is 
not  our  highest  aim,  for  he  who  only  knows  how  to  know,  is  a  fool ; 


74  JOHN  WESSEL. 

for  he  has  no  taste  of  ihe  fruit  of  knowledge,  nor  does  he  understand 
how  to  order  his  knowledge  with  wisdom.  The  knowledge  of  truth 
is  its  own  glorious  fruit,  when  it  meets  with  a  wise  husbandman ;  for 
by  this  truth  he  may,  out  of  his  clear  knowledge,  come  to  God,  and 
become  God's  friend  ;  since  through  knowledge  he  unites  himself  to 
God,  and  progresses  step  by  step  in  this  union,  until  lie  tastes  how 
gracious  the  Lord  is,  and  through  this  taste  becomes  more  desirous, 
yea,  burns  with  desire,  and  amid  this  glow  God  loves  him  and  lives  in 
him,  until  he  becomes  wholly  one  with  God.  This  is  the  true,  pure, 
earnest  fruit  of  an  earnest  knowledge,  which  in  very  truth  all  men  by 
nature  do  rather  desire  to  possess  than  mere  memory,  that  is  to  say, 
than  knowledge,  in  and  for  itself.  For,  as  unsettled  and  wavering 
opinions  are  empty  without  knowledge,  so  knowledge  is  unfruitful 
without  love." 

To  this  brief  sketch  of  Wessel  I  add  a  passage  from  Goswin.  It 
gives  us  a  view  of  the  nature  of  the  studies  that  men  and  youth  in 
Wessel's  vicinity  were  accustomed  to  pursue  at  Zvvoll,  Edward,  and 
other  famous  schools  of  that  period,  and  likewise  what  writings  people, 
molded  by  such  influences,  would  chiefly  read  and  prize.  "  You  may 
read  Ovid,"  Goswin  remarks,  "  and  writers  of  that  stamp  through,  once  ; 
but  Virgil,  Horace,  and  Terence  are  to  be  studied  with  more  attention, 
and  oftener,  because  in  our  profession  we  need  to  bestow  especial 
study  upon  the  poets.  But,  above  all,  I  will  that  you  read  the  Bible 
constantly.  And,  since  one  ought  not  to  remain  in  ignorance  of  his- 
tory, I  counsel  you  to  take  up  Josephus,  and  for  church  history  to 
read  the  Tripartite.*  Of  the  profane  writers,  Plutarch,  Sallust, 
Thucydides,  Herodotus,  and  Justin,  will  especially  profit  you.  Then 
it  will  do  you  no  harm  to  go  through  with  the  writings  of  Plato  and 
Aristotle.  But  with  Cicero  we  must  remain  longer,  in  order  that  we 
may  acquire  a  truly  Roman  style.  Next  to  our  Bible  it  is  well  to 
give  thorough  and  earnest  study  to  Augustine.  Him  you  may  follow 
up  by  Jerome,  Ambrose,  Chrysostom,  Gregory,  Bernard,  and  Hugo 
St.  Victor,  a  man  full  of  rich  instruction." 

This  passage  shows  how  much  the  circle  of  study  of  the  Hierony- 
mians  had  become  enlarged  during  the  15th  century.  This  we  owe 
to  the  influence  which  the  Italians  had  over  Wessel,  Agricola, 
lludolph  Lange,  and  others,  who  again  in  their  turn  shaped  with  such 
power  both  German  and  Netherland  culture.  But  the  Bible  remained 
to  these  thoughtful  men  the  Book  of  books ;  neither  were  the  Fathers 
thrust  aside. 

•  ThU  was  a  sketch  of  the  history  of  the  church   taken   from  Socrates,  Theodore!,  and 
Bozemenes,  translated  into  Latin  by  Caasiodore. 


RUDOLF  AGRICOLA.  75 


RUDOLF      AGRICOLA. 


RUDOLF  AGRICOLA  was  born  at  Baflo,  near  Groningen,  in  W*>st 
Friesland,  in  1443.  His  proper  name  was  Husmann.  It  is  not 
known,  where  he  received  his  earliest  instruction.  He  studied  at  the 
University  of  Louvain,  where  he  read  Cicero  and  Quintilian  chiefly, 
and  after  an  honorable  career,  became  a  Magister  artium.  His  inter- 
course with  Frenchmen  while  at  Louvain,  was  the  means  of  teaching 
him  the  French  language. 

From  Louvain,  he  proceeded  to  Paris,  where  he  had  John  Wessel, 
among  others,  for  a  teacher.  In  1576,  he  went  to  Ferrara.  There 
he  studied  the  ancients  under  Theodore  Gaza  and  Guarini,  copied 
with  great  diligence  manuscripts,  Qumtilian  among  the  rest,  and  won 
the  applause  of  the  Italians  by  his  Latin  speeches  and  poems,  as  well 
as  by  his  accomplished  singing  to  the  guitar.  He  delivered  an  ora- 
tion there  in  the  praise  of  philosophy,  before  Hercules  de'Este. 
There  too  commenced  his  friendship  for  Dalberg,  afterward  Bishop  of 
Worms,  and  Diedrich  Plenningen,  whom  he  was  wont  to  call  his 
Pliny. 

Returning  to  Germany,  he  tarried  six  months  of  the  year  1481  in 
Brussels,  at  the  court  of  the  then  arch-duke,  afterward  emperor,  Maxi- 
milian I.,  on  the  behalf  of  the  city  Groningen.  But  it  was  in  vain 
that  he  was  urged  to  remain  at  Maximilian's  court ;  for  his  repug- 
nance to  all  manner  of  constraint  was  too  great  to  admit  of  his 
accepting  the  proposal.  In  the  following  year,  1482,  his  friend 
Barbirianus,  invited  him  to  Antwerp,  to  superintend  a  school,  and^ 
likewise  to  give  lectures  to  amateurs.  Agricola  replied ;  "  that  his 
friend  Plenningen,  had,  in  Dalberg's  name,  urged  him  in  a  most  polite 
letter  to  go  to  Heidelberg,  and  he  had  accordingly  made  the  long 
journey  from  Holland  thither.  Dalberg,  who  was  soon  after  chosen 
bishop  of  Worms,  and  other  friends,  had  pressed  him  to  stay  at 
Heidelberg,  saying,  that  he  would  exercise  an  advantageous  influence 
upon  the  studies  there,  and  would  have  many  hearers.  Philip,  the 
count  Palatine,  had  also  overloaded  him  with  kindness.  And  Dal- 
berg had  offered  him  his  house,  to  regard  as  his  own,  to  come  and  go 
at  his  pleasure.  In  view  of  all  this,  he  had  as  good  as  pledged  him- 
self, but  had  taken  a  journey  home  first  to  make  the  needful  arrange- 
ments. And  now  on  his  return  he  had  received  this  invitation  (of 
Barbarianus)  at  Bacharach ;  and  it  had  caused  him  much  perplexity, 
to  relieve  which,  he  had  consulted  with  friends  at  Cologne.  The  re- 
sult of  their  joint  deliberations  was,  that  he  could  not  go  to  Antwerp, 


76  RDDOLF  AGRICOLA. 

^  because  he  was  already  as  good  as  pledged  to  Heidelberg."     In  refer- 
ence to  the  nature  of  the  Antwerp  offer,  he  expresses  himself  thus : — 

f  A  school  to  be  given  to  him  ?  That  would  be  a  hard  and  an  irksome  office.  A 
school  was  like  a  prison,  where  scourging,  weeping  and  howling  alternated  with  each 
other  forever.  If  there  is  any  thing  in  the  world,  whose  name  is  directly  opposite 
to  its  nature,  it  is  a  school.  The  Greeks  willed  it  «cAo/a,  leisure;  the  Latins, 
Indus  literariut,  the  game  of  letters ; — when  nothing  is  further  from  leisure, 
nothing  harsher  and  more  antagonistic  to  all  playfulness.  A  far  more  appropriate 
name  was  given  to  it  by  Aristophanes ;  viz.,  "  $povTiorfiptoi>,"  the  place  of  cares, 
/conduct  a  school  ?  What  time  would  be  left  me  for  study ;  what  repose,  for 
invention  and  production  ?  Where  should  I  find  one  or  two  hours  daily  for  the 
interpretation  of  an  author  ?  The  boys  would  claim  the  larger  portion  of  my 
time,  besides  wearing  my  patience  to  that  degree,  that  whatever  leisure  time  I 
could  secure  would  be  required,  not  for  study,  but  rather  to  catch  my  breath  and  to 
compose  my  thoughts.  You  say  "  that  with  a  less  rigid  discharge  of  my  duties, 
I  might  lead  a  more  agreeable  life."  I  might  indeed ;  but,  were  I  neglectful, 
which  of  my  colleagues  would  be  assiduous,  which  of  them  would  not  rather, 
after  my  example,  take  his  ease  ?  I  think,  that  a  wise  man  should  first  carefully 
consider,  whether  he  should  undertake  a  thing  or  no  ;  but  when  once  he  does 
undertake  it,  then  he  ought  to  exert  every  effort  to  perform  it  conscientiously. 
You  say,  that  I  can  devote  one  or  two  hours  a  day  to  lecturing  on  some  classical 
author  before  the  nobility ;  but  I  would  have  no  leisure  for  this,  since  the  freshest 
and  best  part  of  every  day  must  be  given  to  the  boys,  even  to  weariness.  And 
such  lectures  meet  with  discouragements  and  drawbacks,  as  I  know  from  experi- 
ence. In  the  first  glow  of  zeal  many  take  hold  of  them  ;  later,  when  the  zeal  is 
cold,  some  plead  off  on  the  pretext  of  business,  others  from  the  re-action  of  en- 
thusiasm become  disgusted,  and  others  again  are  led  to  stay  away,  if  for  no  other 
reason,  because  their  neighbors  do.  One  finds  it  too  much  trouble,  another,  too 
great  an  expense.  So  it  comes  about,  that  of  a  large  audience,  scarce  four  or  five 
shall  remain  with  you  through  the  course. 

It  might  appear,  that  a  man  who  had  not  the  smallest  inclination 
to  teach  either  old  or  young,  would  not  deserve  mention  in  a  history 
of  education.  But  it  would  be  appearance  merely.  For  if  Agricola 
took  no  pleasure  in  teaching,  himself,  yet  the  prosperity  of  schools  was 
a  matter  of  deep  interest  to  him.  This  is  evident  from  parts  of  this 
very  letter  to  Barbirianus.  He  begs  him,  to  persuade  the  Antwerpers 
to  subject  the  man,  with  whom  they  purposed  to  intrust  the  schools, 
to  a  conscientious  examination  beforehand. 

They  should  not  select  a  theologian,  neither  any  one  of  those  hair  splitting 
doctors,  who  imagine  that  they  are  competent  to  speak  upon  any  subject  what- 
ever, while  they  know  nothing,  in  the  first  place,  of  the  very  art  of  speaking 
itself.  Such  people  are  as  much  out  of  their  element  in  schools,  as,  according  to 
the  Greek  proverb,  a  dog  would  be  in  a  bath.  Much  rather  ought  they  to 
choose  a  man  after  the  style  of  Phoenix,  the  preceptor  of  Achilles,  who  should 
be  able  both  to  teach,  to  speak  and  to  act ;  if  they  could  find  such  an  one, 
they  should  make  sure  of  him  at  any  price.  For  their  decision  was  no  unim- 
portant matter,  since  the  destiny  of  their  children  depended  on  it.  It  was  no 
small  thing  that  they  were  about  to  do ;  for  it  pertained  to  their  children,  for 
whose  future  welfare  they  themselves  in  other  respects  were  now  toiling  and 
struggling.  Their  utmost  care  should  be  bestowed  on  that  tender  age,  which, 
even  with  the  best  talents,  takes  the  stamp  of  good  or  evil  indifferently,  accord- 
ing to  the  influence  brought  to  bear  upon  it. 

In  a  subsequent  letter  to  Barbirianus,  Agricola  praises  the  friendly 
reception  that  Dalberg  had  given  him.  But  on  the  other  hand  ho 


RUDOLF  AORICOLA.  77 

writes  to  his  brother  of  his  complete  unhappitiess  in  the  midst  of  all 
the  prosperity  that  he  enjoyed  at  Heidelberg. 

It  ia  hard  for  me,  in  advancing  age,  to  learn  to  serve.  And  though  no  aer- 
vice  ia  required  of  me,  yet  I  know  not  whether  I  am  not  more  greatly  burdened, 
in  feeling  constrained  to  impose  those  duties  on  myself,  which  othera  have  re- 
leased me  from.  Thus  freedom  itself  exacta  a  heavy  service  of  me. 

His  love  of  freedom  dissuaded  him  from  wedlock  ;  or,  as  he  wrote 
to  Reuchlin,  it  was  a  shrinking  from  care,  and  a  dislike  to  be  tied 
down  to  an  establishment. 

Of  great  importance  to  us  are  Agricola's  letters  to  his  friend,  Al- 
exander Hegius,  the  famous  Rector  of  Deventer,  of  whom  also  we 
are  soon  to  speak. 

One  of  these  letters  dates  from  Worms,  whither  Agricola  had  gone 
in  the  retinue  of  the  Bishop  Dalberg.  He  commences  by  commend- 
ing Hegius ;  for,  as  he  perceives  by  his  writing,  he  has  improved  in 
his  Latinity,  (politiorem  te,  limatioremque  fieri.)  He  showed  his  let- 
ter to  Dalberg,  who  joined  with  himself  in  wishing  Germany  joy  of 
such  a  teacher,  exclaiming,  " Macte  virtute,  sic  itur  ad  astro"  Far- 
ther on,  he  laments  that  studying  with  the  bishop,  and  public  lectures, 
consume  too  much  of  his  time.  His  pupils,  with  the  best  inclination, 
shewed  scarce  any  capacity  for  study  :  they  were  mostly  masters,  or 
"  Scholastici  artium"  so  called,  who  squandered  all  their  time  upon 
the  sophistical  nonsense  of  the  schools,  (cavillationes,)  and  hence 
found  no  room  for  attention  to  classical  studies.  "  For  this  reason,"* 
he  adds,  "  I  have  undertaken  the  Hebrew,  which  is  a  new  and  a 
very  difficult  labor  to  me,  and  which  (I  could  scarce  have  believed  it) 
gives  me  much  more  trouble  than  did  Greek,  earlier  in  life.  Yet  I 
am  determined  to  persevere.  I  have  assigned  the  study  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures  to  my  later  years,  provided  that  my  life  is  spared.'' 

In  a  previous  letter  to  Hegius,  in  1480,  he  accuses  himself  for  in- 
termitting his  studies,  and  mentions,  as  the  chief  cause  of  his  neglect, 
the  fact,  that  he  has  no  one  in  Groningen,  with  whom  he  can  labor 
in  common.  Among  other  matters,  he  answers  some  philological 
questions,  which  Hegius  had  submitted  to  him.  He  defines  the 
words,  mimus,  hintrio,  persona,  scurra,  parasilus,  nebulo,  nepos,  ves- 
per, aurora,  lignum,  trabs,  asser,  contignatio.  He  expresses  a  doubt 
whether  bonum  sero  is  as  good  Latin  as  bonum  mane.  "As  it  regards 
the  derivation  and  formation  of  new  words  after  the  analogies  of  the 
language ?"  he  says,  "I  should  hardly  venture  to  form  a  word  for 
which  I  could  not  shew  classical  authority  ;  yet  I  might  haply  have 
said,  'SocratitasJ  'PlatonitasJ  and  '  entitas,1  although  our  Laurentius 
Valla  disapproves  of  such  words."  Farther  on  Agricola  explains 

*  For  lack  of  encouragement. 


78  RUDOLF  AGRICOLA. 


£,  marks  the  precise  difference  between  *j  <J»aX£x<nxi?  and 
a,  and  suggests  a  correction  in  what  Ilegius  has 
written,  viz.,  that  he  should  use  '  f'n/ra'  or  'post  quantum  lempo- 
ris1  instead  of  '  quanta  tempore.  The  above  will  serve  to  characterize 
the  condition  of  philological  science  at  that  time,  and  to  indicate  its 
gradual  advance.  In  the  same  letter  he  writes  to  Hegius  ;  that  lie 
will  send  his  brother  to  him  to  school,  provided  private  instruction 
in  the  elements  can  be  given  to  him  out  of  school  hours.  "  I  am 
very  desirous,"  he  writes,  "  that  my  brother  should  learn  the  ele- 
ments as  speedily  as  possible.  For  I  think  that  boys  only  lose  time 
when  they  remain  too  long  at  these  ;  and  that,  in  the  way  that  these 
are  ordinarily  taught,  the  scholar  is  filled  with  disgust  for  learning, 
and  with  '  barbarism1  at  the  same  time,  so  that  later  in  his  career  he 
learns  what  is  better  and  more  important  not  only  more  slowly,  but 
with  greater  trouble." 

In  the  year  1484,  Agricola  wrote  a  long  letter  to  Barbirianus  on 
the  method  of  studying  (de  formando  studio.) 

The  question  arises,  what  we  shall  study,  and  then,  in  what  method  ?  Deter- 
mined either  by  taste  or  inclination,  or  by  circumstances,  some  choose  civil  law, 
others  canon  law,  others  again  medicine.  But  the  most  direct  their  attention  to 
the  verbose  but  unfruitful  'arts,'  so  called,  and  waste  away  their  time  in  frivo- 
lous and  out  of  the  way  discussions,  —  in  riddles,  which,  in  all  these  many  cen- 
turies have  found  no  (Edipus  to  solve  them  ;  nor  will  they  ever.  Still  he  ad- 
vises Barbirianus  to  apply  himself  to  philosophy,  though  to  a  philosophy  widely 
different  from  the  scholastic;  that,  namely,  which  inculcates  just  modes  of 
thought,  and  teaches  how  to  express  with  propriety  that  which  has  been  first 
rightly  apprehended. 

Philosophy  is  divided  into  moral  and  natural.  The  first  is,  to  be  drawn,  not 
merely  from  Aristotle,  Cicero,  and  Seneca,  but  likewise  from  the  facts  and  ex- 
amples of  history.  Thence,  we  come  to  the  Holy  Scriptures,  after  whose  di- 
vine, unerring  precepts  we  are  to  pattern  our  lives.  For  all  other  writers  have 
not  clearly  perceived  the  true  aim  of  life,  and  hence  their  doctrines  are  not  free 
from  error. 

Researches  into  the  natural  world  are  not  of  such  importance  as  ethical  in- 
quiries, and  are  to  be  viewed  only  as  a  means  of  culture." 

/  Agricola  recommends  the  study  of  geography,  of  the  botany  of 
Theophrastus,  the  zoology  of  Aristotle,  and  likewise  advises  attention 
to  medicine,  architecture  and  painting. 

]3oth  moral  and  natural  science  are  to  be  drawn  from  the  classics, 
with  the  view  of  acquiring  at  the  same  time  the  art  of  rhetoric  and 
expression.  lie  should  also  translate  the  classics  with  as  much  ex- 
actness as  may  be,  into  the  vernacular;  for  through  such  exercise  in 
translating,  the  Latin  words  will  soon  spontaneously  occur  at  the  same 
time  with  the  thought.  Whatever  he  designed  to  write  in  Latin,  he 
must  first  think  out  with  thoroughness  and  care  in  the  vernacular  ; 
for  any  errors  of  expression  are  less  liable  to  pass  unobserved,  if  in 
the  mother  tongue.  Before  he  proceeds  to  the  ornaments  of  rhetoric, 
he  should  learn  to  write  with  purity  and  correctness.  "  Who- 


RUDOLF  AGRICOLA.  70 

ever  would  study  to  advantage,  must  observe  three  things:  first, 
to  apprehend  aright ;  then,  to  hold  the  matters  «o  apprehended 
fast  in  the  memory ;  and  lastly,  to  cultivate  the  faculty  of  producing 
something  ones'  self. 

As  regards  apprehending  aright  the  sense  of  what  is  read,  he  ad- 
vises to  apply  the  understanding  closely  to  the  subject  in  hand  with 
reference  both  to  the  scope  of  the  whole  and  the  meanh^g  of  the  . 
parts ;  yet  not  with  such  rigor  as  to  puzzle  ourselves  over  an  obscjure 
passage,  not  passing  on  until  we  have  mastered  B>t.  But  we-jought 
rather  to  read  farther,  trusting  that  afterwards,  l«)ugli  th§  explana- 
tions of  a  friend  or  otherwise,  the  difficulty  will \nleleared  j»p.  One 
day  teaches  another. 

He__then  gives  directions  for  strengthening  the  memory. 

'  We  must,  with  unpreoccupied,  attentive  spirit,  grasp  the  object,  ancl  again 
from  time  to  time  call  it  up  before  the  mind.'  Then  follow  rules  for  composition. 
"If  we  create  nothing,"  says  Agricola,  "all  our  learning  remains  dead  within 
us,  and  will  not  be  like  the  living  seed,  which,  when  cast  into  the  ground, 
springs  up  and  bears  rich  fruit.  But  there  are  two  things  indispensable  to  us : 
one,  that  we  should  not  merely  store  up  that  which  we  have  learned,  in  our 
memory,  but  should  rather  always  have  it  at  hand,  and  be  able  to  bring  it  forth ; 
then,  in  addition  to  what  we  have  derived  from  others,  we  should  invent  some- 
thing ourselves.  It  will  materially  aid  us  in  invention,  if  we  arrange  a  set  of 
general  notions,  capita,  under  which  we  may  sketch  what  we  already  know  ; 
some  such  heads  for  instance,  as  virtue,  vice,  life,  death,  etc.  Then  it  will  prove 
a  great  help,  should  we  analyze  every  thought  thoroughly  and  contemplate  it 
under  many  different  lights."  This  point  he  had  discused  more  at  length  in  his 
six  books,  "  de  inventione  dialectical  "  Whoever  conforms  to  both  the  above  pre- 
cepts, will  at  last  attain  to  the  readiness  of  the  Greek  sophists,  who  could  speak 
at  will,  and  without  preparation,  upon  any  theme  that  should  be  given  to  them.'' 

After  this  methodology,  Agricola  comes  in  the  same  letter  to  his 
Hebrew  studies. 

"Think  of  my  presumption,  or  rather  of  my  folly;  I  have  decided  to  learn  He- 
brew, as  if  I  had  not  already  wasted  time  and  trouble  enough  hitherto  on  my 
Greek.  I  have  hunted  up  a  teacher,  a  Jew,  who  was  some  years  since  convert- 
ed, and  who,  previously,  on  account  of  his  learning  and  knowledge  of  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Jews,  had  been  chosen"  as  their  champion,  when  they  contended 
for  their  faith  with  Christians.  The  bishop  has,  for  my  sake,  taken  this  man 
into  his  house,  and  is  providing  for  his  maintenance.  I  will  try  what  I  can  do ; 
I  hope  to  bring  something  to  pass;  and  perhaps  I  shall  succeed,  because  I 
hope."* 

He  translated  the  Psalms. 

Melancthon,  in  his  preface,  to  Agrlcola's  '  dialectics,'  relates  what 
Pallas,  professor  of  theology  at  Heidelberg,  and  Reuchlin,  related  to 
him  from  their  personal  acquaintance  with  Agricola.  Said  Pjillas  : 
"  at  Heidelberg,  as  earlier  at  Louvain,  he  led  an  exemplary  life.  From 
his  extensive  learning,  Agricola  has  often  thrown  a  definite  light 

*  Erhard  has  given  a  short  extract  from  this  work,  in  his  history  of  the  revival  of  Class- 
ical Learning.    Melancthon  in  his  preface  to  Agricola's  dialectics,  says :  '•  There  are  no  mod- 
ern works  on  the  Topics  and  on  the  use  of  Logic,  so  good  and  so  rich  as  these  books  of  Ru- 
dolf."   Agricola  himself  is  very  pointed  in  bis  condemnation  of  the  scholastic  logic. 
Ko.  12.— [VOL.  IV.,  So.  3.] — 16. 


80  RUDOLF  AGRICOLA. 

upon  subjects  under  dispute,  not  alone  in  the  department  of  philoso- 
phy, but  in  laW  and  theology  ;  and  has  displayed  herein  no  conten- 
tious and  dogmatical  spirit,  but  friendliness  and  a  spirit  of  peace.  For 
the  elector  Philip,  who  always  took  delight  in  listening  to  him,  Agri- 
cola  wrote  a  compend  of  history." 

In  the  year  1485,  Dalberg  was  sent  by  the  Elector  just  named,  to 
Rome  to  present  his  congratulations  to  Pope  Innocent  VIII,  on  his 
coronation,  and  Agricola  accompanied  him  on  this  journey.*  Re- 
turning to  Heidelberg,  he  was  attacked  by  a  fever.  But  before  the 
physician  arrived,  he  had  tranquilly  breathed  his  last.  lie  died  on 
the  28th  Oct.  1485,  aged  only  forty-two  years. 

Erasmus  testifies  of  him  as  follows : 

Agricola  has  surpassed  in  culture  every  one  on  this  side  the  Alps.  There 
was  no  scientific  attainment  in  which  he  did  not  compete  with  the  greatest  mas- 
ters. Among  the  Grecians,  he  was  a  pattern  Greek,  (graecissimus,)  among  the 
Latins,  a  pattern  Latinist ;  as  a  poet,  he  was  a  second  Maro,  as  an  orator,  he  re- 
called Politian's  grace,  but  he  excelled  him  in  majesty.  Also  when  he  spoke 
extempore,  his  speech  was  so  pure  and  unadulterated,  that  you  would  have 
deemed  yourself  listening,  not  to  a  Frieslander,  but  to  a  Roman.  To  his  per- 
fect eloquence  he  united  an  equal  degree  of  learning;  all  the  mysteries  of  phi- 
losophy he  had  fully  investigated.  Nor  was  there  any  part  of  music,  which  he 
did  not  fully  understand.  In  the  last  years  of  his  life  he  applied  himself  with 
his  whole  soul  to  the  study  of  Hebrew  and  the  Holy  Scriptures.  He  thought 
little  of  fame.f 

C.  Agricola  broke  a  path  for  classical  philology  in  Germany.     Saxo,in 
his  eulogy  on  Agricola,  says  : 

At  an  epoch  when  the  most  corrupt  Latin  prevailed  in  Germany,  together 
with  that  uncertainty  that  no  one  knew  what  good  Latin  was,  and  when  admi- 
ration was  lavished  on  insipidity,  it  was  Agricola,  and  he  alone,  who  first  with 
ear  and  mind  detected  our  blunders,  and  reached  out  after  better  forms  of 
speech.  Yet  he  did  not  undervalue  the  mother  tongue,  but  regarded  it  as  nat- 
ural to  every  one,  as  the  native  vehicle  of  thought.  Thence,  as  we  have  seen, 
he  gave  his  counsel  that  whatever  we  would  write  in  Latin,  we  should  first 
compose  in  the  vernacular,  transferring  it  into  Latin  afterwards.  He  himself 
wrote  songs  in  the  mother  tongue,  and  sang  them  to  the  guitar.  He  under- 
stood both  French  and  Italian.  Wessel  appears  to  have  had  much  influence 
upon  Agricola.  It  was  Wessel.  as  we  have  seen,  who  directed  his  attention 
when  at  Paris  to  the  study  of  Hebrew ;  and  they  both  subsequently  enjoyed 
much  mutual  intercourse  in  the  monastery  of  Edouard.  "There,"  Goswin  von 
Halen  tells  us,  "  he  listened,  when  a  boy.  to  the  conversations  of  AgricoLi  and 

*  Dalberg'g  speech  is  given  in  Agricola's  works,  as  the  production  of  the  latter.  It  was  de- 
livered on  the  6th  of  July,  1485.  •  I  think,'  so  the  speech  reads, '  that  grace  of  oratory  and 
excellence  and  cplendor  of  diction  are  not  much  to  be  expected  from  a  German,  nor  indeed 
ought  they  to  be.' 

t  That  this  panegyric  might  not  be  accounted  partial,  Cis- Alpine,  or  patriotic  merely, 
Erasmus  quotes  the  welMoio  wn  epitaph,  which  Hermolaus  Barbarus  wrote.  "  The  envious 
fates  have  enclosed  within  this  marble  tomb,  Rudolf  Agricola,  the  hope  and  the  glory  of 
Priesland.  While  he  lived,  Germany,  without  doubt,  deserved  all  the  renown  that  eithet 
lAtium  or  Greece  ever  obtained." 

Invlda  Ctauserunt  hoc  marmore  fata  Rudolphum 

Agricolam,  Prisii  spemque  decusque  soli, 
Scilicet  hoc  vivo  meruit  Germania  laudis, 
Quidquid  habet  l.ntium,  Griecia  quidquid  habet. 


ALEXANDER  HEGIT9  81 

"Wessel,  when  they  bewailed  the  obscuration  of  the  church,  the  desecration  of 
the  mass,  and  the  abuses  of  celibacy ;  also  when  they  spoke  of  the  apostle 
Paul's  doctrine  of  "justification  by  faith  without  the  deeds  of  the  law." 

Such  conversations, — the  earnestness  with  which  Agricola,  in  his 
41st  year,  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  the  Hebrew, — his  expressed 
determination  to  devote  his  old  age  to  the  study  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures ;*  all  this  indicates  that  he  was  not  merely,  through  his  classical 
learning,  a  forerunner  of  the  dawn  of  classical  culture  in  Germany, 
but  that  he  also,  in  this  holy  earnestness  in  the  study  of  the  sacred 
writings,  heralded  the  coming  Reformation.  At  his  death  Luther 
was  two  years  old.f 

ALEXANDER    HEOIUfl. 

ALEXANDER  HEGIUS,  so  beloved  and  honored  by  his  contempora- 
ries, was  born  in  1420,  or,  according  to  some,  in  1433,  at  Heek,  in 
Westphalia.  He  was  frequently,  as  we  have  seen,  in  the  society  of 
Wessel,  Agricola,  and  others  in  the  monastery  of  Edouard ;  and  from 
letters  of  the  latter,  we  may  perceive  how  the  modest  Hegius  suffered 
himself  to  learn  from  Agricola,  his  junior. 

Boitzbach,  one  of  his  later  scholars,  informs  us,  that  he  died  in 
advanced  age  at  Deventer  in  1498,  and  was  buried  on  the  day  of  St. 
John  the  Evangelist,  (Dec.  27,)  in  the  Church  of  St.  Lebuin.  There 
too  sleeps  Florentius  Radewin.  At  first  Hegius  was  gymnasiarchj  in 
Wessel,  then  in  Emmerich,  but  later  and  for  a  much  longer  period  at 
Deventer.  Agricola  writes  to  him  at  the  opening  of  the  school  at  ^ 
Deventer,  wishing  him  all  manner  of  success,  and  the  more  cordially 
as  the  place  had  been  recently  decimated  by  a  frightful  pestilence. 
Since  he  remained  at  the  head  .of  this  school  for  thirty  years,  and 
until  his  death,  as  we  gather  from  three  several  authorities,  he  must  / 
have  entered  upon  his  office  in  the  year  1468.  Erasmus  entered  tb<f 
school  in  1476,  in  his  ninth  year. 

The  character,  attainments,  and  educational  significance  of  Hegius, 
we  are  compelled  to  derive  in  part  from  a  few  of  his  posthumous 
writings,  and  in  part  from  cursory  expressions  of  others,  chiefly  his 
contemporaries  and  scholars.  Those  writings,§  consisting  almost  en- 
tirely of  dialogues,  were  not  given  to  the  public  until  1503,  five  years 
after  his  death.  These  dialogues  are  in  the  form  of  short  and  clear 

*•'  Slatni  enim  senectutis  rtqttiem  (si  modo  to.  me  manet,)  in  sacrantm  liferantm  perquisi- 
time  collocare."— Agricola  to  Reuchlin. 

t  The  fullest  edition  of  Agricola's  works  is,  ''Undo/phi  Agricolae  Lucubrationcs  aliquot  Itclu 
dignitsimat  in  hunc  usque  diem  nwstjuam  prius  editae,  caeteraque  ejusdem  tiri  plane  diti- 
niomniaquae  extant  credun/ur  opiuru/a — per  Alardum  Amstelredamum.  Coloniae  apud 
Cymnicum,  1539.  3  vols.  4  to." 

«  Principal,  head-master— of  a  gymnasium. 

i  "  Atesandri  Hegii  artium  magistri,  (iymnasiarrhae  quondam  Daren  trientit.  philotaphi, 
presbyleri,  utritayuc  linquae  rfoc/i,  Dialogi."  At  the  end  of  the  book  the  printer's  name  it 


82  ALEXANDER  HEGIUS. 

question  and  answer.*  He  treats  abundantly  of  geometry  and  astrono- 
my ;  refers  to  Euclid,  gives  geometrical  definitions  and  formulas  for 
obtaining  the  contents  of  figures.  He  gives  frequent  definitions  of 
Greek  words.  In  the  'Farrago,'  we  find  numerous  philological  re- 
marks. The  Greek  language  he  can  not  commend  too  highly.  '  Who- 
ever desires  to  understand  grammar,  rhetoric,  mathematics,  history, 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  etc.,'  so  he  told  his  scholars,  '  must  learn  Greek. 
For  to  the  Greeks  we  are  indebted  for  every  thing.'  In  a  letter  to 
John  Wessel,  he  tells  him  that  he  has  paid  a  visit  to  the  library  found- 
ed by  Cardinal  Nicholas  Cusanus,  in  Cuss  on  the  Moselle,  the  native 
place  of  the  latter,  and  likewise  what  books  he  brought  away  with 
him.  He  sent  Wessel  the  homilies  of  Chrysostom.  "  I  found,"  he 
writes,  "  many  Hebrew  books,  which  were  entirely  new  to  me.  I  have 
brought  away  St.  Basil  on  the  Creation  and  his  homilies  on  the 
Psalms ;  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles ;  the 
Lives  of  some  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  by  Plutarch,  as  likewise  his 
Symposium ;  some  treatises  upon  grammar  and  mathematics ;  some 
poems  of  deep  significance  upon  the  Christian  religion,  which,  if  I 
mistake  not,  were  composed  by  Gregory  Nazianzen ;  and  also  a  few 
speeches  and  prayers.  If  you  can  now  spare,  without  inconvenience 
to  yourself  your  copy  of  the  Greek  gospels,  I  beg  you  to  lend  them 
to  me  fora  while."  At  the  conclusion  he  writes;  "you  wish  to  have 
a  more  particular  description  of  my  method  of  instruction.  I  have 
followed  your  counsel.  All  learning  is  futile  which  is  acquired  at  the 
expense  of  piety.  Dated  at  Deventer." 

^In  the  light  of  all  that  we  have  now  cited,  and  of  the  letters  of 
Agricola  to  Hegius  also, — /Hegius  appears  to  have  been  a  man,  who 
was  animated  by  an  enthusiastic  love  for  classical  studies,  and  who 
yet,  with  the  humility  of  the  true  scholar,  suffered  himself  to  learn, 
even  in  his  age,  from  Agricola.  In  his  dialogues  we  detect  the  prac- 
ticed and  clear  headed  logician.  He  gives  much  attention  therein  to 
mathematics  and  natural  philosophy.  And  with  a  far  higher  degree 
;  of  learning  than  was  common  in  the  times  in  which  he  lived,  he  nev- 
^rtheless  ranked  all  knowledge,  without  exception,  below  godliness. 
Ilis  estimable  character,  by  which  he  was  especially  fitted  for  the 

given  as  follows  :  "  Im/irfssum  Darentriat  per  me  liichardum  Pa/ret,  1£03."  The  ninjectg 
of  the  Dialogues  are  :  (1.)  de  fdentia  et  eo  quod  vcitur.  (2.)  De  tribtts  animae  generibus. 
(3)  De  incarnutionit  mysterio  (4.)  Dialvgus  fhysicus.  (5.)  De  scnsu  ct  setisili.  (6.) 
Df  nrte  et  inertia.  (7)  De  Rhetaricn.  (8. )  De  moribus.  (9.)  Farrago  eiii  addita  Inreetira 
in  niodvt  tignificandi.  1  wo  letters  are  given  after  the  Dialogues,  thus  completing  ' !  \\  ork. 
•  We  give  an  example.  Q.  What  U  Ihe  difference  between  knowledge  and  opinion  ?  A. 
Knowledge  in  assent  unalloyed  by  fear.  For  lie  who  knows  does  not  fear  that  lie  may  be  de' 
••••iviii.  Opinion,  on  the  contrary,  is  as-ent  minified  with  fear.  He  who  opines  or  thinks 
fears  that  he  may  be  in  the  wrong.  Q.  What  is  error  t  .1 .  Deflection  of  the  intellect  from 
the  truth,  or  of  the  will  from  righteousness. 


ALEXANDER  HEGIUS.  Q3 

post  of  rector,  elicited  a  deserved  tribute  of  praise  from  many  quar- 
ters. "  Westphalia,''  says  Erasmus,  "  has  given  us  Alexander  Hegius, 
a  learned,  saintly,  and  eloquent  man;  though, from  his  contempt  for 
fame,  he  has  produced  nothing  great."  "  Hegius,"  he  says  elsewhere, 
"  was  quite  similar  in  character  to  Agvicola ;  he  was  a  man  of  guile- 
less life  and  singular  learning,  one  in  whom  even  Momus  could  have 
discovered  but  a  single  fault ;  namely,  that  he  undervalued  fame  be- 
yond what  was  reasonable,  and  troubled  himself  but  very  little  for  the 
opinions  of  posterity.  If  he  wrote  any  thing,  he  did  it  more  in  sport, 
as  it  were,  than  with  a  sober  purpose ;  yet  his  writings  are  of  that 
sort,  that  in  the  judgment  of  scholars,  they  are  deserving  of  immor- 
tality." Murmellius  tells  us  that  Hegius  was  as  learned  in  Greek  as 
in  Latin.  But  Hegius'  name  has  come  down  to  the  present  day,  not 
so  much  through  his  works,  which  are  scarcely  known  to  us,  as  through 
his  distinguished  pupils.  I  will  mention  a  few  of  the  more  famous 
of  these. 

ERASMUS.  In  his  ninth  year,  in  1476,  he  entered  the  school  of 
Hegius. 

HERMANN  BUSCH,  who  was  born  in  1468,  was  placed  under  He- 
gius when  quite  young,  since  he  learned  the  first  rudiments  of  gram- 
mar in  the  Deventer  school.  Of  him  and  Erasmus  likewise  we  shall 
say  more,  farther  on. 

JOHN  MURMELLIUS,  of  Roermond ;  first  a  soldier,  then  a  scholar 
of  Hegius.  Driven  from  Cologne  in  1498,  because  he  made  war 
upon  the  barbarous  Latin  of  the  Colognese,  he  betook  himself  for  aid 
and  counsel  to  his  teacher,  who  sent  him  to  Rudolf  Lange,  at  Muns- 
ter,  where  he  taught  for  fourteen  years:  in  1514  he  was  appointed 
over  a  school  in  Alcmaar.  Impoverished  by  a  fire,  he  returned  to 
Deventer,  where  he  died  in  1517.  He  wrote  much;  both  for  the 
promotion  of  classical  learning,  and  the  overthrow  of  "  barbarism." 

JOHN  CAESARIUS,  of  Juliers.  Driven  away  by  the  Colognese  in 
1504,  because  he  attacked  their  old  school  books,  then  sent  by  He- 
gius to  Lange  at  Munster,  where  he  became  teacher  of  Greek.  He 
was  induced  later  by  the  solicitations  of  Count  Nuenaar,  to  return  to 
Cologne.  There  he  died  in  1551,  at  the  age  of  ninety  years.  He 
edited,  among  other  works,  Pliny's  natural  history. 

CONRAD  COCLENIUS,  born  in  1485,  at  Paderborn,  became  a  Pro- 
fessor at  Louvain,  and  was  the  teacher  of  John  Sturm.  Erasmus 
commends  him  as  a  distinguished  philologist. 

JOSEPH  HORLENIUS,  rector  of  a  school  in  Herford,  was  the  teacher 
of  Peter  Mosellanus. 

TIMANN  CAMENER,  rector  in  Munster,  from  1500  to  1530. 


84  RUDOLF  LANGE. 

The  characteristic,  which  was  common  to  all  the  above-named 
scholars  of  Hegius,  as  well  as  to  the  most  renowned  pupils  of  these 
scholars,  was  a  passionate  love  of  classical  culture,  which  did  not 
shrink  even  from  martyrdom.  Only  two  of  those,  who  came  forth 
from  the  school  at  Deventer,  bore  no  traces  of  the  general  stamp. 
These  were  Pope  Adrian  VI.,  who  was  there  when  a  boy  ;  and  Ortuin 
Gratius,  whom  the  " Epistolae  obscurorum  virorum"  erected  into  a 
very  unenviable  notoriety. 

RUDOLF   LANGE    AND    HERMANN    BU8CH. 

AGRICOLA  and  Hegius  had  many  friends,  who  labored  with  zeal  for 
the  spread  of  classical  study.  Among  these  RUDOLF  LANGE  has  been 
already  mentioned.  He  was  born  about  the  year  1439  at  Munster. 
Sent  by  his  uncle  to  the  school  at  Deventer,  he  afterward  went  to  the 
university  of  Erfurt,  where  he  was  made  master  of  philosophy ;  then 
he  journeyed  to  Italy,  where  he  enjoyed  the  teachings  of  Philelphus, 
Theodore  Gaza  and  others.  Returning  to  Munster,  he  devoted  his 
life  to  the  cause  of  school  education.  Sent  by  the  college  in  that 
place,  in  the  year  1480,  to  Pope  Sixtus  IV.,  he  delivered  in  his 
presence  an  admirable  Latin  speech,  and  was  heartily  recommended 
by  him  and  Lorenzo  de  Medici  to  the  bishop  of  Munster.  Thereby 
he  acquired  so  much  consequence  that  he  was  emboldened  to  oppose 
the  Colognese  Academy,  when  it  maintained  an  adherence  to  the  old 
school-books,  the  Doctrinal  of  Alexander*  and  the  like.  Lange 
appealed  to  the  arbitration  of  the  Italian  scholars.  After  these  had 
decided  in  his  favor,  the  school  at  Munster  was  completely  re-arranged 
after  his  directions;  and  at  his  instance,  Camener  and  Murmellius, 
scholars  of  Hegius,  were  appointed  teachers  therein.  The  teachers 
took  counsel  with  Lange  upon  the  authors  to  be  read  in  the  school, 
and  they  made  a  diligent  use  of  Lange's  library,  which  was  very  rich 
in  both  Greek  and  Latin  classics.  Lange  was  a  poet  likewise.  There 
is  an  epic  from  his  pen,  upon  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus ; 
a  second,  upon  the  siege  of  Nyon  on  the  Rhine ;  and  a  third,  in 
honor  of  the  Apostle  Paul.  Hegius  sung  of  Lange's  poetical  talents  ;f 

•  ALEXANDER  DK  VILLA  DEI,  a  Minorite  of  Dole,  a  grammarian  and  a  poet,  who  lived  at 
the  beginning  of  the  13th  century,  composed  a  doctrinal  for  boys,  (doclrinale  puerorum,)  or  a 
Latin  grammar  in  verse.  He  was  the  author,  likewise,  of  a  poetical  summary  of  the  subject* 
of  all  the  chapters  of  both  the  Old  and  New  Testament. 

t  The  epigram  of  Hegius  upon  I,nnge  reads  as  follows  : 

"Jv"i7  eat  ijuod  fieri  nequtat,jamferrepoettu 

Barbarie  in  media,  Weslphalit  ora  potest. 
Langius  hanc  dfcorat,  mnjorum  sanguine  clarus 

Monasteriaci,  laiwqne  decusque  toll 
Primui  Melpomenen  qui  rura  in  Weglpfiala  tlttxit 

Cum  caneret  landet  mafime  fault  tuat." 


HERMANN  BUSCH.  85 

and  Agricola  reposed  the  highest  confidence  in  his  philological 
researches. 

Luther's  Theses  appeared  when  Lange  was  well  advanced  in  years, 
and  as  he  read  them,  he  said,  "  the  time  is  at  hand,  when  the  darkness 
shall  be  removed  from  church  and  from  school,  when  purity  shall 
return  to  the  churches,  and  a  pure  Latinity  to  the  schools."  This 
latter  expression  is  significant  of  the  ideal  of  the  more  earnest  German 
scholars  of  that  day. 

After  an  extremely  active  and  devoted  life,  Lange  died  in  1519, 
two  years  subsequent  to  the  dawn  of  the  Reformation,  in  his  eightieth 
year.  He  was  provost  of  Munster  at  his  death.  His  nephew,  whose 
troubled  life  extended  far  into  the  epoch  of  the  Reformation,  was  the 
before-mentioned 

HERMANN  BUSCH,  who  was  born  in  1468,  of  a  noble  family  of 
Westphalia.  Sent  by  Lange  to  the  school  of  Hegius  at  Deventer,  he 
was  there  noticed  by  Agricola,  who  said  to  him,  "  you  have  a  poetical 
head  ;  you  are  destined  to  be  a  poet."  From  Deventer,  Busch  went 
to  Heidelberg,  there  attended  the  lectures  of  Agricola,  and,  on  his 
advice,  studied  Cicero  with  great  diligence.  Then  he  visited  Tubingen, 
where  he  formed  a  friendship  with  Simler,  who  was  afterward  Melanc- 
thon's  teacher.  In  the  year  1480  he  accompanied  Lange  to  Italy ; 
in  1486  he  took  a  second  journey  thither,  when  he  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  Picus,  Politian  and  other  Italian  scholars.  On  his 
return  to  Germany,  he  fell  into  a  strife  at  Cologne  with  the  notorious 
Hochstraten,  and  was  compelled  to  leave  the  city.  And  from  this 
time  he  traveled  during  many  years  through  Germany,  England  and 
France,  giving  his  time  principally  to  the  universities,  and  delivering 
longer  or  shorter  courses  of  lectures  upon  the  classics  at  various 
places ;  among  others,  at  Hamm,  Munster,  Osnabruck,  Bremen, 
Hamburg,  Lubeck  and  Wismar. 

His  lectures  at  Gripswald,  (about  1505,)  the  reformer  Bugenhagen 
attended,  while  a  student  there.  At  Rostock  he  attacked  a  certain 
Heverling,  who  read  lectures  in  German,  upon  Juvenal.  This  one 
took  his  revenge  by  putting  in  train  a  series  of  machinations,  which 
resulted  in  Busch's  expulsion  from  the  place ;  Busch  in  his  turn 
retorted  by  a  collection  of  epigrams,  in  which  among  other  things  he 
reproached  Heverling  with  reading  lectures  in  the  vulgar  tongue,* 

*  Here  is  a  specimen : 

" Quidquid  Heverlingus  legit  auditoribus,  iliud 

Vulgari  lingua,  Tetttonicaque  doeet. 
Ergo  ad  Heverlingum  perget,  meliore  relicto, 

Discere  qui  sordet,  barbariemquc  relit." 


80  HERMANN  BUSCD. 

namely  the  German ;  a  censure,  by  the  way,  which  was  but  too 
characteristic. 

At  Erfurt,  Busch  effected  a  formal  banishment  of  the  mediaeval 
school  books;  in  Leipzic  in  1506  Helt  and  Spalatiti  were  among  his 
auditors.  Magdeburg  denied  him  admittance ;  and  on  his  second 
establishment  in  Leipzic,  in  1510,  he  was  expelled  by  Duke  George. 

After  much  journeying  to  and  fro,  he  came  a  second  time  to 
Cologne,  and  was  a  second  time  driven  from  thence,  at  the  instigation 
chiefly  of  Ortuin  Gratius,  because  he  wrote  against  that  old  gram- 
matical text-book,  the  Doctrinal.  Hereupon  he  became  rector  of  a 
school  in  Wesel,  where  he  gave  to  the  world  a  defense  of  the  recently 
revived  classical  studies  against  the  boorish  attacks  of  the  monks.* 

When  the  Reformation  began,  Busch  read  with  avidity  the 
writings  of  Luther  and  Melancthon,  and  in  1522  resigned  his  office  at 
Wesel,  and  went  to  Wittenberg,  and  there  applied  himself  with  ardor 
to  the  study  of  the  Bible  and  the  Fathers.  At  the  recommendation 
of  the  reformers,  he  was  invited  by  Philip  of  Hesse  to  Marburg,  to 
take  the  historical  professorship.  Here  he  read  lectures  on  Livy  and 
Augustine;  in  1529  he  wrote  upon  the  authority  of  the  Bible.  At 
the  Marburg  Eucharist  controversy,  which  he  attended,  he  declared 
for  Luther  and  against  Zwingle. 

About  the  time  when  the  Anabaptist  disturbances  began  at 
Minister,  Busch  retired  from  Marburg  to  Dulmen,  where  he  had  a 
small  estate,  left  him  by  his  mother.  Invited  to  Munster  by  the 
magistracy,  he  went  thither  on  the  7th  of  August,  1533,  to  hold  a 
disputation  in  German  with  the  Anabaptists, — the  notorious  Rothman 
especially.  Busch  endeavored  to  prove  the  validity  of  infant  baptism 
by  an  appeal  to  the  Scriptures ;  but  Rothman  only  retorted  with  in- 
solent scorn.  After  a  long  dispute  Busch  was  seized  with  a  sudden 
indisposition,  which  compelled  him  to  leave  the  hall,  and  on  the  way 
the  fanatical  populace  jeered  at  him,  as  one  whom  God  was  punishing 
for  his  blasphemy.  Troubled  in  mind,  he  returned  to  Dulmen,  and 
soon  after  died  of  grief,  in  1534,  in  the  sixty-sixth  year  of  his  age. 

Busch  was  a  man  of  eminent  talents.  Erasmus  thus  describes  him  : 
"  He  would  have  been  a  successful  poet ;  in  his  prose  he  shewed 
himself  a  man  of  strong  intellect,  extensive  reading,  keen  judgment, 
and  no  little  energy ;  his  style  was  more  after  the  pattern  of 
Quintilian,  than  that  of  Cicero." 

A  traveling  teacher  and  apostle  of  classical  culture,  he  endured 
.  much  persecution  for  the  cause. 

*  The  treatise  wa»  entitled  Vallum  humanitatis.  The  Dominicans  of  Cologne  in  their 
sermons  called  poets  "  knaves,"  orators  "  swine,"  and  their  works  "  the  husks  of  the  devil." 


ERASMUS  AND  HIS  EDUCATIONAL  VIEWS. 


DESIDERIUS  ERASMUS,  a  Latinized  Greek  rendering  of  his  Dutch 
name,  Gerard  us  Gerardi,  was  born  at  Rottendam,  on  the  28th  of 
October,  1467.  At  the  age  of  four  years  he  was  put  to  school  at 
Terqau  or  Utrecht,  where  by  his  own  account,  he  made  little  pro- 
gress. In  his  ninth  year  he  joined  the  school  of  the  Hieronymians,  at 
Daventer,  where  the  better  teaching  of  Alexander  Hegius  and  John 
Swinthein,  rapidly  developed  his  genius,  so  that  Rudolph  Agricola, 
during  an  examination  of  the  themes  of  the  boys,  was  surprised  and 
delighted  with  the  originality  and  style  of  that  of  Erasmus,  and  en- 
couraged him  by  his  timely  praise  and  exhortation  to  continued  dili- 
gence. The  great  scholar  in  his  letters  often  speaks  of  the  value  of 
this  timely  recognition  of  his  school-boy  proficiency.  On  the  other 
hand,  his  spirits  were  much  broken  by  a  severe  and  undeserved 
chastisement,  against  which,  in  teachers,  he  often  inveighs  as  the 
cause  of  more  dullness  than  it  cured. 

While  on  a  visit  to  the  monastery  of  Steyne,  in  his  seventeenth 
year,  he  encountered  an  old  schoolmate,  a  certain  Cornelius,  who 
persuaded  him  to  take  the  dress  of  a  novice  and  make  the  religious 
profession  of  the  Augustinian  friars.  Here  he  became  intimate 
with  William  Hermann,  of  Gouda,  a  young  man  of  like  disposition, 
studious  habits  and  classical  attainments.  They  read  together  the 
best  Roman  authors,  and  devoted  much  time  to  Latin  composition, 
in  which  Erasmus  acquired  great  facility  and  felicity  of  expression. 

In  1495,  Hermann  de  Bergis,  with  whom  Erasmus  resided  two 
years,  Bishop  of  Cambray,  and  by  whom  he  was  ordained  priest  on 
the  25th  of  February,  1493,  sent  him  to  Paris  to  continue  his  theo- 
logical studies.  Here  he  resided  in  the  college  of  Montague,  and 
eked  out  the  irregular  and  slender  remittances  of  his  patron  Bishop, 
by  teaching.  Among  his  pupils  was  an  English  nobleman,  Lord 
Mountjoy,  who  made  him  an  annual  allowance,  and  was  ever  after  a 
steady  friend  and  benefactor.  At  Paris,  he  entered  on  the  mastery 
of  the  Greek  language  with  a  true  scholarly  enthusiasm. 


gg  ERASMUa 

A  portion  of  1497,  was  spent  as  private  tutor  in  the  family  of  the 
Marchioness  of  Vere,  in  Burgundy,  and  in  1498,  he  visited  England 
on  the  invitation  of  his  pupil,  Lord  Mountjoy.  Here  he  made  the 
acquaintance  of  Grocyn,  Pace,  Lenacre,  Sir  Thomas  More,  Colet, 
and  Lily.  With  the  two  last,  on  a  subsequent  visit,  he  helped  to 
establish  St.  Paul's  School  in  London,  and  organize  its  course  of  in- 
struction. He  was  also  at  Oxford,  and  taught  Greek  in  the  Univer- 
sity. On  his  return  to  France,  he  published  his  treatise  "De  Copia 
Verborum  el  Rerum,"  and  "  de  Conscribendis  Epislolis"  But  his 
"Adagia"  or  explanation  of  Greek  and  Latin  proverbs,  published  in 
1500,  gave  him  an  European  reputation.  In  1503,  his  "  Manual  of 
a  Christian  Soldier"  and  translations  into  Latin  of  parts  of  Eurip- 
ides, Plutarch,  and  other  Greek  authors  appeared. 

In  1 506,  Erasmus  visited  Italy,  and  was  complimented  at  Bologna, 
with  the  doctorate  of  divinity.  At  Venice,  he  superintended  the 
printing  of  his  "Adages"  at  the  celebrated  press  of  Aldo,  in  whose 
house  he  lodged.  At  Rome,  he  was  received  in  the  most  flattering 
manner  by  scholars  and  clergy,  and  great  inducements  were  held 
out  to  him  to  take  up  his  residence  there.  But  the  solicitations  of 
Mountjoy,  and  the  new  friends  he  had  made  on  his  former  visit,  in- 
duced him  to  leave  Italy  for  England,  where  he  spent  several  years. 
During  this  visit  he  printed  his  "Encomium  Morice"  or  "Praise  of 
Folly"  which  was  composed  in  the  house  of  Sir  Thomas  More. 

In  1514,  he  was  made  by  Charles,  Archduke  of  Austria,  after- 
wards Emperor  Charles  V,  one  of  his  counselors,  with  a  good 
stipend,  and  for  several  years  led  an  itinerating  life,  residing  for  brief 
periods  at  Louvain,  Antwerp,  and  Basil.  While  at  Basil  lie  printed 
(1516,)  the  works  of  St.  Jerome,  at  the  press  of  Froben,  and  editions 
of  Terence,  Suetonius,  Plautus,  Cicero,  Seneca,  with  a  translation 
of  the  Greek  Grammar  of  Gaza,  and  various  smaller  works,  which 
were  great  helps  to  the  study  of  the  literature  of  Greece  and  Rome. 

In  1517,  first  appeared  his  edition  of  the  Greek  Testament  with  a 
Latin  translation,  and  notes  grammatical  and  explanatory,  and  was 
received  with  great  favor.  This  publication  places  him  among  the 
greatest  benefactors  to  biblical  literature.  From  Pope  Leo  X.,  to 
whom  the  work  was  dedicated,  he  received  a  flattering  letter.  He 
was  offered  a  professorship  at  Louvain,  and  Ingoldstadt,  was  flooded 
with  letters  from  cardinals,  bishops,  and  scholars ;  and  crowned  heads 
solicited  the  honor  of  his  residence  at  their  courts.  But  he  prized 
his  liberty,  even  with  poverty,  to  a  residence  in  college,  or  at  court 
with  constantly  recurring  duties  even  with  wealth.  "  Courts  are 
splendid  misery,  and  as  for  wealth  and  honors,  I  want  them  not." 


ERASMUS. 


89 


About  this  period  he  became  involved  in  the  religious  reformatory 
discussions  of  the  day — but  without  gaining  special  favor  with  either 
party.  In  1522,  the  first  edition  of  Ins  "Familiar  Colloquies"  was 
issued,  by  which  he  has  become  more  widely  known  to  succeeding 
generations  than  by  all  his  other  publications.  He  printed  his 
"IrencFus"  in  1526,  his  "Ckryxostom"  in  1526,  and  his  "Augustm" 
in  1528.  His  " Ciceronian*"  and  treatise  "On  the  right  Pronuncia- 
tion of  the  Latin  and  Greek  Languages"  appeared  about  the  same 
time.  Erasmus  died  on  the  12th  of  July,  1536,  at  Basle. 

EDUCATIONAL  VIEWS. 

"THE  CICERONIAN"  of  Erasmus  merits  special  attention  in  a  history 
of  education,  since  it  advocates  in  a  clear  and  pointed  manner  that 
ideal  of  culture  which  began  to  prevail  in  the  time  of  Erasmus. 
This  ideal,  it  is  true,  concerned  itself  rather  with  methods  of  culture 
than  with  culture  itself,  and  rather  with  forms  of  instruction  than 
with  the  knowledge  to  be  imparted.  But  any  regular  and  distinct 
path  to  knowledge  will  finally  bring  us  to  our  goal,  although  through 
by-places  it  may  be,  and  by  long  and  needless  windings.  In  the 
dedication  of  the  "Ciceronian,"  Erasmus  briefly  unfolds  to  Blattenius 
his  design.  "A  school  has  arisen,"  says  he,  "  self-styled  '  Ciceronian,' 
that  in  its  insufferable  arrogance  rejects  all  writings  which  do  not 
wear  the  features  of  Cicero ;  that  deters  youth  from  the  perusal  of 
other  authors,  and  inculcates  upon  them  a  superstitious  imitation  of 
Cicero  alone,  while,  at  the  same  time,  it  does  not  itself  display  one 
particle  of  Cicero's  spirit."  He  then  intimates  his  belief  that  a  sinister 
design  lurks  behind  these  teachings  of  the  Ciceronians,  viz. :  to 
convert  Christians  into  Pagans.  In  this  connection,  he  alludes  to 
certain  German  youths,  who,  on  returning  from  Italy,  and  from  Rome 
in  particular,  had  proved  to  have  become  strongly  tinctured  with 
Paganism ;  and  he  closes  by  indicating  his  purpose  to  show  the  true 
way  in  which  Cicero  should  be  imitated,  so  that  his  surpassing  eloquence 
may  be  engrafted  on  the  spirit  of  Christian  piety. 

The  speakers  in  the  dialogue  are  Bulephorus,  (in  whom  we 
recognize  Erasmus  himself,)  and  Hypologus,  his  fellow-partizan. 
Both  unite  in  the  endeavor  to  reclaim  Nosoponus,  an  ultra-Ciceronian, 
from  his  misdirected  studies,  and  they  are  at  last  successful. 

Nosoponus  begins  with  the  emphatic  declaration,  that  he  abominates 
whatever  is  un-Ciceronian,  and  that  he  indulges  no  higher  wish  than  to 
be  himself  called  a  Ciceronian  by  the  Italians ;  but  he  laments  that  as  yet 
of  all  the  Cis-Alpines,  Longolius  alone  enjoys  that  honor.  Then  he 
goes  on  to  narrate  the  manner  in  which  he  is  prosecuting  his  purpose. 


90  ERASMUS  ON  CLASSICAL  EDUCATION. 

For  seven  years  he  has  read  Cicero  alone, — not  a  single  other 
author, — with  the  view  to  purge  himself  thoroughly  of  every  un- 
Ciceronian  phrase.  And  he  has  stored  nearly  the  whole  of  Cicero  in 
his  memory.  Now  he  intends  to  spend  another  seven  years  upon  the 
imitation  of  his  model.  All  the  words  used  by  Cicero  he  has 
arranged  alphabetically  in  a  huge  lexicon  ;  all  his  phrases,  in  another ; 
and,  in  a  third,  all  the  feet  which  commence  and  terminate  his 
periods.  In  addition  to  these  labors,  he  has  prepared  comparative 
tables  of  all  those  words  which  Cicero  has  used  in  two  or  more 
different  senses  in  different  passages.  He  is  not  content  with  a 
reference  to  the  paradigms  of  the  grammars,  but  perplexes  himself 
over  Cicero's  use  of  amo,  amas,  arnat,  instead  of  amamus,  amutis, 
amant,  of  amabam,  instead  of  amabamus ;  or,  in  compound  words, 
with  his  use  of  one  form  instead  of  another,  as  perspicio  instead  of 
dispicio.  Nosoponus  overrides  all  grammatical  rules,  ignores  every 
other  author  received  as  classical,  and  attaches  no  weight  even  to 
analogy.  He  thinks  that  a  genuine  Ciceronian  should  never  employ 
even  the  most  insignificant  particle,  unless  he  can  show  his  master's 
authority  for  it.  He  then  goes  on  to  describe,  without  appearing  to 
realize  its  absurdity  in  the  least,  the  plan  which  he  himself  pursues  in 
writing  Latin.  If,  for  instance,  he  wishes  to  pen  a  note  toTitius,  on 
the  occasion  of  returning  a  borrowed  book,  perhaps,  he  first  rummages 
all  the  letters  of  Cicero,  together  with  each  of  those  special  lexicons, 
that  he  himself  has  compiled  with  so  much  labor,  and  selects 
appropriate  words,  phrases,  etc.  Six  whole  nights  he  is  thus 
accustomed  to  spend  in  composing  an  epistle  of  only  as  many 
sentences ;  then  he  revises  it  ten  times ;  then  lays  it  aside  for  a  future 
perusal.  .  And,  after  all  these  repeated  revisions,  possibly  not  a  single 
word  of  the  original  draft  will  remain.  Bulephorus  thereupon 
suggest^,  that  haply  thus  the  letter  might  be  delayed  so  long  that  it 
would  be  of  no  use.  "No  matter  for  that!"  says  Nosoponus, 
"provided  that  it  is  only  Ciceronian  at  last."  "But,"  rejoins 
Bulephorus,  "how  is  it  in  speaking  Latin,  where  such  delay  is 
impracticable?"  "In  such  case,"  Nosoponus  replies,  "I  avoid 
speaking,  if  possible ;  or,  for  ordinary  purposes,  I  make  use  of  Dutch 
or  French  ;  when,  however,  I  must  use  Latin,  I  resort  to  my  memory, 
in  which  I  have  carefully  stored  up  for  such  emergencies  a  full  stock 
of  Ciceronian  phrases  upon  various  subjects."  / 

After  Nosoponus  has  thus  unfolded  the  full  extent  of  his  folly, 
Bulephorus  begins  the  attack ;  gently  at  first,  but  soon  he  exerts  more 
vigorous  efforts,  and  steadily  progresses  to  the  overpowering  complete- 
ness of  the  argument.  "  Quintilian,"  says  he,  "  recommends  the 


ERASMUS  ON  CLASSICAL  EDUCATION.  91 

perusal,  not  of  one  author  alone,  but  of  many.  Only  he  singles  out 
Cicero,  as  the  most  worthy  of  attention."  "  For  this  very  reason," 
rejoins  Nosoponus,  "  Quintilian  could  not  have  been  a  Ciceronian." 
"But,"  Bulephorus  asks,  "when  subjects  are  to  be  treated  which 
do  not  occur  in  Cicero,  what  are  we  to  do  ?  To  seek  the  Elysian 
fields,  and  consult  with  the  orator  himself  in  person?" 

To  this  Nosoponus  responds :  "  I  would  discard  all  subjects  that 
do  not  admit  of  being  discussed  in  Cicero's  recorded  words." 

Bulephorus  now  proceeds  to  criticise  the  aim  of  the  Ciceronians ; 
which  is,  to  assimilate  themselves  as  far  as  possible  to  Cicero. 
"Apart  from  the  fact,"  says  he,  "  that  many  of  the  writings  of  this 
exemplar  have  perished,  those  which  are  extant,  through  the  care- 
lessness of  copyists,  abound  in  errors  and  interpolations.  Here  then, 
to  what  perils  do  the  Ciceronians  expose  themselves !  Time  would 
fail  us  to  reckon  up  the  number  of  pseudo  Ciceronianisms,  which  they 
have  thus  received  and  lauded  as  the  genuine  words  of  their  master. 
But,  again,  in  Cicero  himself,  some  grammatical  blunders  have  been 
detected ;  and  also,  verses,  which  he  has  translated  from  the  Greek, 
are  not  always  faithful  to  the  original.  Yet  all  these  defects  likewise 
have  been  praised  and  copied  by  these  worshipers  of  his.  But  their 
imitation  is  mainly  of  the  most  superficial  nature.  Particles,  special 
phrases,  modes  of  ending  sentences,  and  the  like, — to  such  things 
they  pay  exclusive  attention,  applying  them  in  a  quite  arbitrary 
manner,  and  often  inappropriately.  Because  their  master  has  so 
frequently  commenced  his  periods  with  etsi,  quanquam,  quum,  etc., 
they  conclude  that  they  themselves  will  be  perfect  Ciceros,  if  they 
only  commence  their  sentences  in  like  manner.  Such  men  would 
accredit  the  'Books  to  Herennius'  to  Cicero,  for  the  sole  reason  that 
they  commence  with  etsi.  And  again,  since  Cicero  did  not  date  his  ' 
letters,  they  likewise  must  needs  omit  the  year  of  our  Lord  in  their 
correspondence ;  nor  do  they  affix  titles  to  their  works,  for  they  find 
none  in  Cicero.  Those  Christian  greetings,  with  which  we  commence 
our  letters,  such  as  '  Gratia,  pax,  et  misericordia  a  Deo  Patre  et 
Domino  Jesu  Christo,'  the  Ciceronian  holds  in  derision,  as  similar 
phrases  at  their  close ;  and  yet  they  are  far  more  appropriate  to  the 
Christian  character  than  '  Salutem  dicit,'  or  '  Bene  vale.'  Cicero,  it 
is  true,  made  no  use  of  them ;  but  this  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  for 
he  knew  nothing  of  the  things  signified  by  them.  And  in  fact,  how 
many  thousand  subjects  are  there,  upon  which  we  have  frequent 
occasion  to  speak,  that  Cicero  possibly  never  even  dreamed  of  I 

"And  he  himself,  I  doubt  not,  were  he  now  living,  would  implore 
these  narrow-minded  imitators  to  spare  his  good  name.     A  lifeless 


92  ERASMUS  ON  CLASSICAL  EDUCATION. 

imitation  is  cold  and  passionless ;  and  by  no  mere  affectation  can  wo 
ever  hope  to  appropriate  the  higher  excellencies  of  the  orator  whom 
we  have  taken  for  our  pattern.  We  look  in  vain  among  these 
Ciceronians  for  Cicero's  happy  invention,  his  clear  arrangement,  the 
skill  with  which  he  treats  his  subject,  his  power  over  the  passions, 
and  his  large  experience;  for,  instead  of  a  just  and  appreciative 
reproduction  of  his  spirit,  they  present  us  only  with  a  ghastly  and 
hollow  mask  of  his  form." 

"Every  age," continues  Bulephorus,  "has  its  special  characteristics, 
and  on  this  account  demands  its  particular  style  of  eloquence. 
Cicero's  speeches  would  not  have  suited  the  sterner  times  of  Ennius, 
and  Cato  the  censor,  to  say  nothing  of  the  present  clay.  Since 
the  age  of  Cicero  every  thing  has  changed, — religion,  government, 
authority,  manners  and  laws.  Should  it  be  required  of  us  at  the 
present  day  to  speak  and  write  as  Cicero  spoke  and  wrote,  we  must 
have  consuls,  tribunes,  praetors  and  ediles  again ;  in  short,  the  insti- 
tutions of  ancient  Rome  must  all  be  restored.  Whoever,  therefore, 
desires  to  conform  to  the  present  age,  and  to  adapt  himself  to  the 
circumstances  in  which  he  is  placed,  (and  without  such  desire  and 
aim  it  is  impossible  for  any  one  ever  to  become  an  orator,)  must 
differ  widely  from  CiceroT  Of  what  service  can  Cicero's  style  of 
eloquence  prove  to  the  Christian  orator,  addressing  Christian  men  and 
women  upon  repentance,  prayer,  or  alms-giving, — subjects  in  regard 
to  which  Cicero  was  entirely  uninformed?"  To  illustrate  this  point, 
Bulephorus,  (speaking  for  Erasmus,)  brings  up  the  case  of  a  Cicero- 
nian, whom,  on  a  certain  Easter-Eve,  he  had  heard  preach  before 
Pope  Julius  II.  "The  sermon,"  said  he,  "consisted  mainly  of  a 
panegyric  upon  the  Pope,  whom  the  orator  called  'Jupiter  Optimus 
Maxirnus,'  in  the  plenitude  of  his  power  wielding  the  forked  thunder- 
bolt, and  guiding  the  universe  by  his  nod.  Then  he  spoke  of  the 
Decii,  and  of  Q.  Curtius,  who,  for  their  country's  sake,  had  sacrificed 
themselves  to  the  Dii  Manes,  and  of  Iphigenia,  Cecrops  and  others, 
to  whom  their  country  was  dearer  even  than  life.  To  such  persons 
the  ancients  erected  statues  in  commemoration  of  their  deeds ;  but 
Christ,  in  return  for  all  the  good  which  he  accomplished  among  the 
Jews,  was  crucified.  In  short,"  said  Bulephorus,  "  the  Roman  spoke 
so  like  a  Roman,  that  the  speech  contained  no  mention  of  Christ's 
death  at  all.  And  yet  the  Ciceronians  at  Rome  pronounced  his 
sermon  a  marvelous  effort,  worthy  of  a  Roman,  and  worthy  even  of 
Cicero  himself.  Had  a  school-boy  addressed  his  mates  in  such  a 
speech,  it  might  have  passed  muster  as  a  tolerably  good  thesis;  but 
what  had  it  to  do  with  such  a  day,  with  such  an  audience,  and  with 


ERASMUS  ON  CLASSICAL  EDUCATION.  93 

such  an  occasion  ?  Surely  these  men,  who  have  Cicero  ever  in  their 
mouths,  only  slander  his  fair  fame.  And,"  he  continues,  "it  is  aston- 
ishing with  what  arrogance  they  look  down  upon  what  they  style  the 
barbarism  of  Thomas  Aquinus,  Scotus,  Durandus  and  others ;  and 
yet,  if  we  scan  the  merits  of  these  authors  critically,  although  they 
laid  no  claim  either  to  eloquence,  or  yet  to  Ciceronianism,  we 
shall  perceive  that  in  both  these  respects  they  far  outstrip  their 
detractors,  this  blustering  crew,  who  all  the  while  deem  themselves 
not  merely  Ciceronians,  but  veritable  Ciceros." 

As  Nosoponua  appears  astonished  at  this  emphatic  declaration, 
Bulephorus  proceeds  to  explain  more  minutelyjjn  what  an  orator 
should  resemble  Cicero.  "  He  should  speak  upon  every  subject  in 
that  clear  and  perfect  manner  that  only  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
subject  can  give,  and  he  ought  moreover  always  to  speak  from  the 
heart.  Hence,  it  follows  that  the  Christian  orator  must  understand 
the  mysteries  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  must  study  the  sacred 
writings  with  no  less  diligence  than  did  Cicero  the  works  of  philoso- 
phers, poets,  jurists  and  historians.  Through  his  intimacy  with  these 
it  was,''  continues  Bulephorus,  "  that  Cicero  became  so  great.  But 
if  we,  who  claim  to  be  called  spiritual  teachers,  are  familiar  neither 
with  the  law  nor  the  prophets,  neither  with  sacred  history  nor 
exegesis,  and  what  is  more,  if  we  despise  and  abominate  them  all, 
what  title  have  we  or  can  we  have  to  the  name  of  genuine  Ciceroni- 
ans ?  Must  not  every  one  of  our  addresses  bear  the  Christian  stamp, 
if  we  would  pass  not  only  for  good  orators,  but  even  for  good  meu  ? 
And,  how  is  this  possible,  if  we  use  only  those  words  and  phrases 
which  we  can  find  in  Cicero  ?  Are  we  to  substitute  the  language  of 
Cicero  for  that  of  the  church  ?  Instead  of  God  the  Father,  are  we 
to  say  '  Jupiter  Optimus  Maximus  ?'  instead  of  Jesus  Christ,  Apollo  ? 
and,  instead  of  Mary,  Diana  ?  Are  we  to  say  sacred  republic  instead 
of  church,  and  Christian  persuasion  instead  of  Christian  faith  ? 
Shall  we  style  the  Pope,  Flamen  Dialis,  the  priest  of  Jupiter,  and 
call  the  prophecies  oracles  of  the  gods  ?  Be  it  so  then,  and  let  us  sec 
whither  it  will  lead  us.  Take,  for  instance,  the  following  brief 
summation  of  our  faith: — 'Jesus  Christ,  the  Word  and  the  Son  of 
the  Eternal  Father,  according  to  prophecy,  came  into  the  world,  and, 
having  become  a  man,  voluntarily  surrendered  himself  to  death,  and 
so  redeemed  his  church,  and  delivered  us  from  the  penalty  of  the  law, 
and  reconciled  us  to  God,  in  order  that,  justified  by  grace  through 
faith,  and  freed  from  the  bondage  of  sin,  we  might  be  received  into 
his  church,  and  persevering  in  its  communion,  might,  after  this  life, 
be  admitted  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.'  And  how  would  a  Ciceronian 


04  ERASMUS  ON  CLASSICAL  EDUCATION. 

express  it  ?  Somewhat  in  this  manner,  viz. :  '  The  interpreter 
and  son  of  Jupiter  Optimus  Maximus,  our  saviour  and  our  sovereign, 
according  to  the  responses  of  the  oracles,  came  down  to  the  earth 
from  Olympus,  and,  having  assumed  the  human  shape,  of  his  own 
free  will  sacrificed  himself  for  the  safety  of  the  republic  to  the  Dii 
Manes,  and  so  restored  to  it  its  lost  liberty,  and,  having  turned  aside 
from  us  the  angry  thunder-bolts  of  Jupiter,  won  for  us  his  favor,  in 
order  that,  through  our  acknowledgement  of  his  bounty,  having 
recovered  our  innocence,  and  having  been  released  from  the  servitude 
of  flattery,  we  might  be  made  citizens  of  his  republic,  and  having 
sustained  our  parts  with  honor,  might,  when  the  fates  should  summon 
us  away  from  this  life,  enjoy  supreme  felicity  in  the  friendship  of  the 
immortal  gods.' " 

Nosoponus  now  asks  Bulephorus  whether  he  would  commend  the 
style  of  Thomas  Aquinus  and  Scotus ;  to  which  he  replies :  "  If  you 
will  admit  that  he  who  conforms  his  language  to  his  subject  is  to  be 
admired,  then  I  prefer  the  manner  in  which  Thomas  and  Scotus 
handle  sacred  things  far  before  that  of  the  Ciceronians.  Yet  there  is 
a  medium  between  Scotus  and  these  apes  of  Cicero.  Latin  words  not 
to  be  found  in  Cicero  are  not  on  that  account  to  be  rejected ;  words 
relating  to  agriculture  we  can  adopt  from  Cato  and  ^;^arro;  words 
relating  to  the  church,  from  Tertullian  and  Augustine.  Every  art, 
science,  or  institution  has,  too,  its  peculiar  technical  terms ;  gramma- 
rians, for  instance,  use  gerund  and  supine  ;  mathematicians,  fraction 
and  equation  ;  the  church,  amen  and  apostle,  etc.  Were  Cicero  now 
living,  and  were  he  a  Christian,  he  certainly  would  not  affect  indif- 
ference to  the  language  of  the  church  ;  he  would  say  'faith  in  Christ,' 
'  the  Comforter,'  etc.  And  why  then  should  we  not  cite  the  authority 
of  Holy  AVrit,  as  Cicero  quotes  from  Ennius  and  others?  Is  Solomon 
inferior  to  Plato  ?  arc  the  psalms  of  less  account  than  Pindar  ?  or  does 
Holy  Writ  any  where  rank  below  the  writings  of  uninspired  men  ? 
Certainly  not.  How  comes  it  then,  that  Hannibal,  the  Carthaginian 
general,  sounds  more  agreeable  to  our  ears  than  Paul  the  Apostle  of 
the  Gentiles?"  Hypologus  imputes  this  state  of  things  to  the 
extensive  use  which  is  made  of  the  classics  in  education,  through 
which  the  language  in  which  they  are  written,  becoming  familiar  to 
us,  captivates  our  imaginations  in  a  degree  disproportionate  to  its 
true  merits ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  language  of  the  Bible, 
receiving  but  little  attention,  appears  not  only  unattractive  in  our 
eyes,  but  even  barbarous.  To  this  Bulephorus  adds  :  Our  heathenish 
proclivities,  (nostra  paganitas,)  pervert  both  our  taste  and  our  under- 
standing. We  are  Christians  only  in  name ;  we  confess  Jesus  with 


ERASMUS  ON  CLASSICAL  EDUCATION.  95 

our  mouths,  but  Jupiter  Optimus  Maxim  us  and  Romulus  are  in  our 
hearts.  Were  it  not  so,  what  name  could  sound  sweeter  in  our  ears 
than  the  name  of  Jesus  ?  Should  we  extirpate  these  pagan  notions 
of  ours,  as  we  ought  to  do,  then  a  far  different  style  of  oratory  would 
prevail.  Yet  even  now,  no  one  will  acknowledge  himself  to  be  a 
pagan,  although  so  many  glory  in  being  called  Ciceronians. 

At  this  point,  the  conversation  is  directed  to  the  inquiry,  "  How 
far  is  Cicero  to  be  imitated  ?"  "  It  is  foolish,"  says  Bulephorus,  "  to 
endeavor  to  write  another  man's  sentiments,  to  labor  that  our  works 
should  be  the  echo,  for  instance,  of  Cicero's  thoughts.  Thou  must 
properly  digest  all  thy  manifold  reading,  not  merely  storing  it  in  thy 
memory  or  in  an  index,  but  by  reflection  assimilating  it  to  thy  soul. 
So  thy  spirit,  nourished  by  all  kinds  of  spiritual  food,  shall  pour 
forth  an  eloquence  all  its  own,  and  there  shall  be  no  savor  therein  of 
this  or  that  flower,  leaf,  or  herb,  but  it  shall  partake  throughout  of 
the  very  essence  and  bent  of  thine  own  spirit ;  and  thus  the  reader 
will  not  find  thy  writings  to  be  fragments  from  Cicero,  cunningly 
joined  together,  but  the  reflection  of  a  mind  filled  with  all  knowledge. 
The  bees,"  he  added,  "  gather  their  honey,  not  from  a  single  flower 
alone,  but  with  marvellous  diligence  they  visit  every  flower  and  shrub; 
and  even  then  they  have  not  gathered  pure  honey,  but  they  so 
prepare  and  refine  it  afterward  in  their  stomachs,  that  we  can  perceive 
neither  the  taste  nor  the  odor  of  any  of  the  various  flowers  from 
which  it  comes." 

Bulephorus  now  asks  further :  "  On  what  occasion  can  we  make 
use  of  this  Ciceronian  eloquence?  Is  it  in  the  court-room  ?  There, 
causes  are  handled  by  attorneys  and  advocates,  people  who  are  any 
thing  but  Ciceronians.  As  little  can  we  use  it  in  the  senate-chamber, 
where  French  is  employed,  or  else  German.  Can  we  then  use  it  in 
preaching  ?  But  the  hearers  do  not  understand  Latin ;  hence  it  is 
not  adapted  to  the  pulpit.  Where  then  shall  we  use  this  species  of 
eloquence  ?  At  best,  in  embassies  to  Rome,  to  deliver,  according  to 
custom,  an  elaborate  but  useless  harangue,  which  often  has  need  to 
be  interpreted  for  the  benefit  of  those  to  whom  it  is  addressed.  All 
important  business  is  there,  as  well  as  elsewhere,  transacted  either  by 
writing,  or  orally,  through  the  medium  of  the  French  language. 
What  purpose,  then,  can  this  accomplishment  of  the  Ciceronian 
subserve  ?  That  of  writing  letters  to  the  learned  ?  But  no  one  of 
these  insists  that  Latin  should  be  altogether  Ciceronian,  with  the 
exception  of  four  Italians,  who  boast  themselves,  of  late,  to  have 
become  perfect  copyists  of  Cicero." 

And  now  Bulephorus  calls  over,  one  by  one,  the  names  of  a  number 


QO  ERASMUS  ON  CLASSICAL  EDUCATION. 

of  Latin  authors,  both  ancient  and  modern,  and  asks  Nosoponus,  at  the 
mention  of  the  successive  names,  whether  he  considers  this  or  that 
man  a  Ciceronian  ;  but  none  of  them  all  is  acknowledged  by  him. 
"  Pliny,  the  younger,"  says  he,  "  is  so  little  of  a  Ciceronian,  that  we 
have  forbidden  our  youths  to  peruse  any  of  his  letters,  lest  they  should 
become  Plinians,  instead  of  Ciceronians.  Among  the  moderns  like- 
wise, we  reckon  none  as  Ciceronians,  neither  Valla,  nor  Politian,  nor 
Budoeus ;  Peter  Mosellanus,  however,  would  undoubtedly  have 
gained  this  distinction,  had  he  not  died  too  soon."  "  How  is  it  with 
Erasmus  ?"  asks  Bulephorus.  "  Him,"  replies  Nosoponus,  "  I  do  not 
even  style  a  writer,  much  less  a  Ciceronian.  A  polygraphist  truly  he 
is,  who  blots  much  paper  with  his  ink.  He  hurries  through  with 
every  thing ;  he  will  write  you  a  whole  volume,  starts  pede  in  uno  ; 
he  can  never  prevail  upon  himself  even  to  look  over  what  he  has 
once  written  ;  and,  besides  being  no  Ciceronian,  he  employs  theological 
and  even  vulgar  expressions."  In  like  manner  he  disposes  of  Agri- 
cola,  Hegius,  Busch,  Wimpheling,  Reuchlin,  Melancthon,  Hutten, 
Pirkheimer,  and  others.  At  last  Bulephorus  exclaims  ;  "  So  many 
lands  have  you  diligently  searched  through,  and  there  is  no  Ciceronian 
anywhere  to  be  found!"  " Longolim  alone,"  rejoins  Nosoponus, 
"  forms  an  exception  :  although  he  is  a  Brabanter,  and  was  educated 
at  Paris,  yet  he  has  been  recommended  by  the  Italians  as  a  pure 
Ciceronian."  " Lonyolius"  says  Bulephorus,  "paid  for  his  renown 
with  his  life  ;  an 4  the  speeches,  which  he  made  in  Rome,  had,  it  is 
true,  an  air  of  elaborate  refinement  about  them,  but  they  were  based 
upon  an  artificial  reproduction  of  a  long  vanished  age,  and  not  upon 
the  living  relations  of  the  present  time.'  I  Such  speeches  are  forced 
and  unnatural,  and  weary  the  listener ;  they  are  in  no  wise  fitted  for 
any  thing  but  the  declamations  of  school-boys." 

Thereupon,  Bulephorus  again  defines  a  genuine  imitation,  as  opposed 
to  servile  copying.  "  The  one,"  says  he, "  consists  in  a  living,  spiritual 
assimilation  of  the  classics,  while  the  other  calls  out  merely  the 
external  adornments  of  words  and  phrases.  The  writer,  or  the  ora- 
tor, who  would  not  deceive  us  by  acting  out  of  character,  must  not 
attempt  to  personate  another  individual's  mind.  The  language  of  the 
Christian,  at  least,  should  not  be  perverted,  nor  his  character  disgraced 
by  such  a  preposterous  imitation  of  Cicero."  In  such  an  independent 
manner,  unmoved  and  unbiased  by  the  false  notions  of  his  contempo- 
raries, did  Erasmus  render  his  verdict  against  their  misuse  of  Cicero; 
a  verdict  which  applies  with  equal  propriety  in  the  case  of  all  the 
classics.  How  justly,  too,  does  he  express  himself  upon  the  only  true 
method  of  studying  authors,  that  method  which  exerts  so  immediate 


ERASMUS  ON  CLASSICAL  EDUCATION.  97 

and  so  marked  an  influence  upon  our  own  productive  faculties. 
'•While  thus  the  reader  grows  spiritually,  his  own  creative  powers  are 
strengthened  and  matured.'' 

In  the  like  fearless  and  perspicuous  manner,  did  Erasmus  give  his 
opinion  upon  the  necessity  of  practical  knowledge  in  order  to  a  correct 
interpretation  of  the  classical  authors.  We  will  single  out  a  passage 
on  this  point  from  his  "  Dialogue  on  Pronunciation."  The  speakers 
are  the  Lion  and  the  Bear. 

"Bear. — Do  you  style  that  man  a  grammarian,  who,  when  he  is 
addressed  in  Latin,  is  able  to  reply  without  making  any  blunder  ? 

Lion. — In  our  day,  such  a  person  'is  commonly  esteemed  a 
grammarian. 

Bear. — But  Quintilian  requires  of  the  grammarian,  facility  in  ex- 
plaining the  poets,  acquaintance  with  history,  knowledge  of  antiquity, 
etc.  Should  he  possess  no  thorough  knowledge  of  these  things,  yet  he 
must  not  be  entirely  unfamiliar  with  them,  if  he  wishes  to  be  deemed 
capable  of  instructing  youth.  Because  the  grammarian  is  expected  to 
comment  on  the  "  Arma  virumque,"  we  must  not  on  that  account 
expect  him  to  be  a  Pyrrhus,  or  a  Hannibal ;  nor,  because  he  is  to  in- 
terpret Virgil's  Georgics,  should  we  require  him  to  be  an  experienced 
agriculturist.  If  again  he  is  to  expatiate  upon  the  voyage  of  ^Eneas, 
we  ought  not  to  demand  that  he  be  a  thorough-bred  sea-captain  ;  nor 
that  he  be  an  Apicius,  when  he  is  about  to  treat  of  a  passage  upon 
cookery.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  what  dependence  is  to  be  placed 
upon  the  grammarian,  who  is  entirely  ignorant  both  of  the  construction 
and  the  use  of  fire-arms  and  tools,  or  who  knows  nothing  even  of  the 
disposition  and  organization  of  an  army?  Could  he  learn  these 
things  by  experience,  it  would  profit  him  not  a  little,  but,  where  this 
is  out  of  the  question,  he  should  inform  himself  from  books,  or  from 
conversation  with  men,  who  have  been  personally  connected  with 
such  matters,  or,  so  far  as  may  be  necessary,  from  accurate  drawings. 
And  the  same  method  is  applicable  to  every  other  art  to  which  he  may 
have  occasion  to  refer. 

Lion. — Such  grammarians,  as  you  have  described,  there  may  have 
been  formerly,  but  they  are  now  out  of  fashion. 

Bear. — That  is  very  true  ;  and  hence  our  children,  after  they  have 
grown  old  almost,  under  the  present  race  of  teachers,  return  to  their 
homes,  without  being  able  to  call  a  single  tree,  fish,  or  plant,  by  its 
right  name." 

Similar  demands,  likewise,  Erasmus  urged  in  his  essay,  "  On  the 
correct  method  of  pursuing  study."  In  this,  he  inculcates  upon 
teachers  the  necessity  of  attending  to  many  branches  of  science,  such 

No.  12.— [VoL.  IV.,  No.  3.— 47.  G 


98  ERASMUS  ON  CLASSICAL  EDUCATION. 

as  geography,  natural  history,  etc.  "  It  is  incredible,"  says  he,  "  how 
profoundly  ignorant  in  respect  to  such  matters  the  generality  of  teach- 
ers are  at  the  present  day."^jYet  Erasmus  himself  regarded  the  natu- 
ral sciences  merely  as  indispensable  means  to  a  correct  interpretation 
of  the  classics,  nor  did  he  appear  to  have  had  the  remotest  idea  of 
their  importance  in  themselves.  How  far  in  advance  of  him,  in  this 
respect,  was  Luther,  whose  keen-sighted  intellect,  in  spite  of  the  be- 
numbing influence  of  school  and  cloister,  remained  ever  vigorous 
and  active  !  "  We  are  now,"  said  Luther  on  a  certain  occasion,  "in 
the  morning-dawn  of  a  better  life ;  for  we  are  beginning  again  to  re- 
cover that  knowledge  of  the  creation,  which  we  lost  through  Adam's 
fall.  By  God's  grace,  we  are  beginning  to  recognize,  even  in  the 
structure  of  the  humblest  floweret,  his  wondrous  glory,  his  goodness, 
and  his  omnipotence.  In  the  creation  we  can  appreciate  in  some 
measure  the  power  of  Him,  who  spake  and  it  was  done,  who  com- 
manded and  it  stood  fast.  Consider  the  peach-stone  :  although  it  is 
very  hard,  yet,  in  its  due  season,  it  is  burst  asunder  by  the  force  of  the 
very  tender  germ,  which  is  inclosed  within  the  shell.  But  all  this, 
Erasmus  passes  by,  not  regarding  it  for  a  moment ;  and  views  this 
new  knowledge  of  the  creature,  only  as  cows  look  upon  a  new  gate."  * 

His  treatise  upon  "  Study,"  by  reason  of  its  succinctness,  gives  us 
no  exhaustive  methodology,  but  only  single  rules  for  the  direction  of 
teachers.  Some  of  these  rules  are  worthy  of  careful  attention ;  es- 
pecially those  relating  to  the  improvement  of  the  scholar's  style. 
For  this  end,  Erasmus  commends,  above  all  other  means,  frequent 
exercise  in  translating  from  Greek  into  Latin ;  as  this  not  only  assists 
in  the  understanding  Greek  authors,  but  also  gives  an  insight  into 
the  peculiarities  of  both  languages.  This  counsel  applies  with  equal 
force  in  our  day  to  translating  from  foreign  languages  into  our  mother- 
tongue.  Then  too,  while  any  particular  author  is  being  read,  the 
teacher  should  comment  and  explain  only  so  far  as  may  be  necessary 
to  a  thorough  understanding  of  the  sense  ;  but  he  must  scrupulously 
refrain  from  an  ostentatious  and  inappropriate  display  of  his  own 
erudition  at  every  passage. 

Erasmus  was  moreover  directly  instrumental  in  promoting  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  Greek  language,  through  his  translation  of  the  Greek 
grammar  of  Theodore  Gaza. 

But  no  one  of  all  his  works  has  played  so  important  a  part  in  the 
school-world,  as  the  Dialogues,  (Colloquia.)  The  tirst  edition  of  these, 
Erasmus  himself  was  dissatisfied  with  :  the  second,  published  in  the 
year  1522,  he  dedicated  to  the  son  of  Frobenius.  them  but  six  years 
of  age,  as  also  the  third,  published  in  1524.  In  the  dedication  to  the 


ERASMUS  ON  CLASSICAL  EDUCATION. 


99 


last,  he  says,  "  the  book  was  so  much  liked,  met  with  such  a  rapid 
sale,  and  was  so  generally  used  by  youth,  that  he  was  induced  at 
once  to  prepare  another  and  an  enlarged  edition.  Many  have  become 
such  superior  Latinists,  and  likewise  so  much  better,  (Latiniores  et 
meliores,)  by  the  use  of  this  book,  that  he,  (the  boy,)  would  not  be 
put  to  the  blush  in  their  society." 

But  this  book,  designed  to  make  boys  both  better  and  better 
Latinists,  was  condemned  by  the  Sorbonne,  prohibited  in  France, 
burned  in  Spain,  and  at  Rome  interdicted  to  all  Christendom. 

And  whoever  peruses  these  dialogues,  will  not  be  at  all  astonished 
at  this.  For  they  abound  in  most  insidious  attacks  and  sharp  satires 
upon  monks,  cloister-ljfe,  fasts,  pilgrimages,  and  other  matters  pertain- 
ing to  the  church.  /And  this  fact  is^  enough  of  itself  to  have  occa- 
sioned the  condemnation  of  the  book,  without  any  reference  to  the 
many  frivolous  and  improper  expressions  which  it  contains. 

We  are  astonished  that  such  a  book  should  ever  have  been  intro- 
duced into  so  -great  a  number  of  schools  as  it  was.  What  have  boys 
to  do  with  those  satires  ?  Reformation  is  the  work  of  mature  men 
alone.  What  have  boys  to  do  with  conversations  upon  so  many  sub- 
jects, of  which  they  know  absolutely  nothing  ?  with  conversations 
where  teachers  are  made  sport  of,  where  two  women  discuss  the 
respective  merits  of  their  husbands,  where  a  lover  is  urging  his  suit 
with  a  maiden,  or,  above  all,  with  a  conversation  like  the  "  Colloquium 
adolescentis  et  scorti  ?''  This  latter  reminds  us  of  Schiller's  distich, 
entitled  "  Artifice :" 

"Would  you  at  once  delight  both  the  men  of  the  world  and  the  godly, 
Paint  for  us  pleasure,  but  paint  ye  the  devil  therewith. 

Erasmus  here  depicts  the  vilest  of  pleasures,  but  adds  his  censure 
for  edification.  And  such  a  book  this  learned  theologian  gravely 
recommends  to  a  boy  of  eight  years  of  age,  as  one  whose  perusal  will 
make  him  better,  though  at  the  same  time  as  one  which  will  perfect  him 
in  Latin  ;  and  to  this  end  it  is  admirably  adapted.  For  the  various 
personages  of  Erasmus  here  express  themselves  with  astonishing 
facility  upon  subjects,  which  we  would  scarcely  have  believed  capable 
of  being  handled  in  the  Latin  tongue,  such  as  horse-dealing,  the  chase, 
taverns,  and  the  like. 

Teachers,  who  were  wont  to  give  the  plays  of  Terence  to  their 
scholars  to  commit  to  memory  and  to  act,  took  no  oft'ense  at  the 
nature  of  these  Dialogues,  so  long  as  they  secured  what  they  consid- 
ered the  highest  aim  of  all  culture,  viz.:  a  readiness  in  speaking  and 
in  writing  Latin. 

Terence  is  not  responsible  for  the  misuse  that  was  made  of  him 


100  ERASMUS  ON  CLASSICAL  EDUCATION. 

after  the  lapse  of  fifteen  hundred  years:  but  Erasmus,  the  theo- 
logian, is  responsible  for  his  frivolous  book,  nay  doubly  so,  inasmuch 
as  he  designed  it  for  youth,  even  though  they  should  become  thereby 
Latinists  of  the  first  eminence. 

In  Luther's  Table-talk,  there  are  some  expressions  in  regard  to 
these  Dialogues,  which  teachers  would  do  well  to  lay  to  heart. 
"  Erasmus,"  says  he,  "  lurks  behinds  the  fence,  does  nothing  openly, 
and  never  comes  boldly  into  our  presence, — and  for  this  reason  are  his 
books  very  pernicious.  When  I  die,  I  will  forbid  my  children  to  read 
his  Dialogues ;  for  in  them  he  utters  and  teaches  many  a  wicked  senti- 
ment by  the  mouths  of  his  fictitious  characters,  with  the  deliberate 
design  to  injure  the  church  and  the  Christian  faith.  Erasmus  is  a 
crafty  knave ;  that,  one  sees  in  all  his  books,  but  especially  in  his 
Dialogues,  in  which  he  is  particular  to  say  ;  '  I  myself  speak  not  here, 
but  my  personages.'  To  Lucian  I  give  some  praise,  for  he  comes  out 
boldly,  and  indulges  in  open  mockery  ;  but  Erasmus  sophisticates 
every  thing  which  is  from  God,  and  every  thing  holy,  and  does  it  all 
in  the  name  of  holiness  ;  for  this  reason  he  is  much  more  mischievous 
and  corrupting  than  Lucian." 

The  Dialogues  at  least,  can  not  but  have  an  injurious  effect  upon 
the  moral  sentiments  of  youth.  Cold,  unloving  satire,  frivolity  and 
shuffling,  act  as  poison  upon  the  simplicity  and  artlessness  of  the 
young.  Erasmus  is  wonderfully  clear  and  eloquent,  when  he  treats 
of  any  thing  purely  scientific ;  but  he  was  not  the  man  to  write 
books  of  instruction,  to  address  children  from  a  fatherly  heart,  and  to 
care  for  the  good  of  their  souls. 

The  unhappy  man  had  no  father's  house,  no  country,  and  no  church  ; 
in  short,  he  had  no  object  to  which  he  could  devote  his  powers  in  self- 
sacrifice  ;  therefore  did  he  become  selfish,  timid,  and  double-minded, 
for  love  was  a  stranger  to  his  breast.  We  do  not  wonder  then  that 
he  dissolved  all  connection  with  the  upright,  outspoken  Luther,  that 
true-hearted  and  affectionate  pastor  of  his  beloved  Germans. 


THE  SCHLETTSTADT  SCHOOL,  AND  JOHN  REUCHLIN. 

Translated  fur  the  American  Journal  of  Education,  from  the  German  of  Karl  von  Raumer.] 


Louis  Dringenberg.     Wimpheling.     Crato.     Sapidut.     Flatter. 

WE  have  confined  ourselves  thus  far  to  the  labors  of  North 
Germans  and  Netherlander  for  the  restoration  of  classical  learning, 
and  for  the  cause  of  popular  education. 

Some  of  the  men  above-noticed  led,  as  we  have  seen,  a  migratory 
life  as  it  were :  Wessel,  Agricola  and  Erasmus,  all  lived  a  longer  or  a 
shorter  time  in  South-Germany  and  Switzerland,  and  exerted  an  in- 
fluence upon  learning  there.  Three  places  in  the  soutli  became  by 
this  means  centers  of  intellectual  light,  namely,  Schlettstadt,  Heidel- 
berg and  Tubingen.  We  will  now  consider  what  took  place  at 
Schlettstadt;  Heidelberg  and  Tubingen  shall  receive  due  attention 
when  we  come  to  Melancthon. 

Schlettstadt,  a  small  imperial  town  of  Lower  Alsace,  grown  wealthy 
on  its  lucrative  wine  traffic,  determined,  about  the  middle  of  the  15th 
century,  to  found  a  school,  and  for  that  purpose  invited  the  West- 
phalian,  Lours  DRINOENBERO,  to  become  its  first  rector.  He  took  his 
name  from  Dringenberg,  his  native  place,  a  small  town  six  miles  to 
the  east  of  Paderborn :  he  was  educated  at  the  school  of  the  Hierony- 
mians  at  Deventer.  Of  his  method  of  instruction  we  only  know  this, 
namely,  that  he  gave  his  pupils  a  religious  training,  and  that,  with 
regard  to  the  mediaeval  school  books,  the  Doctrinal,  especially,  though 
he  did  not  venture  to  throw  them  aside,  he  nevertheless  aimed  to 
make  them  as  harmless  as  possible.  But  if  the  tree  may  be  known 
by  its  fruits,  then  the  many  distinguished  men,  who  were  sent  forth 
from  Dringenberg's  school,  are  our  best  witnesses  that  his  method 
was  a  good  one. — He  died  in  1400,  after  having  been  at  the  head  of 
the  school  for  forty  years. 

Among  his  pupils  the  name  of  JACOB  WIMPHELING  has  become 
the  most  familiar  to  us.  He  was  born  at  Schlettstadt  in  1450,  and 
died  there  in  1528.  At  the  close  of  his  school-education,  he 
studied  at  Freyburg,  Basle  and  Erfurt.  He  took  his  master's  degree 
at  Heidelberg  in  1479,  was  created  dean  of  the  philosophical  faculty 
there,  and  during  the  years  1481  and  1482  he  was  Rector  of  the 
university.  Afterward  he  became  a  preacher  at  Spires,  where  ho 

No.  13.— [You  V.,  No.  1.]— 5. 


102  THE  SCHLETTSTADT  SCHOOL. 

lived  somewhat  longer  than  at  Heidelberg;  then  he  went  again  to 
Heidelberg,  where  he  read  lectures  upon  St.  Jerome,  and  also  directed 
the  studies  of  many  young  men,  Count  Wolfgang  Lowenstein  among 
the  rest  To  the  latter  he  dedicated  his  educational  treatise,  entitled 
"Adolescentia"  in  which  he  gave  prominence  to  moral  precepts, 
illustrating  and  enforcing  them  by  quotations  both  from  the  Bible 
and  the  classics.  A  second  work,  the  Isidoneus,  (ettfoSog,  introduction,) 
is  devoted  on  the  other  hand  mainly  to  his  method  of  conducting  the 
study  of  the  liberal  arts  in  general,  but  with  a  special  application  to 
the  classics  :  his  hJ5kff€tntiae  majores  "  and  " 'Elegantiarum  medulla  " 
are  school  books.  His  epitome  of  German  history  was  likewise 
designed  for  a  manual  of  instruction. 

One  of  Wimpheling's  pupils,  the  distinguished  James  Sturm,  we 
shall  meet  with  again.  For  him  it  was  that  Wimpheling  composed 
the  essay  "De  integritate"  containing  rules  for  study  and  for  the 
conduct  of  life,  and  enjoining  upon  him,  above  all  things,  a  dili- 
gent perusal  of  the  Bible.  Some  expressions  in  this  essay,  reflecting 
upon  the  monks,  drew  from  the  Augustinians  demonstrations  of 
hostility  toward  the  author,  to  which,  however,  Pope  Julius  II.  put 
an  end. 

Of  Wimpheling's  efficiency  at  Strasburg  we  shall  speak  in  another 
place.*  Strongly  as  he  inveighed  against  the  corruptions  of  the 
church,  yet  he  did  not  go  over  to  the  side  of  the  Reformation.  This 
violent  movement  and  schism  in  the  church,  coming  as  it  did  in  his 
old  age,  accordingly  occasioned  him  much  anxiety  and  care.f  He 
retired  to  Schlettstadt  to  the  house  of  his  sister,  Magdalena,  where  he 
died  in  his  seventy-eighth  year. 

A  second  scholar  of  Dringenberg's  was  George  Simler,  afterward 
Melancthon's  teacher,  both  at  Pforzheim  and  Tubingen  ;  a  third, 
Eitelwolf  Stein,  is  known  to  us  by  his  active  friendship  for  Hutten. 

Dringenberg's  successor  in  the  rectorate  was  Crato,  (or  Craft 
Hofmann,)  who  may  lay  claim  to  Beatus  Rhenanus  as  one  of  his 
scholars.  The  real  name  of  Rhenanus  was  BILD.  He  was  born  at 
Schlettstadt  in  1485,  and  died  at  Strasburg  in  1547.  He  labored 
much  in  the  field  of  German  history,  wrote  annotations  on  Tacitus, 
edited  Vellius  Paterculus,  Procopius,  etc. 

Rhenanus  continued  at  the  Schettstadt  gymnasium  under  the  rec- 
torate of  Crato 's  successor  Gebwiler,  and  with  him  John  Sapidus, 

*  Under  "John  Sturm." 

t  "In  addition  tool  her  calamities,  which  put  Wimpheling's  virtue  sorely  to  the  test,  this  fatal 
division,  which  has  extended  throughout  the  w hole  church,  came  in,  and  with  its  superinduced 
weight,  well  nigh  crushed  him  ;  he  had  no  sympathy  with  this  corrupt  age." — Eraamut. 


JOHN  REDimiN.  103 

(Witz,)  a  nephew  of  Wimpheling's.  This  latter,  born  at  Schlettstadt 
in  1490,  about  the  year  1514,  after  traveling  and  studying  at  Paris, 
himself  became  Rector  of  the  gymnasium  in  question. 

And  under  his  rectorate  the  school  grew  so  rapidly  that  in  1517  it 
numbered  no  less  than  900  scholars.  Among  these  was  Thomas 
Platter  of  Switzerland,  whose  autobiography*  calls  up  before  us  a 
vivid  picture  of  life  and  manners,  as  he  found  them  at  the  school. 

But  the  school  did  not  long  continue  to  be  so  full.  As  early  as 
1520  Sapidus  joined  himself  to  the  reformatory  movement,  and  in 
consequence  became  alienated  from  Witnpheling.  And,  because 
Schlettstadt  declared  decisively  against  the  Reformation,  Sapidus  left 
the  place  and  settled  in  Strasburg,  where  he  was  employed  as  a 
teacher  in  the  new  gymnasium,  and  where  he  died  in  1561. 

After  a  while  the  Schlettstadt  school  lost  its  reputation,  and  the 
Jesuits  obtained  control  over  it.  The  original  school  house  is 
standing  to  this  day. 

JOHN    BEUCHL1N. 

[Corn  at  Pforzheim,  Dec.  28<A,  1455.     Died  at  Stuttgart,  June  30tA,  1522.] 

REUCHLIN'S  parents  were  worthy  and  honorable  people.  The 
young  John  early  made  a  marked  progress  in  the  languages  and  in 
music.  Because  of  his  good  voice  he  was  taken  to  the  court  at 
Baden;  in  1473,  when  eighteen  years  of  age,  he  accompanied  the 
Margrave,  Frederick  of  Baden,  to  Paris.  Here  he  formed  the  ac- 
quaintance of  Wessel ;  and  here  Hermonymus  of  Sparta  gave  him 
lessons  in  Greek,  whereupon  he  studied  Aristotle  before  all  other 
authors,  bestowing  diligent  study  the  while  upon  Latin. 

In  his  twentieth  year  he  went  to  Basle,  there  continued  his  Greek 
under  the  tuition  of  Andronicus  Contoblacus,  a  native  of  Greece,  at  the 
same  time  reading  Latin  and  Greek  authors.  At  that  period  he  also 
compiled  a  Latin  dictionary,  under  the  title  "  Vocabularius  breviloquus." 

He  now  revisited  France,  studied  law  in  1479  at  Orleans,  and  in 
1480  at  Poictiers,  teaching  at  the  same  time ;  then  returned  to  Tubin- 
gen, married,  and  entered  upon  the  active  duties  of  the  legal  profession. 

In  the  year  1482  Reuchlin  accompanied  Eberhard,  the  elder,  on  a 
journey  from  Wittenberg  to  Rome ;  he  was  selected,  principally  for 
the  facility  with  which  he  spoke  Latin,  and  for  his  correct  pronuncia- 
tion.f  He  delivered  a  most  admirable  speech  in  the  presence  of  Sixtus 

*  We  (tive  extracts  from  Platter's  Autobiography,  on  pnges  79-90. 

t  When  the  amhassadors  of  the  Pope  met  Eberhard,  his  chancellor  replied  in  Etxrhard'a 
name  to  their  greeting  as  follows:  (mark  the  pronunciation  !)  CeiVsissimuset  j? /'/lust  rissi  mils 
nooster  Prainceips  emtellexif.  etc.  This  the  Italians  did  not  understand,  and  accordingly 
lUuchlin  was  called  on  to  reply  to  thun.— When  a  certain  French  ambassador  had  addressed 
the  Emperor  Maximilian  in  a  Latin  spetrh.  tli*  Count  of  Zollern  rrpiK.I  in  th-  emperor's 
behalf,  but  in  a  broad  and  b  irbumus  Sw  b!aii  accent.  To  the  question  of  Philip,  Maximilian'* 


104  •T()MN  REUCHLIN. 

IV. ;  and  soon  after,  together  with  Eberhard,  waited  upon  Lorenzo  di 
Medici. 

In  the  year  1486,  Heuchlin  was  sent,  with  two  other  ambassadors, 
by  Eberhard  to  Frankfort,  to  attend  the  coronation  of  Maximilian  I. ; 
and  in  1489  he  took  charge  of  an  embassy  to  Rome.  During  this 
latter  journey  he  became  acquainted  with  Picus  Mirandola,  at  Florence. 
In  1492,  he  attended  Eberhard  to  Linz,  to  the  court  of  the  Emperor 
Frederick  III.,  who  raised  Reuchlin  to  the  rank  of  nobility,  and 
created  him  Count  Palatine.  He  there  made  a  valuable  acquisition, 
in  the  acquaintance  of  James  Jehiel  Loans,  the  emperor's  physician, 
a  learned  Jew,  who  gave  him  a  most  careful  and  accurate  course  of 
instruction  in  Hebrew.  Frederick  presented  Reuchlin  with  a  Hebrew 
Old  Testament,  valued  at  300  gold  florins.  $ 

The  excellent  duke,  Eberhard,  the  elder,  died  in  the  year  1496, 
and  was  succeeded  by  a  profligate  ruler,  Eberhard,  the  younger.  He 
appointed  for  his  chancellor,  Holzinger,  an  unprincipled  Augustinian 
monk,  who  had  once  been  arrested  through  Reuchlin's  means. 
Under  the  government  of  such  persons,  Reuchlin  had  nothing  but  evil 
to  look  for ;  and  hence  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1497  he  returned 
to  Heidelberg,  where  he  received  a  most  friendly  welcome  at  the 
hands  of  Dalberg.  There  he  wrote  Seryius,  a  satirical  comedy  in 
ridicule  of  Holzinger ;  a  second  comedy,  which  he  transferred  from 
the  French,  Dalberg  gave  to  the  students  to  act. 

In  the  year  1498  Reuchlin  was  sent  by  the  Elector-Palatine  Philip 
on  an  embassy  to  Pope  Alexander  VI.,  before  whom  he  delivered  a 
Latin  address.  He  remained  a  year  at  Rome,  and  took  lessons  in 
Hebrew  daily  of  Abdias,  the  Jew,  to  whom,  for  every  hour  of  instruc- 
tion, he  gave  a  gold  florin :  while  there,  he  also  attended  the  lectures 
of  Argyropulus  on  Thucydides.  The  first  time  that  he  heard  Argy- 
ropulus,  this  one  asked  him  to  what  country  he  belonged,  and  then, 
whether  he  had  paid  any  attention  to  Greek  before  ?  when  Reuchlin 
replied,  that  he  was  from  Germany,  and  was  not  wholly  unacquainted 
with  Greek,  Argyropulus  put  a  copy  of  Thucydides  into  his  hands, 
with  the  request  that  he  would  read  him  some  of  it.  Hereupon 
Reuchlin  translated  the  Greek  text  very  correctly  and  into  pure  Latin, 
so  that  Argyropulus  cried  out  in  admiration,  "  Our  bereaved  and 
exiled  Greece  has  at  last  found  a  home  beyond  the  Alps." 

Eberhard,   the    younger,   was    formally   deposed   in    1498,   and 

•on.  •'  wd.it  sort  of  Latin  is  that  1"  the  Wirtemberg  chancellor,  1  ..-impart,  replied, "  that,  princes, 
is  Hechingcn  Latin."  "Where  did  the  count  learn  ill"  continued  Philip.  "At  Hechingen," 
Mud  the  chancellor,  "a  small  Swabian  town  on  the  count's  domains,  where  very  coarM 
•ackcloth  is  made.  There  the  count '»  Latin  was  woven  too."  This  incident  afterward  caused 
all  such  I -aim  to  b«  designated  by  the  name,  Hechingen  Latin. 


JOHN  REUCHLIJf.  103 

Reuchlin  returned  soon  after,  in  1499,  to  Wirtemberg.  From  1502 
to  1513  he  was  one  of  the  three  judges  of  the  Swabian  league  formed 
in  1488. 

In  the  year  1506  he  issued  his  "Rudimenta  Hebraicae  linguae," 
the  fruit  of  his  vigorously  prosecuted  and  expensive  Hebrew  studies, 
and  the  means  through  which  the  Hebrew  tongue  was  first  introduced 
into  the  sphere  of  ordinary  study.  He  said,  that  lie  had  composed  his 
Hebrew  grammar  without  any  assistance  from  others,  "  that  so  the 
Holy  Scriptures  might  shed  their  light  and  healing  upon  the  world, 
and  our  students  might  have  wherewith  to  delight  and  to  build 
themselves  up :  before  me,  there  has  been  no  one  who  has  troubled 
himself  with  the  attempt  to  set  forth  the  whole  Hebrew  tongue  in 
order  in  a  book."  In  a*nother  passage  he  speaks  of  the  toil  and  the 
money  which  the  Hebrew  grammar  and  lexicon  have  cost  him,  "To 
this,''  he  says,  "  the  invaluable  worth  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  was  a 
sufficient  inducement."  "All  the  sacred  writings,"  he  says  in  his 
commentary  on  the  seven  Penitential  Psalms,  "  both  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament and  the  New,  I  was  ignorant  of,  as  they  were  in  their  original 
languages ;  wherefore  I  applied  myself  with  diligence  to  these,  that 
by  their  help  I  might  the  better  and  with  the  more  insight,  discern 
the  prophecy  and  its  fulfillment."  He  wrote  to  Cardinal  Hadrian 
as  follows :  "  I  gave  my  attention  to  Hebrew,  because  1  foresaw  the 
great  service  which  it  would  bring  to  religion  and  to  a  true  knowledge 
of  God.  All  my  literary  labors  hitherto  I  have  shaped  with  reference 
to  this  end,  as  I  shall  continue  to  do  in  the  future,  and  that  with 
increased  zeal.  As  a  faithful  follower  of  our  Saviour,  I  have  done 
what  lay  in  my  power  toward  the  reestablish ment  and  the  exaltation 
of  the  true  church  of  Christ." 

Reuchlin  fully  appreciated  the  importance  of  his  "  Rudimenta"  for 
he  closed  it  with  these  words,  "Exeyi  monumentum  aere  perennius" 
And  he  wrote  on  the  subject  to  Amerbach  thus:  "For  if  I  live,  then 
by  God's  help  the  Hebrew  tongue  shall  be  built  up.  And  if  I  die, 
the  foundation  that  I  have  laid  can  not  be  easily  destroyed." 

Reuchlin  was  brought  by  his  Hebrew  studies  into  very  unpleasant 
relations  both  with  Jews,  proselytes  from  Judaism,  and  Dominicans ; 
but  the  lawsuits  and  controversies  in  which  he  was  entangled  by  the 
means  were  productive  of  at  least  one  good  result, — they  hastened 
the  coming  Reformation. 

In  the  year  1505  he  published  the  German  letter  to  a  nobleman, 
on  the  reason  why  the  Jews  have  so  long  been  under  God's  displeas- 
ure. He  says,  "  It  is  because  they  slew  the  true  Messiah,  have  never 
ceased  to  defame  him,  and  are  full  of  hatred  to  Christians.  Their 


106  JOHN  REUCHLIN. 

punishment  shall  endure,  until  they  acknowledge  Christ  as  the 
Messiah."  ''  If,"  he  says,  "  any  among  them  will  shew  himself  willing 
to  be  taught  concerning  the  Messiah  and  our  true  faith,  I  will  joyfully 
take  his  part  and  render  him  such  aid  that  he  need  have  no  care  for 
his  daily  bread,  but  may  serve  God  in  peace,  and  live  untroubled  by 
anxious  thoughts  for  the  future." 

Thus  Reuchlin  pronounces  a  clear  and  correct  opinion  respecting 
the  Jews,  and  at  the  same  time  displays  a  genuine  Christian  love,  in 
looking  to  the  only  possible  emancipation  of  the  Jews,  namely,  their 
being  grafted  again  into  the  true  olive  tree. 

In  the  year  1510  commenced  those  memorable  controversies  re- 
specting Jewish  literature,  which  for  nine  years  so  completely 
engrossed  Reuchlin's  attention.  They  originated  in  the  following 
manner :  A  converted  Jew,  John  Pfefferkorn  by  name,  wrote  appeals 
to  magistrates  and  people,  urging  them  to  a  general  persecution  of 
the  Jews,  and  also  called  upon  the  emperor  in  particular  to  suppress 
all  their  books,  with  the  exception  of  the  Old  Testament.  Reuchlin 
received  an  order  from  the  Elector  of  Men tz  to  render  a  verdict  in  the 
matter.  He  decided  to  the  effect,  that  none  of  the  writings  of 
the  Jews  should  be  seized  and  burned,  save  those  alone  which  were 
directly  aimed  at  Christianity ; — as  it  had  been  done  formerly.*  This 
verdict  drew  down  upon  him,  not  merely  the  hatred  of  Ptefl'erkorn, 
but  the  enmity  of  that  powerful  body,  the  Dominicans,  especially 
those  of  Cologne,  with  the  notorious  Hochstratten  at  their  head. 
Sharp  polemical  treatises  flew  back  and  forth.  It  was  to  no  purpose 
that  the  bishop  of  Spires,  who  was  appointed  by  the  Pope  to  adjudge 
the  case,  decided  in  Reuchlin's  favor.  The  Dominicans  carried  the 
suit  to  Rome.  But  there,  too,  Reuchlin  was  about  to  win  his  cause, 
when  Leo  X.  issued  a  "Mandatum  de  supersedendo"  the  effect  of 
which  was  to  defer  the  termination  of  the  suit  so  long  as  it  might 
please  the  Pope,  who  stood  in  awe  of  the  monks. 

From  this  time  forward  the  monks  continued  to  shew  their  hostility 
to  Reuchlin  in  every  conceivable  manner,  acting  as  though  they  had 
already  gained  their  cause.  But  help  soon  came  to  him  from  many 
quarters.  The  league  of  the  Reuchlinists,  so  called,  was  formed, 
which  declared  for  Reuchlin,  for  classical  learning  and  a  pure  church, 
against  the  perverse,  corrupt  monks,  and  their  decadent,  hideous 
scholasticism,  now  in  its  dotage.  Nearly  all  the  distinguished  men 

•  Many  singular  remarks  are  to  be  found  in  Reuchlin's  verdict ;  for  instance,  "  when  Christ 
Fays,  'Search  the  Scriptures.'  (writings,)  he  did  not  mean  the  Old  Testament,  but  those  Rab- 
binical writings,  from  which,  later,  the  Talmud  •'•  (this,  by  the  way,  Reuchlin  had  not  read) 
"was  compiled."  Kcuchlin's  love  for  the  Cabbala  and  for  Jewish  literature  probably  had 
some  in/luence  in  determining  the  mildness  of  his  verdict. 


JOHN  REUtmtN.  107 

of  Germany  of  that  age  joined  this  league;  men,  who  afterward, 
almost  without  exception,  formed  a  mighty  intellectual  power  on  the 
side  of  the  Reformation.  Ulrich  Hutten  and  Biiibald  Pirkheimer 
were  especially  active  in  keeping  the  league  together,  and  strength- 
ening it  against  the  pugnacious  attacks  of  the  Dominicans. 

The  severest  blow  which  the  Dominican  brotherhood  thus  received 
in  the  persons  of  some  of  its  members  was  the  publication,  in  the  year 
1517,  of  the  famous  "Epistolae  obscurorum  virorum."  The  probable' 
authors  of  these  burlesque  letters  are  Hermann  Busch,  Crotus  Rubia- 
nus  and  Wolfgang  Angst;  Ulrich  Hutten  and  others  may  have  made 
some  subsequent  additions.  The  letters  are  directed  to  Ortuin 
Gratius,  to  whom  we  have  previously  alluded  as  a  scholar  of  Hegius, 
and  a  professor  at  Cologne :  the  purported  writers  are  partly  histori- 
cal, and  partly  fictitious  characters.  The  Latin  is  wretched,  and, 
together  with  the  subject-matters  treated  of,  gives  a  vivid  impression 
of  the  thoroughly  repulsive,  ignorant,  profligate  and  villainous  lives 
and  acts  of  the  Dominicans.  And  through  the  agency  of  this  book 
the  very  name  of  Dominican  became  a  scorn  and  a  reproach. 

At  last  in  the  year  1519  Francis  von  Sickingen  put  an  end  to  the 
strife,  by  definitely  assigning  to  Hochstratten  and  the  brothers  of  his 
order  one  month  in  which  to  decide  "  whether  they  would  for  the 
future  wholly  discontinue  their  insolence  toward  his  teacher,  Dr. 
Reuchlin,  '  that  aged,  discreet,  pious  and  accomplished  man,'  and 
make  good  all  the  costs  of  court  which  had  been  put  upon  him ;  and 
furthermore,  whether  they  would  give  him  security  at  once  and 
forever  against  all  further  persecutions?  If  not,  then  he,  Francis  von 
Sickengen,  would  carry  out  to  the  letter  the  original  decree  of  Spires, 
•^renounced  in  Reuchlin's  favor,  that  so  this  'good  old  man  might 
spend  the  remainder  of  his  honorable  life  in  peace.' "  The  monks 
paid  Reuchlin  in  full,  and  he  had  no  more  trouble  from  them.  So 
ended  this  long  strife,  and  the  rather  also,  because  a  far  more  violent 
warfare  had  commenced  at  Wittenberg.  Thither,  since  1517,  had  all 
eyes  been  directed. 

"  Praised  be  God,"  said  Reuchlin,  when  Luther  appeared  on  the 
stage ;  "  now  they  have  found  an  opponent  who  will  give  them  so 
much  to  do,  that  for  very  weariness  they  will  be  forced  to  leave  the 
old  man  to  his  repose."  On  the  other  hand,  Luther  wrote  to  Reuch- 
lin, in  the  year  1518  :  "Thou  wast  an  instrument  of  the  divine  pur- 
pose. I  was  one  of  that  number,  who  desired  to  aid  thee ;  but  there 
was  no  opportunity.  Yet  that  which  was  denied  to  me  as  thy  com- 
rade, will  most  richly  come  to  my  share  as  thy  successor.  Tlio  teeth 
of  that  Behemoth  are  fastening  upon  me,  that  they  may,  if  possible, 


108  JOHN  unrein. IN 

wipe  out  the  disgrace  which  they  have  received  at  thy  hands.  I  go 
to  encounter  them  with  less  strength  of  intellect  and  less  learning 
than  thou  hast  shown,  but  with  an  equally  cheerful  heart." 

But,  nevertheless,  in  the  closing  years  of  his  life,  Reuchlin  did  not 
find  that  settled  repose,  to  which  he  had  looked.  For  in  the  year 
1519,  a  war  broke  out  between  Duke  Ulrich  of  Wurtemberg,  and 
the  Swabian  League.  Ulrich  was  sent  into  exile.  Sickingen,  who 
was  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  League,  protected  Reuchlin  in  Stutt- 
gart He  afterwards  went  to  Ingoldstadt,  where,  in  1520,  he  received 
from  William,  Duke  of  Bavaria,  a  salary  of  200  gold-crowns,  and 
read  lectures  on  Hebrew  Grammar,  and  on  the  Plutus  of  Aristopha- 
nes, to  more  than  three  hundred  hearers.  But  he  soon  returned  to 
Wurtemberg,  where,  however,  he  did  not  remain,  but,  went  by  invita- 
tion, to  Tubingen,  to  teach  Hebrew  and  Greek  grammar  in  the 
university  there.  In  the  summer  of  1622,  he  was  taken  sick,  and 
died  on  the  30th  of  June,  aged  67. 

Reuchlin  was  a  man  of  an  imposing  and  dignified  aspect ;  says  one 
of  his  contemporaries,  "of  senatorial  majesty."  He  was  mild  in  his 
manners,  and  in  the  midst  of  trouble,  anxious  and  timid. 

He  and  Erasmus  were  the  forerunners  of  the  Reformation,  of  the 
schools  as  well  of  the  church.  But  each,  how  different !  How 
worthy  appear  Reuchlin's  life,  his  labors  in  his  country's  behoof,  and 
his  holy,  earnest  love  for  the  church,  compared  with  the  unloving, 
tmdevout,  altogether  trifling  disposition  of  Erasmus  !  Reuchlin's  per- 
severance in  learning  Hebrew,  and  the  repugnance  which  Erasmus 
exhibited  toward  the  very  first  rudiments  of  the  language,  are  both 
characteristic.  And  to  the  different  traits  thus  indicated,  we  may  as- 
scribe  the  aversions  of  Erasmus  to  mysticism,  and  Reuchlin's  tendency 
toward  it.  This  tendency  is  abundantly  manifest  in  two  works  of 
Reuchlin's,  namely,  the  "De  verbo  mirijico"  and  the  "  De  arte  Ca- 
balistica  ;"  in  both  of  which  he  evinces  a  strong,  spiritual  affinity 
with  Picus  di  Mirandola.  In  the  dedication  of  the  latter  work, — it 
is  addressed  to  Leo  X., — Reuchlin  says :  "  Marsilius  has  edited  Plato 
for  Italy,  John  Faber  Stapulensis  restored  Aristotle  for  France,  and  I 
will  now  make  the  number  complete,  and  will  give  to  the  Germans 
Pythagoras,  whom  my  labors  have  re-animated."  If  Reuchlin  erred, 
it  was  the  error  of  a  mind  of  great  depth  and  forecast,  an  error  of 
which  Erasmus  was  wholly  incapable.  And  was  not  the  spirit  which 
stirred  in  Picus  and  Reuchlin,  when  as  yet  the  world  was  unprepared' 
to  receive  it, — was  not  this  spirit  destined  sooner  or  later  to  crown 
the  faithful  and  manifold  labors  of  their  many  successors,  in  a  glad 
and  copious  harvest  ?  * 


RETROSPECT.  100 

Toward  the  conclusion  of  the  work,  u  De  arte  Cabalistica"  Reuch- 
lin  says :  "  I  was  the  first  to  restore  Greek  to  Germany,  and  I  too  was 
the  first  of  all  to  introduce,  and  to  deliver  to  the  church  the  art  and 
the  study  of  Hebrew.* 

As  Erasmus  prepared  the  way  for  the  Reformers,  by  his  version  of 
the  New  Testament,  so  did  Reuchlin  by  means  of  his  Hebrew  labors. 

Erasmus,  too,  undermined  the  influence  of  the  monks  by  ridicule. 
Reuchlin  and  the  Reuchlinists  did  the  same ;  but,  in  addition  to  this, 
they  formed  a  positive  intellectual  power,  a  phalanx  of  strength, 
which  at  Luther's  appearance  in  full  spiritual  armor,  ranged  itself 
under  his  banner,  eager  for  the  contest.f 

And  while  the  double  minded  Erasmus  employed  all  the  arts  of  a 
subtle  sophistry  to  justify  himself  toward  the  Pope,  Reuchlin,  on  the 
contrary,  in  the  above  mentioned  dedication,  came  boldly  before  Leo 
X.,  appealing  to  the  emperor,  and  to  many  princes,  bishops  and 
cities,  to  bear  witness  to  his  integrity. 

RETROSPECT. 

The  period  which  we  have  thus  far  contemplated,  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury especially,  may  be  termed  a  transitional  period,  looking  back  to 
the  middle  ages,  and  forward  to  the  present  day.  For  here  the  ele- 
ments of  ancient  and  modern  times  enter  upon  a  conflict,  which, 
increasing  in  intensity,  at  last,  in  the  first  half  of  the  16th  century, 
bursts  out  into  full  flame. 

First  in  order  comes  the  attack  upon  the  wide-spread  corruptions 
of  the  church,  corruptions  which  had  infected  the  whole  body  to  the 
very  core.  This  begins  in  Italy  as  early  as  the  fourteenth  century, 
undertaken  by  Dante,  Petrach,  and  Boccaccio,  and  extending  down  to 
the  sixteenth  century.  But  in  Italy,  alas !  no  Reformation  results 
therefrom ;  Savonarola,  to  be  sure,  takes  a  step  in  that  direction,  but 
his  aim  is  defeated. 

Germans  and  Xetherlanders  too,  from  the  fourteenth  century  on, 
are  in  various  modes  preparing  the  way  for  the  Reformation.  The 
Hieronymians  lay  bare  the  dissolute  lives  and  deeds  of  the  monks, 
the  mendicant  order  chiefly,  urge  reform,  and  diffuse  as  far  as  possible, 
a  knowledge  of  the  Bible  among  the  common  people.  Wessel 
observes  many  deficiencies  in  the  teachings  of  the  church,  (being  herein 
a  predecessor  of  Luther) ; — Erasmus,  as  we  have  seen,  undermines  the 

•Reiichtin's  lecture*  upon  Greek  authors,  delivered  in  1475,  at  Basle,  were  probably  th« 
first  of  the  kind.  Rudolf  Agricnla.  and  Erasmus,  together  with  Reuchlin,  were  the  earliest 
teacher*  and  disseminators  of  Greek. 

t  To  Reuchlin's  influence  alone  may  we  attribute  it,  that  Melancthon  went  from  Tubingen 
to  Wittenberg  ;  and  what  he  did  thereby  directly  toward  the  Reformation  is  incalculable. 


HQ  RETROSPECT. 

prestige  of  the  monks  by  means  of  ridicule ;  and  the  skirmish  of 
Reuchlin  and  the  Reuchlinists  with  the  Dominicans,  raises  up  a 
Reformatory  host,  well  drilled  fur  the  battle. 

Side  by  side  with  this  conflict  in  the  church,  we  have  a  conflict  in 
the  schools  likewise,  commencing  with  the  restoration  of  the  ancient 
classics.  Petrach  and  Boccaccio  here  too,  take  the  lead  in  this  battle 
of  classical  learning,  with  mediaeval  scholasticism.  But  we  find  in 
Dante  both  styles  of  culture  harmoniously  united.  In  exact  propor- 
tion to  an  advancing  sense  of  the  beauty  of  classical  forms,  there 
arises  an  antipathy  to  the  deformity  of  scholastic  expressions.  Many 
of  the  Italians  become  so  enamored  of  the  ancients,  as  to  go  over  to 
paganism  ;  and  but  very  few  of  them  bring  their  linguistic  attainments 
to  the  interpretation  of  the  Bible.  But  not  so  with  the  Germans. 
For  these  press  all  the  knowledge  that  they  have  gained  from  profane 
Avriters  into  the  service  of  the  church.  Erasmus,  by  his  edition  of  the 
New  Testament,  and  Reuchlin  by  his  Hebrew  labors,  prepare  the  way 
for  a  sounder  exegesis. 

Thus,  through  the  study  of  the  original  languages  of  the  Bible, 
scholastic  theology,  previously  tottering,  is  shivered  to  its  foundation. 
The  monks,  however,  who  have  grown  up  amid  its  barbarous  jargon, 
struggle  in  its  defense ;  nor  can  they  follow  the  leadings  of  the  new 
era,  even  though  disposed  to  do  it.  They  contend  likewise  for  the 
Mediaeval  school  books,  the  "Doctrinal"  the  "  Mammotrectus," 
etc.  And  Busch,  Caesarius,  and  others,  who  are  desirous  to  teach 
better  things  in  a  better  way,  they  drive  from  city  to  city.  The 
Dominicans,  whose  head  quarters  are  at  Cologne,  are  the  chief  actors 
in  this  warfare,  against  the  men  of  the  new  school. 

Those  who  do  battle  for  the  old  order  of  things,  are  called,  "  theo- 
logians," and  "artists;"  the  champions  of  the  new  culture  are  styled 
by  their  adversaries,  "poets,"  and  "jurists."  And  it  is  only  after  the 
victory  of  the  Reformation  in  the  church  that  classical  learning  ob- 
tains a  complete  ascendency.  Then  scholasticism,  which  after  the 
lapse  of  centuries  has  become  a  caricature,  succumbs. 

For  the  time  had  at  length  arrived,  when  the  learned  classes  were 
to  be  freed  from  the  bondage  of  ungainly,  unmeaning,  and  intangible 
forms  of  thought  and  speech.  And  how  enchanting  must  the  clear- 
ness and  freedom  of  Greek  and  Roman  thought  and  imagination, 
and  the  splendor  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  languages,  have  appeared 
to  them  after  their  dark  and  gloomy  imprisonment.  Is  it  to  be  won- 
dered at,  that  in  their  rapture,  they  neither  knew  nor  desired  any 
thing  higher  or  nobler  than  to  imitate  the  classics  ?  And  that  it 
seemed  to  them  as  if  now  for  the  first  time  their  spiritual  eye  were 
opened,  their  soul  awakened  to  life,  and  their  tongue  set  free? 


RETROSPECT.  1 1 J 

And  is  it  any  the  more  to  be  wondered  at,  that  in  the  excess  of  their 
enthusiasm  for  the  new,  they  should  be  unjustly  biased  against  the 
generations  gone  by,  and  should  even  go  so  far  as  to  welcome  every 
thing  new,  if  for  no  other  reason,  simply  because  it  was  new? 

In  fact  Picus  di  Mirandola  and  Erasmus  were  themselves,  as  we 
have  seen,  not  slow  to  acknowledge  that  the  moderns  often  rejected 
the  good  with  the  bad,  and  thrust  aside  the  profoundest  speculations, 
if  they  did  not  appear  in  a  Ciceronian  dress. 

These  exaggerated  estimates  of  the  "  poets,"  are  the  less  to  be  dis- 
regarded, inasmuch  as  they  left  their  stamp  upon  the  character  of  the 
next  succeeding  generations.  It  was  of  a  piece  with  their  exaltation 
of  the  ancients,  that  these  men  should  so  generally  exchange  their 
honorable  German  names,  for  those  of  Latin  or  Greek  extraction ;  in 
fact,  this  practice  is  more  significant  than  at  first  sight  it  would  appear. 
Capnio,  Melancthon,  Sapidus,  Brassicanus,  Oecolampadius,  and  the 
like,  are  such  names.  A  correspondent  of  Reuchlin's,  who  in  sooth 
could  not  boast  of  a  very  euphonious  name, — it  was  John  Krachen- 
berger, — thus  writes  in  one  of  his  letters :  "  You  will  recollect  the 
request  that  I  made  you,  to  invent  me  a  Greek  name,  which  would 
have  a  more  respectable  look  at  the  end  of  my  Latin  epistles,  than  ray 
own,  that  has  the  look  of  barbarism ;  if  you  have  not  yet  done  it,  I 
beg  leave  in  this  place  to  repeat  my  request."* 

The  name  "  poets,"  was  probably  applied  to  all  who  were  so  in 
love  with  mere  beauty  of  form,  as  for  its  sake  to  overlook  the  subject 
and  substance.  And  really,  quite  a  multitude  of  the  speeches  and 
poems  of  that  day  consist  solely  of  choice  scraps  stitched  together, 
and  are  pure,  unalloyed  imitations.  Every  one  who  imitated  the 
style  of  a  classical  writer  with  some  degree  of  skill,  was  compared  to 
such  writer.  Hence  it  was  that  that  period  was  so  prolific  of  epithets, 
"a  second  Cicero,  a  second  Flaccus,"  and  the  like;  and  all  faith 
in  the  possibility  of  becoming  something  better,  of  being  one's  self. a 
first,  an  original,  gradually  died  out.f 

The  following  citation  may  be  adduced  as  an  extreme  instance  of 
this  mania  for  epithets  :  said  Trithemius,  of  Dalberg;  "Among  phi- 
losophers, he  was  a  Plato, — among  musicians,  a  Timotheus, — among 
astronomers,  a  Firmicus, — among  mathematicians,  an  Archimedes, — 

*  From  the  "  Clarorum  vh-orum  epistolae  ad  Reuchlinum  :"  "  There  are  many  barbarous 
names  among  you,"  said  Sapidus  (o  his  scholars.     "  These  I  must  Latinize  somewhat." 

t  Erasmus  styled  Agricola   "a  second  Maro  "     Munnellius  said  of  Lange,   "  Atquiparas 
Flaccum  lyrici  modulamine  contvs  ;"  l.ange,  of  Butch, 

"  Hinc  tua  diitciflito  manan.i  elrgia  Itporf. 

A  Sidmonensi  nee  procul  ipsn  Cliffy  est ;" 

t'lsanius,  of  tlusch,  "  Buschius  anliquis  no*  eetlit  jure  poetis;"   Busch,  of   Murmellius, 
"Carolina  Murmelli  priscis  acquanda  poetis  ;"  etc.,  etc. 


112  RETROSPECT. 

among  poets,  a  Virgil, — among  geographers,  a  Strabo, — among 
priests,  an  Augustine, — and  among  the  devout,  (cultores  pietatis,)  a 
Numa  Pompilius." 

When  the  whole  force  of  a  generation  is  thrown  into  any  new  style 
of  culture  whatsoever,  such  abnormal  outgrowths  and  excrescences  are 
always  most  frequently  to  be  observed. 

In  accordance  with  the  demands  of  the  new  culture,  the  schools 
were  metamorphosed.  Lange,  Hegius,  Dringenburg,  Busch,  Wim- 
pheling,  and  others,  did  every  thing  to  expel  the  scholastic  method  of 
instruction,  and  to  bring  in  the  classical.  But  these  were  only  the 
beginnings,  and  these  teachers  themselves,  grown  up  under  the  old 
methods,  were  themselves  merely  beginners.  Even  the  able  Rector, 
Hegius,  was  compelled  to  learn  from  Agricola,  the  meanings  of  some 
of  the  Greek  and  Latin  words,  and  to  avail  himself  of  Agricola's 
greater  familiarity  with  syntax.  It  was  only  at  a  later  date,  and 
through  the  instrumentality  chiefly  of  Melancthon,  that  the  grammar 
schools  received  a  thorough  organization,  and  were  provided  with 
competent  teachers  and  sensible  text-books.  The  first  steps  toward 
popular  education,  were  early  taken,  as  we  have  remarked,  by  the 
Hieronymians  ;  and  there  were  likewise  many  labors  in  this  field  un- 
dertaken by  benevolent  individuals  ;  such  for  instance,  as  those  of 
Gerard  Zutphen  ;  but  permanent,  well-organized  popular  schools  had 
no  existence.  These  are  chiefly  the  work  of  Luther ;  the  German 
Bible,  the  shorter  German  Catechism,  those  most  important  school 
books  for  the  people,  as  well  as  spiritual  songs  in  German,  both  for 
the  church  and  the  school, — all  these  are  his  work. 


SCHOOL  LIFE  IN  THE  FIFTEENTH  CENTURY, 

IN    THE    AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF   THOMAS    PLATTER.* 


THOMAS  PLATTER  was  born  in  the  year  1490,  near  Vispach,  in  the 
Canton  Valais,  in  Switzerland,  while  the  bells  were  ringing  for  mass, 
and  his  kinsmen  hoped  from  the  augury  that  he  would  become  a 
priest.  In  his  boyhood  he  tended  goats  and  kine ;  at  the  age  of  nine 
years  he  was  sent  to  his  uncle,  who  was  a  clergyman. 

"Here,"  we  cite  from  the  narrative,  "it  fared  ill  with  me;  for  he 
was  a  passionate  man,  and  I  but  an  awkward  peasant  boy.  He  beat 
me  without  mercy,  and  took  me  by  the  ears  and  lifted  me  up  from 
the  ground,  until  I  cried  like  a  goat  when  pierced  by  the  knife  of  the 
butcher,  and  at  many  such  times  the  neighbors  in  their  alarm,  would 
run  in,  fearing  he  would  kill  me. 

"  I  was  not  long  with  him,  for  about  that  time  there  came  into  the 
place  a  cousin  of  mine,  a  Summermatter,  who  had  been  at  the  schools, 
[to  become  a  priest,]  at  Ulm  and  Munich,  in  Bavaria ;  his  name  was 
Paul  Summermatter.  My  friends  spoke  to  him  of  me,  and  he 
promised  them  he  would  take  me  with  him,  and  place  me  at  school 
in  Germany.  When  I  heard  this,  I  fell  on  my  knees  and  prayed  to 
God  the  Almighty  that  he  would  help  me  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
parson,  who  taught  me  nothing  at  all,  and  beat  me  continually.  For 
I  had  learned  nothing  but  how  to  sing  the  "  Salve  "  and  "  Um  Eier," 
with  the  other  scholars  in  the  village  who  were  under  my  uncle. 

"  When  Paul  was  ready  to  go,  he  appointed  to  meet  me  at  Skalden. 
Simon  Summermatter,  my  mother's  brother,  who  was  also  my 
guardian,  lived  on  the  road  to  Skalden ;  he  gave  me  a  gold  gulden, 
[sixty-three  cents;]  this  I  held  in  my  hand  till  I  reached  the  town, 
and  often  looked  at  it  on  the  way,  to  see  whether  I  had  it  still  with 
me.  I  gave  it  to  Paul,  and  then  we  started  on  our  travels.1  I  was 
now  obliged  to  forage  for  myself  and  my  Bacchant  Paul  likewise ;  and 
because  of  my  odd  appearance  and  rustic  dialect  the  people  gave  me 
food  in  plenty.  Beyond  the  Grimsen  mountains  we  came  to  an  ale- 
house where  I  saw  a  Dutch  tile  stove.  I  had  never  seen  one  before, 
and  as  the  moon  shone  on  it,  I  thought  it  was  a  great  calf,  for  I  saw 
only  two  of  the  tiles  glimmer,  and  they  looked  to  me  like  two  great 

*  Extracts  from  the  "  autobiography  of  Thomas  Platter,  composed  in  the  73<t  year  of  hi* 
•ge,  for  the  instruction  of  his  son  Felix."— Raumer'g  History  of  Education 


114  THOMAS  PLATTER. 

eyes.  In  the  morning  I  saw  geese  for  the  first  time  in  my  life ;  and 
when  they  hissed  at  me,  I  thought  the  devil  had  come  to  eat  me,  and 
I  screamed  and  ran.  At  Lucerne,  I  first  saw  tile  roofs,  and  was 
greatly  taken  with  their  bright  red  color.  We  came  next  to  Zurich. 
There  Paul  waited  for  some  comrades  who  were  going  with  us  to 
Meissen,  [in  present  Kingdom  of  Saxony.]  Meanwhile  I  had  to  forage 
to  get  a  subsistence  for  Paul ;  and  whenever  I  entered  an  ale-house, 
the  people  gathered  around  me  to  hear  my  Valais  dialect,  and  were 
quite  willing  to  give  me  food. 

"After  waiting  eight  or  nine  weeks  for  our  companions,  we  went  to 
Meissen,  which  was  to  me  a  very  long  journey,  as  I  had  not  been 
used  to  such  things,  especially  as  I  had  to  stop  and  get  food  on  the 
way  ;  there  were  eight  or  nine  of  us, — three  little  fags,  the  rest,  great 
Bacchants*  as  they  were  called ;  of  the  fags  I  was  the  smallest  and 
the  youngest.  When  I  grew  tired,  and  did  not  want  to  go  further, 
my  cousin  Paul  came  to  me  with  a  stick  and  lashed  me  on  my  bare 
legs,  for  I  had  no  stockings,  and  worn-out  shoes.  I  remember  scarce 
any  thing  that  befell  us  on  the  journey ;  but  here  is  one  incident. 
As  we  went  along,  saying  all  manner  of  things,  the  Bacchants  told  us 
how  it  was  the  custom  in  Meissen  and  Silesia,  that  the  scholars  stole 
geese  and  ducks,  and  other  such  game,  and  that  nothing  was  done  to 
them,  if  only  they  got  out  of  the  reach  of  the  man  who  might  happen 
to  own  them.  One  day  we  were  not  far  from  a  village  where  there 
was  a  great  flock  of  geese,  without  their  keeper;  for  every  village  has 
its  goose-herd,  but  here  he  was  at  quite  a  distance  from  the  geese, 
with  the  cow-herd.  Then  I  asked  my  little  comrades,  '  when  will  we 
reach  Meissen,  that  I  may  steal  geese  ?'  They  replied,  '  we  are  there 
now.'  Then  I  picked  up  a  stone,  threw  it  at  one  of  the  geese,  and  hit 
him  on  the  leg ;  the  rest  flew  off,  but  the  wounded  one  could  not  keep  up 
with  them  for  limping.  Then  I  took  another  stone  and  hit  him  on  the 
head,  and  knocked  him  down ;  for  when  among  my  goats,  I  had  had 
no  equal  in  throwing,  in  leaping  the  bar,  or  in  catching  the  sound  of 
the  herdsman's  horn;  in  all  such  arts  I  was  well  skilled.  Then  I  ran 
up,  caught  up  the  goose  by  the  neck,  whisked  him  under  my  coat, 
and  ran  down  the  street  through  the  village.  At  that  instant  the 
goose-herd  commenced  running  after  me,  and  cried  out  to  all  the 
villagers,  'the  boy  has  stolen  my  goose.'  Hearing  this  outcry,  we 
quickened  our  pace,  and  as  I  ran,  the  legs  of  the  goose  swung  back 
and  forth  in  front  of  me,  from  under  my  coat.  The  peasants  too 
came  out  with  clubs  and  gave  chase  to  throw  at  us.  When  I  saw 
that  they  were  gaining  upon  me,  I  let  the  goose  drop,  and  darted  to 

•  See  Jfjtt.  page  90. 


THOMAS  PLATTER.  115 

one  side  of  the  village  amongst  the  thickets,  but  my  two  companions 
kept  to  the  street,  and  two  peasants  after  them.  Then  they  fell  down 
on  their  knees,  and  begged  for  mercy, — said  they  had  not  done  it ; 
so  when  the  peasants  found  that  they  were  not  the  ones  who  had  let 
the  goose  drop,  they  returned  and  picked  the  goose  up.  But  as  for 
me,  when  I  saw  my  companions  thus  pursued,  I  was  in  great  distress 
of  mind,  and  said  to  myself,  '  Alas !  thou  hast  not  prayed  to-day,  as 
thou  wert  taught  to  do  every  morning.'  When  the  peasants  went  back 
they  found  our  Bacchants  in  the  ale-house ;  for  they  had  gone  on 
before,  leaving  us  to  follow  them ;  and  they  asked  them  to  pay  for 
the  goose, — it  was  a  matter  of  two  batzen  or  so, — but  I  did  not  hear 
•whether  they  did  or  no.  When  we  came  up,  they  laughed  and  asked 
what  we  had  been  doing ;  I  plead  in  excuse,  that  I  supposed  it  the 
custom  of  the  country.  They  said  it  was  not  yet  time  for  that. 

"At  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  Nuremberg,  our  Bacchants  remained 
behind  in  a  village ;  for  whenever  they  wished  to  carouse,  they  sent  us 
on  before.  We  staid  at  Nuremberg  several  weeks.  Here,  we  little  fags 
spent  our  time  in  singing  through  the  streets,  those  who  could  sing, 
but  I  in  foraging,  and  none  of  us  went  into  school.  This  the  other 
boys  would  not  endure,  but  threatened  to  drag  us  into  school.  The 
schoolmaster,  too,  bade  our  Bacchants  come  to  school,  or  they  should 
be  carried  there  by  force.  Antony,  as  their  spokesman,  refused  to  go. 
There  were  some  Swiss  there  who  had  agreed  to  join  us  on  a  given 
day.  Then  we,  little  fags,  carried  stones  on  to  the  roof,  but  Antony 
and  the  others  made  a  demonstration  against  the  door.  On  this  the 
schoolmaster  came  out  with  all  his  boys,  large  and  small,  but  we  flung 
down  stones  upon  them,  so  that  they  were  glad  to  retreat.  The  next 
thing  we  heard  was,  that  we  were  summoned  before  the  magistrate  :  it  so 
happened  that  a  neighbor  of  ours  was  about  to  give  away  his  daughter 
in  marriage.  This  man  had  a  stall  full  of  fat  geese.  We  broke  into 
this  in  the  night  and  took  out  three  of  the  geese,  and  decamped  to 
the  farther  side  of  the  city.  Here  we  awaited  the  Swiss,  who  joined 
company  with  us,  and  we  all  went  together  to  Halle,  in  Saxony,  to 
the  school  of  St.  Ulrica.  But  our  Bacchants  dealt  so  roughly  by  us, 
that,  in  company  with  my  cousin  Paul,  we  ran  away  from  them  and 
came  to  Dresden.  Here  the  school  was  not  a  good  one,  and  the 
habitations  of  the  scholars  were  full  of  vermin,  so  that  we  heard  them  in 
the  night  crawling  about  in  the  straw  on  which  we  lay.  So  we  left 
the  place  and  set  out  for  Breslau ;  on  the  way  we  suffered  much  with 
hunger,  so  that  some  days  we  had  nothing  to  eat  but  raw  onions  with 
salt,  and  at  other  times  roasted  acorns,  crab-apples  or  pears,  and  many 

nights  lay  out  under  the  open  skv,  for  nowhere  would  they  give  us  a 
No.  13.— [VOL.  V.,  No.  1.]— 6. 


116  THOMAS  PLATTER. 

shelter,  much  as  we  besought  them ;  and  some  would  even  set  the 
dogs  on  us.  But  when  we  came  to  Breslau,  in  Silesia,  we  found  great 
abundance,  and  that  so  cheap,  that  the  starved  scholars  would  over- 
eat, and  many  of  them  were  very  sick  in  consequence.  Here  we  went 
first  to  the  school  of  the  Holy  Cross,  in  Thum.  But  when  we  heard 
that  in  the  upper  parish  of  St.  Elizabeth  there  were  Swiss,  we  went 
thither.  There  were  two  from  Bremgarten,  two  from  Meilingen,  and 
more,  besides  many  Swabians;  there  was  uo  distinction  between 
Swabians  and  Swiss ;  they  clanned  with  one  another  like  fellow- 
countrymen,  and  stood  up  for  one  another's  rights,  The  city  of 
Breslau  has  seven  parishes,  and  each  parish  its  separate  school,  and 
no  scholar  of  one  parish  can  go  into  another  singing  or  shouting, 
'  ad  idem,  ad  idem,1  without  causing  a  general  uproar ;  the  boys  run 
together  from  each  side  and  pummel  each  other  most  unmercifully. 
It  is  said  there  have  been  some  thousands  of  Bacchants  and  fags  in 
the  city  at  a  time,  and  all  dependent  on  alms.  They  say,  more- 
over, that  some  have  their  fags  for  twenty  and  even  thirty  years, 
who  forage  for  them.  I  would  often  carry  five  or  six  loads  home  of 
an  evening  to  my  Bacchants  to  the  school  where  they  lived.  The 
people  were  always  very  ready  to  give  to  me,  because  I  was  a  little 
boy,  and  a  Swiss ;  for  they  loved  the  Swiss,  and  they  felt  great  sym- 
pathy for  them,  because  they  had  fared  so  ill  in  the  great  Milan 
battle ;  and  it  was  the  common  saying,  'now  have  the  Swiss  lost  their 
best  pater  nosier]  for  before  every  one  thought  them  invincible. 

"I  remained  here  some  length  of  time,  and  during  the  winter  was 
thrice  taken  sick,  so  that  I  had  to  go  into  the  hospital.  The  scholars 
had  their  own  hospital  and  physician.  They  received  from  the  city 
treasury  sixteen  hellers  each  a  week ;  this  was  ample  for  their 
support ;  out  of  it  they  had  good  attendance  and  a  good  bed,  though 
there  were  many  vermin,  like  little  hemp-seed,  so  that  I  preferred, 
with  many  others,  to  lie  on  the  hearth  rather  than  in  bed.  The  scholars 
were  covered  with  vermin  to  an  extent  that  was  scarcely  credible. 
As  often  as  I  wished,  I  could  pick  two  or  three  out  of  my  bosom.  I 
have  often,  especially  in  the  summer,  gone  down  to  the  Oder,  washed 
my  shirt,  hung  it  on  the  bushes  to  dry,  and  meanwhile  picked  the 
vermin  off  my  coat,  dug  a  pit,  buried  a  great  quantity  in  it,  covered 
them  up,  and  marked  the  spot  with  a  little  cross. 

"  In  the  winter  the  fags  lay  on  the  hearth  in  tho  school  room,  but 
the  Bacchants  in  the  cells,  of  which  there  were  some  hundreds  at 
St.  Elizabeth's ;  but  in  the  summer,  when  it  was  hot,  we  lay  in  the 
church-yard ;  we  carried  the  grass  that  was  spread  in  the  Jferren-yasse 
for  the  houses  on  Saturday,  made  a  bed  of  it  iu  a  good  spot  in  the 


THOMAS  PLATTER.  Hf 

church-yard,  and  there  lay,  like  pigs  in  their  straw.  But  if  it  rained, 
we  ran  into  the  school,  and  when  there  was  a  thunder-storm,  we  sang 
the  whole  night  long  the  Responsoria,  etc.,  with  the  Sub-cantor. 

"  Sometimes  we  would  go  of  a  summer  evening  to  the  ale-house  to 
fetch  beer.  There  they  gave  us  full  flagons  of  strong  beer,  and  I 
often  drank  so  much  before  I  knew  it,  that  I  could  not  go  back  to 
the  school  again,  though  it  was  but  a  stone's  throw  from  where  I  was. 
In  short  there  was  plenty  to  eat  and  drink,  but  not  much  studying. 

"  In  the  school  at  St.  Elizabeth's  nine  Baccalaureates  in  a  room 
read  every  hour.  The  Greek  tongue  had  not  been  then  introduced 
into  the  country,  nor  had  they  any  printed  books ;  only  the  teacher 
had  a  printed  Terence.  Whatever  was  read,  had  first  to  be  written, 
then  divided^  then  construed,  and  then  explained,  so  that  when  the 
Bacchants  left  the  school,  they  had  great  thick  copy-books  to  carry 
away  with  them." 

From  Breslau  he  went  with  Paul,  by  way  of  Dresden,  to  Munich, 
to  a  soap-boiler's.  "  This  my  master,"  he  says,  "  I  helped  boil  soap, 
more  than  I  went  to  school ;  and  I  went  about  with  him,  through  the 
surrounding  villages,  to  buy  ashes.  Paul  went  to  school  in  the  parish 
of  Our  Lady,  and  so  did  I,  though  seldom,  for  I  sung  through  the 
streets  to  procure  bread,  which  I  brought  to  Paul." 

After  fifteen  years1  wanderings  Platter  revisited  with  Paul  his  native 
town,  Vispach.  "Here,"  he  adds,  "my  friends  could  not  understand 
my  speech.  '  Our  Tommy,'  they  said,  '  talks  so  foreign,  that  no  one 
can  tell  what  he  would  have ;'  for  while  I  was  young,  I  had  learned 
the  language  of  every  country  where  I  had  lived. 

"  Soon  after  this  we  went  back  again  to  Ulm  :  Paul  took  a  lad  with 
him,  whose  name  was  Hildebrand  Kalbermatter,  a  clergyman's  son, 
and  quite  young.  They  gave  him  a  piece  of  cloth,  such  as  is  made 
in  the  place,  for  a  coat.  When  we  came  to  Ulm,  Paul  bade  me  take 
the  cloth,  and  go  for  food.  In  it  I  brought  much  home  ;  for  I  was 
well  used  to  wheedling  and  begging,  since  to  this  trade  the  Bacchants 
had  from  the  first  accustomed  me,  but  not  to  go  to  school,  and  not 
to  learn  to  read. 

"Though  I  seldom  went  to  school,  and  during  school  hours  went 
around  with  the  cloth,  yet  I  suffered  much  from  hunger ;  for,  what- 
ever I  got,  I  brought  to  my  Bacchant ;  I  ate  not  a  mouthful  of  it  all,  for 
I  feared  a  beating.  Paul  had  associated  with  him  another  Bacchant, 
named  Acacius,  from  Mentz,  and  I  and  Hildebrand,  my  companion, 
had  to  provide  for  him  too.  But  Hildebrand  ate  up  every  thing ;  so 
they  sometimes  followed  him  through  the  streets  to  detect  him  in  the 
act,  or  when  he  came  back,  they  would  force  him  to  rinse  out  his 


118  THOMAS  PLATTER. 

mouth  with  water  and  spit  in  a  basin,  in  order  to  find  out  whether  he 
had  been  eating.  And  if  he  had,  they  would  both  together  take  him, 
throw  him  on  the  bed,  cover  his  head  with  a  pillow  to  drown  his 
cries,  and  then  beat  him  terribly.  This  put  me  in  so  great  fear,  that 
I  brought  every  thing  home,  and  we  often  had  so  much  bread,  that 
it  would  turn  mouldy ;  the  mouldy  part  they  would  then  cut  off  and 
give  to  us.  Many  a  time  have  I  suffered  bitterly  from  hunger  and 
cold,  when  walking  the  streets  far  into  midnight,  singing  for  bread. 
And  this  puts  me  in  mind  how  at  Ulm  there  was  a  kind  widow  lady, 
who  had  two  grown  up  daughters  at  home,  and  a  son,  named  Paul 
Reling.  Often  in  winter,  when  I  came  to  her  house,  she  wrapped  my 
feet  in  a  warm  blanket  that  hung  behind  the  stove,  gave  me  a  plate 
full  of  boiled  pudding,  and  then  bid  me  God  speed.  Often  I  felt  the 
gnawings  of  hunger  so  keenly,  that  I  would  snatch  the  Done  out  of 
a  doff's  mouth,  or  would  pick  the  crumbs  from  the  crevices  in  the 
school  room  floor,  and  eat  them.'' 

At  Munich  Platter  ran  away  from  his  Bacchants,  who  had  perse- 
cuted him  so  long,  and  went  to  Zurich. 

"  Here  I  found  a  fellow-townsman  of  mine,  named  Anthony  Venet, 
who  persuaded  me  to  go  with  him  to  Strasburg.  When  we  arrived 
there,  we  found  the  place  full  of  needy  scholars,  and  but  an  indiffer- 
ent school,  but  heard  there  was  a  good  school  at  Schlettstadt.  So  we 
set  out  for  the  latter  place,  and  on  the  way  met  a  nobleman,  who 
asked  us  where  we  were  going.  When  we  told  him  '  to  Schlettstadt,' 
he  advised  us  not  to  go,  as  the  place  swarmed  with  indigent  scholars, 
and  there  were  but  few  rich  people  there.  Then  my  companion  began 
to  weep  aloud  and  to  ask,  what  we  should  do.  I  bade  him  keep  up 
a  good  courage,  '  for,'  said  I,  '  when  we  get  there,  I  am  sure  that  one 
can  easily  shift  for  himself  alone,  and  if  so,  I  will  engage  to  provide 
for  us  both.'  As  we  came  to  an  inn  about  a  mile  from  Schlettstadt, 
I  was  seized  with  such  a  severe  colic,  that  I  thought  I  should  die ;  I 
had  eaten  so  many  unripe  nuts  which  I  found  under  the  trees.  Then 
my  companion  wept  again,  saying  if  he  should  lose  me  he  would 
not  know  what  to  do  or  where  to  go ;  and  yet  all  the  time  he  had 
ten  crowns  secreted  about  him,  while  I  had  not  so  much  as  a  heller. 

"  When  we  arrived  at  the  city,  we  found  lodgings  with  an  aged 
matron,  whose  husband  was  stone-blind.  We  then  went  to  my  be- 
loved preceptor,  John  Sapidus,  now  deceased,  and  asked  him  to  take 
us  into  his  school.  He  inquired  from  what  country  we  came,  and 
when  we  replied,  '  from  Vispach,  in  Switzerland,'  he  said,  '  they  are 
headstrong,  bad  people  there ;  they  have  driven  all  their  bishops  out 
of  the  land.  But  for  you,  if  you  will  study  well,  you  need  pay  me 


THOMAS  PLATTER.  \\g 

nothing,  otherwise  you  shall  pay  roe,  or  I  will  have  the  very  coats  off 
from  your  backs."  This  was  about  the  period  of  the  revival  of  class- 
ical studies  and  the  classical  tongues,  and  in  the  same  year  that  wit- 
nessed the  Diet  of  Worms.  Sapid  us  had  nine  hundred  pupils  at 
once,  some  of  them  well-bred,  learned  scholars.  There  were  there 
at  that  time  Dr.  Jerome  Gemusaeus,  and  Dr.  John  Huber,  besides 
many  others  who  have  since  become  eminent  doctors  and  renowned 
men. 

"  When  I  came  into  the  school,  I  knew  nothing,  nor  could  I  even 
read  Donalus,  and  yet  I  was  eighteen  years  of  age ;  and  I  sat  there 
like  a  hen  among  the  chickens.  One  day  as  Sapidus  read  over  the 
names  of  his  scholars,  he  said  '  there  are  many  barbarous  names 
among  you ;  these  I  must  Latinize  a  little.'  After  he  had  finished 
reading,  he  wrote  down  my  name,  Thomas  Platter,  and  my  compan- 
ion's, Antony  Venet :  these  he  changed  into  Thomas  Platerus,  and 
Antonius  Venetus,  and  then  said,  '  let  these  two  stand  up  ;'  when  we 
did  this,  he  exclaimed,  '  see,  there  are  a  pair  of  clumsy  boys,  and  yet 
what  fine-sounding  names  they  have.'  This  was  in  part  true,  espe- 
cially of  my  companion,  whose  awkwardness  was  so  great  that  I  had 
many  a  laugh  at  his  expense ;  for  I  suited  myself  to  foreign  ways 
and  usages  much  more  readily  than  he. 

We  remained  here  from  autumn  to  Easter,  and  as  new  scholars 
kept  continually  coming,  and  so  it  grew  harder  to  secure  a  livelihood, 
we  went  to  Soleure.  Here  there  was  quite  a  good  school,  and  more 
abundant  provision,  but  there  was  so  much  time  to  be  spent  in  the 
church,  and  otherwise  consumed,  that  we  resolved  to  return  home. 
I  remained  at  home  a  while,  and  went  to  school  to  a  master 
who  taught  me  a  little  writing,  and  I  know  not  what  else  I  learned. 
At  this  time  I  taught  my  little  cousin,  Simon  Steiner,  his  '  a  b  c,'  in 
one  day ;  the  following  year  he  came  to  me  to  Zurich,  continued  there 
at  school,  until  he  went  to  Strasburg ;  was  Dr.  Bucer's/aw.«/«s;  stud- 
ied till  he  was  appointed  teacher  of  the  third  class,  then  of  the  sec- 
ond ;  was  married  twice,  and  died  at  Strasburg  deeply  lamented  by 
the  whole  school.'' 

After  much  change  of  place  Platter  returned  to  Zurich,  and  here 
went  into  the  Frauenminster  school. 

"  The  schoolmaster's  name  was  Master  Wolfgang  Knoewell ;  he 
took  his  degree  at  Paris,  and  while  there  went  by  the  appellation  '  Le 
Gran  Diable ;'  he  was  a  man  of  stalwart  frame  and  honesty  of  pur- 
pose, but  gave  little  heed  to  the  school,  attending  more  to  the  pretty 
maidens,  whose  charms  he  could  not  resist.  But  I  desired  to  study? 
for  I  felt  there  was  no  time  to  be  lost. 


120  THOMAS  PLATTER. 

It  was  soon  after  reported  that  a  teacher  was  coming  from  Einsied- 
liii,  that  he  had  formerly  been  at  Lucerne,  WM  a  very  learned  man 
and  a  faithful  master,  but  odd  in  the  extreme.  Ther  I  took  a  seat 
in  the  corner  near  the  teacher's  chair,  and  thought  to  myself,  '  here 
in  the  corner  will  I  study  or  die.'  When,  now,  the  new  teacher  ar- 
rived and  entered  the  school-house,  he  said,  "  This  is  a  neat-looking 
place,' — it  had  recently  been  built  anew — 'but  it  seems  to  me  the  boys 
are  an  ungainly  set ;  let  them  only  show  a  diligent  spirit,  though,  and 
all  will  be  right.'  For  my  part,  if  my  life  had  been  at  stake,  I  could 
not  have  declined  a  noun  of  the  first  declension,  and  yet  had  learned 
Donatus  by  heart.  For  when  I  was  at  Schlettstadt,  Sapidus  had  with 
him  a  Baccalaureate,  named  George  Andlow,  a  very  learned  scholar, 
who  tormented  the  Bacchants  so  incessantly  with  Donatus  that  I 
thought  if  this  is  such  an  important  book  I  will  master  it  thoroughly, 
and  so  I  did.  And  this  stood  me  in  good  stead  with  Father  Myco- 
nius.  For  when  he  came  he  read  Terence  to  us,  and  we  were  obliged 
to  decline  and  conjugate  every  word  of  whole  comedies,  he  was 
often  so  severe  with  me  that  my  shirt  was  wet  with  perspiration,  and 
my  sight  failed  me ;  and  yet  he  did  not  give  me  a  blow,  not  even 
with  his  little  finger.  He  read,  likewise  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and 
at  such  hours  many  of  the  laity  would  come  in  to  hear,  for  the  light 
of  the  Holy  Gospel  was  then  only  beginning  to  dawn,  and  men  were 
yet  burdened  with  interminable  masses,  and  had  idols  in  all  the 
churches.  But  whenever  he  had  been  angry  with  me,  he  took  me 
home  with  him,  and  gave  me  to  eat,  and  after  I  had  eaten,  he  would 
listen  in  delight  as  I  told  of  all  that  had  befallen  me  in  my  long 
and  many  wanderings  in  Germany." 

Platter  was  afterward  tutor  to  the  two  sons  of  Henry  Werdmiller. 
"  There  they  gave  me  every  day  regular  meals  to  eat.  One  of  the 
boys  was  named  Otho ;  he  afterward  became  Master  of  Arts  at  Wit- 
tenberg, and  subsequently  entered  the  service  of  the  church  at  Zu- 
rich ;  but  the  other  died  at  KappelL  I  had  no  more  hardships  to 
endure ;  only  it  might  have  been  that  I  applied  myself  too  severely 
to  study ;  I  undertook  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew,  gave  myself  for 
whole  nights  together  but  little  sleep,  but  fought  resolutely  against 
sleep,  when  I  began  to  feel  drowsiness,  putting  raw  turnips,  sand,  or 
cold  water  into  my  mouth,  or  grinding  my  teeth  together,  etc.  My 
good  Father  Myconius  would  caution  me  against  such  close  study,  nor 
did  lie  rebuke  me  when,  at  times,  sleep  came  upon  me  unawares. 
And  although  I  had  never  been  where  I  could  hear  lectures  upon 
either  Latin,  Greek,  or  Hebrew  grammar,  yet  I  practiced  reading  by 
myself;  for  Myconius  had  before  drilled  us  with  frequent  exercises  in 


THOMAS  PLATTER.  ]21 

the  Latin  grammar  ;  but  Greek  he  did  not  pursue  to  any  extent,  for  the 
Greek  language  was  yet  foreign,  and  but  little  used.  I,  however,  read 
by  myself  in  Ltician  and  Homer,  as  far  as  the  vernacular  version 
would  carry  me.  It  happened,  moreover,  when  Father  Myconius  took 
me  to  live  with  him  in  his  house,  that  he  had  some  at  his  table,  the 
now  deceased  Dr.  Gessner  was  one  of  them,  with  whom  I  was  obliged 
<o  practice  Donatus  and  the  declensions ;  and  this  proved  of  great 
s  -I  vice  to  me.  At  that  time,  too,  Myconius  had  for  an  assistant,  the 
finished  scholar  Theodore  Bibliander,  who  was  thoroughly  versed  in 
the  languages,  the  Hebrew  especially,  and  had  written  a  Hebrew 
grammar ;  he  likewise  took  his  meals  with  Myconius.  I  begged  him 
to  teach  me  the  Hebrew ;  he  did  so,  and  I  learned  to  read  it  both 
printed  and  written.  Then  I  rose  early  in  the  mornings,  made  a  fire 
in  Myconius'  room,  sat  by  the  stove,  and  copied  off  the  grammar, 
while  he  slept ;  nor  did  he  ever  know  what  I  had  done." 

Immediately  after  this  period  Platter  taught  Hebrew  to  others,  but 
himself  learned — the  ropemaker's  trade.  "There  came,"  he  contin- 
ues, "  a  well-bred  and  learned  young  man  from  Lucerne,  on  his  way 
to  attend  the  festivities  at  Constance,  and  Zwingle  and  Myconius  per- 
suaded him  to  stop  and  learn  the  ropemaker's  art  with  his  money. 
After  he  had  learned  to  weave  and  become  a  master  workman,  I 
begged  him  to  teach  me  the  trade  too.  He  said  he  had  no  hemp.  I 
had  a  small  pittance  left  me  by  my  deceased  mother,  and  with  that  I 
bought  the  master  an  hundred  of  hemp  and  learned  with  it,  as  far  as 
it  went,  and  yet  all  the  while  took  great  delight  in  study.  When 
my  master  thought  me  asleep,  I  rose  up  stealthily,  struck  a  light, 
stepped  softly,  and  procured  his  Homer,  glossed  my  own  by  it, 
and  this  I  kept  by  me  while  I  plied  my  trade.  He  afterward  learned 
what  I  had  been  doing,  and  he  said  to  me, '  Platerus,  he  whose  mind 
is  on  many  things  can  do  nothing  well ;  either  study  or  else  work  at 
your  trade  !'  Once,  as  we  sat  together  by  the  water  pitcher,  he  said, 
'  Platerus,  what  says  Pindar  ?'  As  I  replied  '  apioVov  fjisv  TO  Ii£wp' 
he  said,  laughing;  'then  we  will  follow  Pindar,  and  have  no  wine, 
but  only  water !' 

When  I  had  worked  up  the  hundred  of  hemp,  my  lesson  was  end- 
ed, and  I  determined  to  go  to  Basle,  which  I  did  at  Christmas." 

At  Basle  he  went  to  a  second  master  of  the  craft,  Hans  Staehlin. 
"  It  was  said  of  him,  he  was  the  crustiest  master  who  could  be  found 
in  all  the  Rhine  valley,  hence  no  journeyman  would  willingly  stay 
with  him,  and  there  was  the  more  room  for  me."  When  Platter 
worked  till  "  the  sweat  ran  down,  then  my  master  laughed  and  said ; 
'  had  I  studied  as  much  as  thou,  and  loved  it  as  much,  I  would  toss 


122  THOMAS  PLATTER. 

ropemnking  to  the  devil !'  For  lie  saw  very  well,  that  I  had  a  special 
fondness  for  books. 

The  printer  Cratander  had  presented  me  with  an  unbound  copy  of 
Plautus  printed  by  himself  in  8vo.  I  took  one  leaf  at  a  time,  fixed 
it  upon  a  fork,  stuck  the  fork  underneath  in  the  lower  division  of  the 
hemp,  so  that  as  I  twisted  I  could  read  alternately  each  side  of  the 
leaf;  but  when  I  saw  the  master  coming,  I  would  throw  the  loose 
hemp  over  it.  Once  he  came  up  before  I  was  aware,  and  when  ho 
saw  what  I  was  about,  he  flew  into  a  passion  and  cursed  me  roundly : 
'  A  pox  light  on  you  for  your  villainy,  hypocritical  priest  that  you  are  ! 
Wilt  study  ?  Then  go  elsewhere.  But  if  you  remain  with  me  you 
must  work.  Is  it  not  enough  that  you  have  evenings  and  Fridays  to 
yourself,  but  must  you  read  the  rest  of  the  time  too  ?'  On  Fridays, 
after  breakfast  was  over,  I  would  take  my  book,  go  out  into  the  fields, 
and  read  the  whole  day  until  nightfall.  By  degrees  I  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  a  few  scholars,  chiefly  those  who  attended  the  instruc- 
tion of  Beatus  Rhenanus.  These  and  others  came  often  to  the  shop, 
and  urged  me  to  leave  off  ropemaking." 

At  the  request  of  Dr.  Oporinus,  Platter  engaged  to  teach  him  He- 
brew. "Oporinus  nailed  up  on  the  churches  a  notice  that  there  was 
a  certain  one  who  would  read  the  elements  of  the  Hebrew  tongue  on 
Monday,  from  4  to  5,  at  St.  Lienhart;  there  it  was  that  Oporinus 
taught  school.  I  went  at  the  appointed  hour,  thinking  to  find  Opori- 
nus alone,  for  I  had  not  seen  the  cards  on  the  church  doors ;  when 
lo !  there  were  eighteen  of  his  friends  assembled,  all  well-bred,  studi- 
ous young  men.  When  I  saw  them,  I  drew  back  ;  but  Dr.  Oporinus 
reassured  me,  saying  they  were  good  friends  of  his.  I  was  ashamed 
of  my  shop  clothes,  but  nevertheless  yielded  to  his  importunity,  and 
began  by  reading  from  the  grammar  of  Dr.  Munster, — its  fame  had 
not  then  reached  Basle ; — I  read  to  them  also  from  the  prophet  Jo- 
nah as  well  as  I  was  able." 

Platter  subsequently  taught  in  his  native  town,  and  elsewhere,  ply- 
ing his  trade  at  the  same  time  ;  he  was  also  employed  as  proof-reader 
at  Basle,  and  sometimes,  too,  as  a  printer.  He  was  repeatedly  urged 
to  give  up  printing,  by  Rudolph  Frcy  among  the  rest,  who  said  to 
him  ;  "my  friend,  become  a  school  teacher;  you  will  thus  please  our 
rulers,  and  serve  God  and  the  world."  He  then  spoke  to  the  council, 
and  the  council  delegated  the  town  recorder,  Dr.  Grynaeus,  to  confer 
with  me.  Dr.  Grynacus  said  to  me ;  '  become  a  school  teacher ; 
there  is  no  more  godlike  office  ;  for  myself  there  is  no  station  I  would 
sooner  fill.'  So  much  was  said  to  me  that  I  finally  consented.  This 
was  in  the  year  1541,  on  Good  Friday. 


THOMAS  PLATTER.  1 23 

The  council  then  sent  for  me  to  meet  them  at  the  town  house,  and 
then  they  made  an  agreement  with  me.  I  stipulated,  in  case  they 
should  intrust  the  school  to  me  to  organize  and  direct  it,  for  three  as- 
sistants and  a  salary  upon  which  I  could  subsist ;  otherwise  I  told 
them  I  could  not  conduct  the  school  with  profit  and  honor.  This  was 
all  granted ;  the  salary,  however,  with  some  reluctance.  I  desired 
200  florins  ;  100  for  myself,  and  100  for  my  assistants.  They  agreed 
to  this  with  the  proviso,  however,  that  I  should  not  mention  it  to  any 
one,  for  they  had  never  given  so  much  before,  and  they  would  scarce- 
ly give  the  like  to  any  one  who  should  come  after  me.  Now  every- 
thing was  concluded,  and  the  university  not  consulted  at  all  in  the 
matter,  whereat  they  were  not  a  little  nettled ;  for  they  had  desired 
to  strike  another  bargain  with  me,  and  would  have  pledged  them- 
selves above  all,  in  case  I  had  subjected  myself  to  their  authority,  or- 
ganizing my  school  after  the  pattern  they  should  furnish,  and  reading 
such  authors  alone  as  they  should  prescribe, — that  they  would  confer 
a  Master's  Degree  upon  me,  with  other  marks  of  their  favor  from 
time  to  time. 

Then  I  went  to  Strasburg,  intending  to  look  into  the  system  in  op- 
eration there,  and  to  confer  with  my  brother  Lithonius,  who  was 
teacher  of  the  third  class  there ;  and  then  to  re-arrange  my  school 
so  far  as  the  case  would  admit.  I  returned,  divided  my  four  classes; 
for,  before,  the  pupils  were  in  the  lower  rooms,  and  it  had  been  the 
custom  to  warm  no  other  rooms  than  the  lower ;  for  there  had  been  but 
very  few  pupils.  When  I  now  began  to  keep  school,  I  was  obliged  to 
lay  before  the  university  in  writing,  my  class  system,  and  whatever  I 
read  every  hour  during  the  whole  week.  This  did  not  entirely  please 
them ;  they  thought  I  read  higher  authors  than  they  in  my  instruc- 
tion, and  as  for  dialectics  they  would  not  suffer  me  to  teach  it  at  all ; 
and  they  chid  me  so  often  that  at  last  the  masters  began  to  wonder 
what  this  dialectics  could  be,  about  which  there  was  so  much  strife 
and  contention.  When  I  explained  to  Herr  Joder  Brand,  the  wor- 
shipful burgomaster,  at  his  own  request,  what  dialectics  was,  he  was 
astonished  at  their  refusal  to  let  me  teach  it.  For  at  their  convoca- 
tion at  Easter,  they  had  unanimously  resolved  that  I  should  not  teach  it 
any  longer.  But  for  all  their  interdict,  I  did  not  vary  my  course  a 
hair,  so  long  as  I  had  pupils  who  wished  to  study  the  art.  However, 
the  Faculties  generally  were  not  much  opposed  to  it,  only  the  Faculty 
of  arts,  and  they  said  it  would  revolutionize  the  existing  systems  of  in- 
struction. But  the  boys,  nevertheless,  would  not  give  it  up ;  for  their 
minds  were  wholly  set  upon  it.  This  strife  lasted  for  some  six  years, 


124  THOMAS  PLATTER. 

until  finally  a  pestilence  came,  and  my  school,  in  consequence,  was  so 
reduced  that  I  had  no  pupils  who  desired  to  learn  dialectics." 

The  university  soon  after  signified  to  him  their  pleasure  that  he  should 
hold  examinations  before  their  delegates.  "At  the  next  Lent,"  he  adds, 
"  I  conducted  my  class  down  to  be  examined  in  due  form.  But  some 
of  them  so  managed  the  matter,  that  they  soon  fell  out  with  each 
other,  and  not  being  able  to  harmonize,  they  bade  me  undertake  the 
examination.  I  said  they  must  do  it,  for  /  had  it  to  do  every  day  in 
the  school ;  however,  I  yielded,  and  since  then  have  conducted  these 
examinations  myself.  My  opinion  was,  the  examinations  were  insti- 
tuted that  it  might  be  seen  whether  the  boys  made  improvement  or 
no ;  but  those,  who  should  hear,  sat  there,  the  most  of  them,  and 
prated.  The  examinations  are  worthless ;  scarce  a  line  can  any  one 
explain,  and  people  truly  say,  they  are  only  continued  that  the  world 
may  exclaim,  "  what  care  is  given  to  these  things !" 

In  the  close  Platter  turns  to  his  son  Felix,  for  whom  he  wrote  this 
biography,  glances  back  upon  the  hardships  and  the  poverty  of  his 
own  youth  time,  and  down  through  later  years,  when  competence  and 
fame  had  been  allotted  to  him.  "  What  shall  I  then  say  of  you, 
Felix,  of  your  prosperity,  and  the  respect  which  is  paid  to  you? 
What,  but  that  it  is  God  our  Lord  who  has  granted  you  the  happi- 
ness of  living  so  long  under  the  fostering  care  of  your  dear  mother, 
and  the  fortune  of  making  the  acquaintance  of  many  princes  and 
lords,  noblemen  and  commoners.  Looking  at  all  these  things,  my 
dear  son  Felix,  ascribe  nothing  of  it  all  to  your  own  merits,  but  give 
God  alone  the  praise  and  the  glory  your  whole  life  long  ;  so  shall  you 
win  the  life  that  is  everlasting.  Amen." 

It  was  in  1541,  in  his  42d  year,  that  Platter  took  up  the  office  of 
teacher ;  and  he  administered  it  with  faithfulness  and  vigor  for  thirty- 
seven  years,  until  1578.  He  died,  his  son  Felix  tells  us,  on  the  26th 
of  January,  1582,  in  the  full  possession  of  his  faculties,  at  the  age  of 
eighty- three. 

NOTE. 

BACCHANTS,  and  ABC-shooters.  In  the  period  from  1300  to  1600,  when  the 
Latin  town  schools  first  began  to  flourish  independently  of  the  church,  many 
grown-up  students,  with  more  or  less  of  university  education,  were  accustomed  to 
wander  over  all  Germany,  like  the  journeymen  of  the  present  day  ;  stopping  at  one 
place  and  another  to  teach,  and  leading  with  them  a  number  of  boys,  nominally 
their  scholars.  These  students  were  called  Bacchante,  from  their  bacchanalian 
lives ;  and  their  scholars,  ABC-shooters,  from  the  rudimentary  character  of  their 
studies  and  their  chief  occupation,  which  was,  not  only  to  study,  but  to  steal  (Baccan- 
tici  to  shoot)  fowls,  &c.,  and  to  beg,  for  the  maintenance  of  their  masters.  A 
future  article  will  treat  somewhat  more  fully  of  these  extraordinary  peripatetic 
educators  and  their  live*. 


BACCHANTS  AND  ABC-SHOOTERS. 

[Translated  and  condensed,  from  Schmid's  Encyclopedia  of  Education,  for  this  Journal.] 


THE  Bacchants,  or  wandering  scholars,  scholares  vagantes  or  scho- 
lastici  (for,  as  the  two  classes  of  names  indicate,  they  bore  the  char- 
acter both  of  teachers  and  scholars,)  were  a  class  of  educational 
persons  belonging  to  the  Middle  Ages,  to  whom  there  scarcely  re- 
mains any  analogous  body  at  the  present  day.  The  name  Bacchant, 
although  its  reference  in  this  form  to  the  heathen  god  of  wine  is  ob- 
vious, is  undoubtedly  a  modification,  either  by  popular  wit  or  by 
these  sons  of  the  muses  themselves,  of  the  Latin  vagantes. 

A  wandering  life  characterized  this  class  of  men  during  full  five 
hundred  years ;  although  recent  researches  indicate  a  division  of  this 
period  into  the  following  several  shorter  ones,  in  the  latter  of 
which  appear  the  Bacchants  proper  and  their  scholars,  the  "  A  B 
C-Shooters." 

1.  In  the  Romish  church  it  was  a  regulation,  from  a  very  early 
period,  that  no  bishop  should  consecrate  a  priest  who  had  not  the 
actual  cure  of  a  congregation.     Traces  of  this  law  are  found  as  soon 
as  in  the  fifth  century.     In  the  sixty-seventh  letter  of  Synesius,  bishop 
of  Ptolemais  from  410  to  431,  complaint  is   made  of  priests  who 
have  no  fixed  location,  and  who,  if  they  obtain  one,  leave  it  at  their 
pleasure  to  wander  about,  to  settle  where  they  can  obtain  the  best 
living.      Synesius   calls   these   Bakantiboi,  and  excuses  himself  for 
using  such  a  barbarous  word,  in  such  a  way  as  to  show  clearly  that 
it  is  not  Greek,  but  a  Latin  word  adapted  from  vacctre  or  vagari,  by 
the  common   change  of  b  for  v.     In  spite  however  of  repeated  in- 
junctions, and  even  of  the  decree  of  Pope  Alexander  III.,  at  the 
Lateran  synod  of  1179,  that  any  bishop  performing  such  a  consecra- 
tion without  a  parish  should  maintain  the  priest  at  his  own  expense, 
such  consecrations  were  continually  made,  sometimes  from  favor  and 
sometimes  on  pretense  of  missionary  service.     Thus  there  arose  a 
peculiar  class  of  clergymen,  the  clerici  vagantes,   whose  chief  object 
was  to  get  a  living,  and  who  most  frequently  established  themselves 
in  the  castles  of  counts  and  knights,  and  served  them  as  chaplains, 
companions,  <fec. 

2.  These  clergymen,  who  have  hitherto  been  wandering  about  and 


126  BACCHANTS  AND  A  u  C-SHOOTERS. 

seeking  their  bread  singly,  appear  in  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth 
century  as  a  sort  of  corporation,  or  peculiar  class,  with  a  well-devel- 
oped class  feeling.  At  this  time  they  are  called  Goliards,  from  a 
fabulous  Bishop  Golias,  who  figures  in  their  poems  as  the  chief  of 
their  brotherhood,  and  who  is  also  referred  to  as  primas  and  archi- 
poela.  At  this  period  the  schools  at  Paris,  liheims,  and  Orleans  were 
flourishing,  and  thither  the  young  clergymen  from  the  whole  west  of 
Europe  gathered  in  great  masses  ;  and  among  them,  besides  a  most 
profligate  kind  of  student's  life,  there  grew  up  a  freer  phase  of  think- 
ing than  had  before  been  known.  There  are  two  especially  promi- 
nent traits  in  the  character  of  these  Goliards  ;  their  love  of  wander- 
ing, and  their  poetical  impulses.  The  first  seem  to  have  been  de- 
rived from  the  spirit  of  their  age,  which  found  in  the  crusades  both 
pleasure  and  stimulus ;  and  is  a  parallel  phenomenon  with  the  wan- 
derings of  the  journeymen  mechanics,  which  came  into  vogue  with 
the  rise  of  the  towns  and  their  mechanic  guilds.  Giesebrecht*  says : 
"  How  accustomed  the  clergy  were  to  remove  from  one  school  to 
another,  and  to  lead  a  wandering  life  for  the  sake  of  learning,  appears 
from  the  words  of  a  zealous  preacher  of  the  period,  the  monk  Heli- 
naud.  'The  scholastics  wander  throughout  all  the  cities  and  the 
whole  surface  of  the  earth  ;  and  their  many  studies  bring  them  un- 
derstanding. The  clergy  seek  a  knowledge  of  the  fine  arts  at  Paris, 
of  the  ancient  writers  at  Orleans,  of  jurisprudence  at  Bologna,  of 
medicine  at  Salerno,  and  of  the  black  art  at  Toledo ;  but  they  seek 
to  learn  good  morals  nowhere.'  What  a  contrast  between  this  stu- 
dent-life and  the  cloister-like  seclusion  and  strictness  which  had  pre- 
viously prevailed  in  the  schools!"  Their  poetry,  again,  was  of  a 
kind  which  on  the  one  hand  completely  expresses  the  adventurous- 
ness  of  their  life,  and  on  the  other  differs  materially  from  that  of  the 
troubadours,  in  that,  while  the  latter  composed  as  laymen  in  the 
speech  of  the  people,  the  Goliards  held  fast  to  their  clerical  charac- 
ter by  adhering  to  Latin.  The  matter  of  these  compositions  was, 
however,  as  loose  as  possible.f  Besides  amatory  lyrics  and  drinking 

*  Article  on  the  Goliards  and  their  poetry,  "  Universal  Monthly  Magazine  of  Science  and 
Literature,"  Au?.,  1851,  p.  29. 

t  Two  rich  collections  of  these  Goliard  poems  have  been  published  ;  one  in  London,  by 
Thomas  Wright,  in  1841.  entitled  "  The  Latin  poems  commonly  attributed  to  Waller  Maj~.es ; " 
the  other  in  the  •'  Library  of  the  Literary  Society  in  Stuttgart,"  Vol.  XVI.,  for  1847,  under  the 
title  "Carntina  Durunu."  These  are  MS.  poems,  found  in  the  abbey  of  Henedictbenren,  at 
the  mpprefsion  of  (he  convents  in  Bavaria.  As  these  works  are  not  accessible  to  all,  we 
subjoin  a  poetical  epistle  from  the  first  mentioned,  characteristic  of  the  Bacchant  poetry. 

EPISTOI.A   GOUJE  AD  CONFRATRES  GAI.LICOS. 

Omnibus  in  Gallia  Anglus  Goliardus,  I  Mandat  salulem  fratribue  nomine  Ricardus. 
Obedieng  et  humilie  frater  non  bastardus,  Accedit  ad  vos  nuncius,  vir  magnae  probilatis, 

Golise  diacipulii,  dolcng  quod  tarn  lardug,  |  Magieter  et  dominus  Willelmus  de  Conflatie, 


BACCHANTS  AND  A  B  O-8IIOOTERS 


127 


songs,  satire  especially  flourished  among  the  Goliards ;  and  for  both 
they  found  the  best  reception  in  the  houses  of  the  bishops  and  with  the 
abbots.  We  must  consider  these  gentry  as  clergy,  according  to  their 
chief  profession  ;  although  most  of  them — and  in  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury we  find  them  numerous  in  the  countries  on  the  Danube,  as  well  as 
in  Suabia  and  France — are  properly  to  be  reckoned  mere  consecrated 
clerici  vaijantes.  Some  of  them,  however,  were  students  intending  to 
become  clergymen,  and  others  adventurers  who  gave  themselves  out 
as  such.  Their  smattering  of  learning  maintained  a  show  of  clerical 
character  for  them  in  the  eyes  of  the  people,  who  also  felt  the  less 
strongly  prejudiced  against  their  mode  of  life,  for  the  reason  that  the 
character  of  the  regular  clergy  and  the  monks  differed  from  theirs, 
not  in  kind,  but  only  in  degree. 

3.  The  third  period  was  introduced  by  the  fact  that,  as,  in  the  thir- 
teenth century,  decrees  of  bishops  and  synods  having  been  issued,  for- 
bidding regular  priests  to  belong  to  the  fraternity  of  Goliards,  in  the 
end  of  this  and  the  beginning  of  the  next  century,  an  actual  distinc- 
tion grew  up  between  them  ;  and  the  Bacchants,  who  had  so  far  had 
the  impudence  and  the  good  fortune  to  protect  themselves  against 
any  civil  jurisdiction  by  their  clerical  character,  became  distinctly 
separated  from  the  clergy.  They  now  frequented  no  more  the  courts 
of  the  bishops,  but  the  houses  of  the  peasantry  ;  and  found  employ- 
ment as  wizards,  exorcists,  quacks,  and  panders.  They  did  not  en- 


Goliardus  optimus,  hoc  non  limeatis ; 
Sicut  decet  socium  ipsum  atlmittatis. 
Quidquid  de  me  dixerit,  verum  teneatis, 
Et  quod  volueritis,  per  enm  roscrib  itis, 
Qua;  niihi  scripseritis,  vel  ore  mandatis, 
Pro  posse  meo  faciamcertissime  sciatis, 
1>e  adventu  nobilis  nuiicii  gaudete, 
Villam  quam  inlraverit,  in  ea  manete, 
Et  hora  cum  fuerit,cum  ip'so  prandete, 
Mero  delt ctabili  calices  implete  ; 
Teinpus  cum  sit  frigidum,  ad  prunas  sedete 


Viiiiiin  meracissimum  innnibus  tenete  ; 

Calices  si  fueriut  vacui,  replete, 

lit  b  bat  et  retxbat  sa:pe  suidtte. 

Mo. linn  si  exctsseril,  blundc  sustinete  ; 

Quod  fit  in  consortio  pandere  c  ivete. 

Nunc.  fratres  carissimi,  scribere  studete. 


Ordo  vester  qualis  est,  modusque  dicetae  ; 
Si  fas  est  comedere  coctas  in  lebele 
Carnas  vel  pisciculos  fugatos  ad  rete  ; 
De  Lya?o  b'.bere  vc I  de  uuda  Tli»ta; ; 
Utrum  frui  liceat  Rosa  vel  Ajriifte  ; 
Cum  Ibrmosa  domina  ludere  secrete, 
Coutincnter  vivere  nullatenus  jubete. 
Qualiter  me  debeam  gerere  docete  ; 
Ne  magis  in  ordine  vivam  indiscrete 
Donee  ad  vos  veniani,  sum  sine  quiete  : 
Quid  vobis  dicam  amplius?     In   Domino 


valete. 

Siimma  salus  omnium,  filius  Maria;, 
Pascal,  potet,  vesliat  filios  (Jolya?, 
Et  conserve!  socios  sancta;  confrarri;e 
Ad  dies  usque  ultimo*  Enoch  et  lldy.-c. 

Amen. 

One  of  the  ''Cirmina  Burana,"  in  the  second  named  collect'on,  contains  a  sort  of  rule 
of  the  ordtr  ;  beginning,— 

De  Vagorum  ordine 
Dlco  vobis  jura. 
Quorum  vita-  nobllis 
Dulcis  est  natura. 

In  this  Goliard  poetry,  which  contains  some  very  beautiful  portions,  as  for  instance  in  their 
poems  on  Spring,  we  find  the  rich  source  of  the  students' songs  and  Oommtrs/ieder.  For 
instance,  the  "Af/Ai  rst  proposition  in  taberna  mori,"  is  a  Goliard  poem  of  the  last  ten  year* 
of  the  twelfth  century. 


128  BACCHANTS  AND  A  B  C-SHOOTERS. 

tirely  give  up  poetry  and  song,  but  composed  now  not  in  Latin  but 
in  German.  It  seems  from  Hoffmann  von  Fallersleben,  "History  of 
Ecclesiastical  Poetry  to  the  Time  of  Luther?  2d  ed.,  p.  371,  that  they 
were  accustomed  to  commit  the  outrageous  impropriety  of  entering 
the  churches  and  singing  absurd  parodies  oh  the  hymns  of  the 
church. 

4.  The  wandering  scholars  appear  in.  a  new  phase  at  the  end  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  from  which  time  they  are  first  known  by  the  term 
Bacchants.  We  find  them  also  called  trutani  ceretani  ;*  and  the 
number  of  popular  nicknames  given  them  was  infinite,  while  in 
this  period  they  still  held  fast  to  their  vagrancy  and  their  swindling. 
"  They  have  been  in  the  Venusberg ;  have  seen  all  future  things ; 
can  secure  against  pains  and  wounds ;  they  know  a  prayer  of  St. 
Gregorius,  which  has  so  much  virtue  that  as  often  as  they  say  it  a 
soul  is  freed  from  hell ;  but  a  crown  must  be  given  them  first."f  They 
no  longer  appear  as  students  and  poets,  but  in  the  double  character 
of  old  school-boys  and  wandering  knaves.  They  no  longer  frequent 
courts  and  universities,  but  the  town  schools  ;  and,  where  they  could 
get  an  engagement,  they  hired  themselves  out  as  assistant' teachers. 
It  seems,  however,  that  little  of  their  pedagogical  efforts  were  bestowed 
upon  the  small  boys  or  A  B  C-Shooters,  whom  they  carried  about 
with  them,  ostensibly  to  place  them  in  good  schools  and  instruct 
them  themselves,  but  in  truth  only  to  make  them  beg  for  them.J 

The  praiseworthy  zeal  of  the  cities  in  the  support  and  oversight  of 
their  schools,  led  to  the  establishment  of  many  institutions  for  poor 
scholars,  which,  after  the  fashion  of  that  age,  in  which  the  begging 
monks  rilled  so  important  a  place  among  the  people,  attracted  the 
Bacchants,  and  furnished  accommodation  to  them.  In  Breslau  alone 
there  were  at  once  as  many  as  a  thousand  Bacchants  and  scholars, 
all  supported  by  alms.  The  school-houses,  like  the  cloisters,  were 
furnished  with  a  multitude  of  cells  for  the  accommodation  of  these 
wandering  scholars,  and  the  towns  furnished  to  the  lodgers  in  them 
both  firewood  and  charity.  There  were,  for  example,  some  hundreds 
of  these  chambers  in  the  school -house  of  St.  Elizabeth,  at  Breslau. 
Elsewhere,  these  lodging-rooms  were  not  in  the  school-houses,  but 
formed  a  sort  of  hospital  for  poor  scholars  ;  and,  although  these  were 
deficient  in  the  first  requisite,  cleanliness  ("  In  Dresden,"  says  Plater, 
"the  chambers  in  the  school  were  full  of  lice;"  and  the  school  hos- 

*  J.  U.  Mayer's  "  Dissertation  ml  the  Wandnring  Scholars,"  Leipzig,  1C75. 

t  Moytr.  And  M.  Crusius,  later,  in  his  "Annales  Suetiect,"  Vol.  2,  p.  653,  describes  them 
an  cheating  at  play. 

:  The  name  A  B  C-8hooters  is  made  up  from  the  obvious  reference  tn  their  studies,  and 
from  the  emit  phrase  "to  shoot,"  applied  to  fheir  half-authorized  mode  of  stealing  for  their 
master's  support. 


BACCHANTS  AND  A  B  C-SHOOTERS.  129 

pital,  in  Breslau,  was  all  full  of  "  great  lice  as  large  as  hempseeds,") 
still  provision  was  made  even  for  the  requisite  medicinal  assistance. 
Even  private  persons  received  these  wandering  scholars,  out  of  be- 
nevolence, or  as  a  kind  of  tutors  ;  Zingg,  for  instance,  says  :  "  Also,  I 
came  to  a  gentleman,  who  was  a  native  of  a  town  belonging  to  the 
city  (Memmingen.)  whose  two  boys  I  put  in  the  school,  and  with 
whom  I  staid  a  year  and  taught  his  boys  for  him."  How  little  study- 
ing was  done  by  these  scholars,  however,  appears  from  Zingg,  who, 
after  ten  years'  wandering  among  the  schools  of  Reiswitz,  Biberach, 
Ehingen,  Balingen,  and  Ulm,  had  learned  nothing  except  how  to 
write ;  and  from  Plater,  who,  after  nine  years'  school  wandering,  con- 
fesses, "  had  my  life  depended  on  it,  I  could  not  have  declined  a  noun 
of  the  first  declension."  And  how  small  were  their  efforts  for  speed, 
we  may  see,  for  instance,  from  the  fact  that,  after  Plater  had  been 
taken  by  his  Bacchant,  Paul  Sommermatter,  on  a  journey  into  Ger- 
many, they  remained  in  Zurich  some  eight  or  nine  weeks,  waiting  for 
certain  others  who  had  traveled  into  Saxony.  During  this  time  they 
lived  entirely  by  begging.  There  was  no  discipline  maintained  by 
these  teachers,  except  that  their  "  Shooters "  were  much  cudgeled 
and  otherwise  maltreated. 

5.  Luther  here  and  there  speaks  of  the  Bacchants,  whom  he  de- 
scribes as  "  stupid  blockheads  and  asses  ; "  and  there  is  a  well-known 
anecdote  of  Melancthon,  that  he  once,  when  a  little  boy,  completely 
vanquished  an  old  fellow  of  a  Bacchant  by  the  extent  of  his  learning. 
The  Reformation,  in  newly  organizing  school  systems,  must  of  course 
put  an  end  to  the  Bacchants  and  their  vices ;  yet  we  find  traces  of 
them  even  after  that  period.  In  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centu- 
ries, we  find  the  name  of  Bacchant  universally  used  to  describe  those 
scholars  who,  as  beani  or  "  foxes,"  at  making  their  entrance  into  the 
universities,  were  obliged  to  submit  to  the  scurrilous  festivities  of  the 
so-called  "  Deposition,"  in  which  even  the  professors  took  part.  Among 
other  things,  an  ox-hide  was  thrown  over  them;  and,  as  a  symbol  of 
their  putting  off  the  Philistine  "  Old  Adam,"  the  horns  were  taken 
off  it ;  whence  the  name,  from  deponere.  They  were  also  deluged 
with  wine ;  their  mental  hearing  was  opened  by  rubbing  their  ears 
with  the  end  of  a  stick  ;  an  examination  was  held  upon  them  ;  and,  in 
conclusion,  they  received  a  kind  of  absolution,  and  were  declared 
worthy  to  become  votaries  of  academical  wisdom.  Thus,  we  read  in 
"Luther's  Table  Talk"*  how  he  once  held  such  a  " deposition,"  and 
absolved  some  students  just  entering  from  "Bean  und  Baclianten? 

•  "  Table  TaUc,"  Vol.  2,  Ch.  44,  Sec.  6, 7. 

I 


130  BACCHANTS  AND  A  B  C-SJIOOTERR 

According  to  a  description  given  by  Thohick,*  from  an  old  Strasbtirg 
publication,  of  1671,  called  " Ritun  Depositionis"  the  ceremony  began 
with  the  summons,  "Come,  ye  Bacchants,  come  forward;  I  Avill,  at 
your  festival,  depose  you  in  the  best  manner."  Elsewhere  it  appears 
that  the  name  Bacchant  was  used  as  a  general  term  of  reproach  for 
the  literary  class.  In  the  year  1630,  Balthasar  Schuppius,  we  are 
told,  "following  the  universal  custom  of  students  of  wandering  about, 
went  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  on  foot,  to  see  towns  and  univers- 
ities." This  sort  of  student  wandering  is  entirely  distinct  from  the 
ancient  vagabondizing;  but  Schuppius  himself  was  obliged,  after- 
ward, to  oppose  "  the  vicious  old  students  or  vaganten."  That  there 
existed  such  a  class,  and  that  thus  the  ancient  Bacchants  are  the 
rightful  lineal  predecessors  of  the  modern  begging  students,  appears 
from  Mayer's  dissertation,  already  quoted.  He  says  :  "Indeed,  there 
are  the  like  now  (i.  e.,  scholastics  vagantea^)  who  keep  up  their  title 
to  the  name  of  students  by  singing  or  by  gabbling  a  sort  of  Latin, 
such  as  it  is,  on  the  road,  but  who  otherwise  are  exactly  like  ordinary 
beggars."  An  edict  for  the  circle  of  Suabia,  in  1720,  names  in  the 
same  list  of  all  possible  sorts  of  disreputable  and  vagrant  persons, 
"  wandering  scholars,  and  displaced  clergymen  and  monks ; "  and 
enacts  that  "they  shall  not  be  admitted  into  the  circle  without  a  cer- 
tificate, upon  which,  when  found  correct,  they  may  be  forwarded  to 
their  friends  ;  but,  if  it  is  false,  they  are  to  be  punished."  In  such 
company  the  "  wandering  scholars"  were  not  far  from  the  gallows. 
Even  in  this  nineteenth  century  this  class  seems  not  to  be  entirely 
extinct.  In  the  year  1844,  there  came  to  the  writer  of  this  article, 

two  persons  claiming  to  be  students  of  the  university  of  M ,  who, 

except  the  singing,  had  all  the  exact  marks  of  Mayer's  silhouette  of 
two  hundred  years  old.  Giesebrecht  refers  to  another  account  of  a 
surviving  trace  of  the  ancient  Bacchants,  from  Willkomm's  "  Two 
Years  in  Spain  and  Portugal"  [Vol.  3,  p.  206.]  "In  the  university 
of  Salamanca  there  prevails  this  custom :  that  the  poorer  students, 
during  the  summer  vacations,  wander  all  over  the  country,  and,  by 
singing  ballads  to  the  ladies,  and  vulgar  songs  to  the  common  people, 
gain  a  scanty  remuneration,  which  enables  them  to  continue  their 
studies." 

*  "Academical  Life  of  the  Seventeenth  Century,"  Halle,  1863,  p.  303. 


LUTHER'S  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS. 

FROM  THE  GERMAN  OF  KARL  TON  RAUMER. 


IF  Melancthon  obtained  the  name  "  Prseceptor  Germanise,"  inasmuch 
as  he  was  a  most  consummate  scholar,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  intellect-* 
ual  leader,  especially  of  the  literary  class  of  his  countrymen,  then  Luther 
should  be  called  the  pastor  of  his  people,  who,  with  a  strong  faith  and 
an  active  love,  watched,  labored,  and  prayed  that  all  his  beloved  Ger- 
mans, small  and  great,  might  be  led,  by  means  of  pious  discipline  and 
sound  learning,  to  walk  humbly  before  God. 

In  Luther's  writings,  we  find  much  on  the  subject  of  education, 
both  in  sermons,  expositions  of  scripture,  letters,  and  the  table-talk; 
and  some  of  his  works  treat  of  this  theme  exclusively.  He  appeals, 
now  to  parents,  now  to  magistrates,  and  now  to  teachers, — urges  them, 
each  and  all,  in  the  most  pressing  manner,  to  interest  themselves  in 
children,  while,  at  the  same  time,  he  lays  before  them  blessings  and 
curses, — blessings  on  right  training,  and  curses  on  neglect.  And  with- 
al, he  presents  the  most  admirable  doctrines,  on  the  nature  of  disci- 
pline, the  knowledge  suitable  for  children,  the  best  manner  of  impart- 
ing it,  etc. 

The  following  extracts  from  Luther's  works,  express  his  views,  both 
upon  the  training  and  the  instruction  of  the  young. 

I.    HOME    GOVERNMENT.       TRAINING    OF   CHILDREN. 

Luther  saw  that  good  family  government  was  the  sole  foundation 
of  good  civil  government  and  of  continued  national  prosperity.  In 
his  exposition  of  Exodus  20 :  12.,  he  says: 

"We  have  now  explained,  at  sufficient  length,  how  father  and  mother  are  to 
be  honored,  and  what  this  commandment  includes  and  teaches,  and  have  shown 
of  what  vast  consequence  it  is  in  the  sight  of  God,  that  this  obedience  toward 
father  and  mother  should  become  universal.     Where  this  is  not  the  case,  you 
will  find  neither  good  manners  nor  a  good  government.     For,  where  obedience") 
is  not  maintained  at  the  fire-side,  no  power  on  earth  can  insure  to  the  city,  terri- 
tory,  principality,  or  kingdom  the  blessings  of  a  good  government ;  and  it  is  there  j 
that  all  governments  and  dominions  originate.     If  now  the  root  is  corrupt,  it  is 
in  vain  that  you  look  for  a  sound  tree,  or  for  good  fruit. 

For  what  is  a  city,  but  an  assemblage  of  households?  How  then  is  a  whole 
city  to  be  wisely  governed,  when  there  is  no  subordination  in  its  several  house- 
holds, yea,  when  neither  child,  maid-servant,  nor  man-servant  submit  to  author- 
ity ?  Again,  a  territory :  what  is  it,  other  than  an  assemblage  of  cities,  market- 
towns  and  villages  ?  Where,  now,  the  households  are  lawless  or  mis-governed, 
how  can  the  whole  territory  be  well-governed  ?  yea,  nothing  else  will  appear, 
from  one  end  of  it  to  the  other,  but  tyranny,  witchcraft,  murders,  robberies  and 
disobedience  to  every  law.  Now,  a  principality  is  a  group  of  territories,  or 
counties;  a  kingdom,  a  group  of  principalities;  and  an  empire,  a  groap  of 


132  LUTHER'S  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS. 

kingdoms.  ]  Thus,  the  whole  wide  organization  of  an  empire  is  all  woven  out 
of  single  households.  Wherever,  then,  fathers  and  mothers  slacken  the  reins  of 
family  government,  and  leave  children  to  follow  their  own  headstrong  courses, 
there  it  is  impossible  for  either  city,  market-town  or  village,  either  territory, 
principality,  kingdom  or  empire,  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  a  wise  and  peaceful  gov- 
ernment. For  the  son,  when  grown  up,  becomes  a  father,  a  judge,  a  mayor,  a 
prince,  a  king,  an  emperor,  a  preacher,  a  schoolmaster,  etc.  And,  if  he  has 
been  brought  up  without  restraint,  then  will  the  subjects  become  like  their 
ruler,  the  members  like  their  head. 

For  this  cause,  God  has  established  it  as  a  matter  of  irrevocable  necessity, 
that  men  should  by  all  means  rule  over  their  own  households.  For  where  fam- 
ily government  is  well-ordered  and  judicious,  all  other  forms  of  government  go 
on  prosperously.  And  the  reason  is,  as  wo  have  seen,  that  the  whole  human 
race  proceeds  from  the  family.  For  it  has  pleased  God  so  to  ordain,  from  the 
beginning,  that  from  father  and  mother,  all  mankind  should  forever  derive  their 
.--  being. 

The  duties  of  parents  to  their  children  Luther  dwells  upon,  in 
his  exposition  of  the  6fth  commandment. 

Now  let  us  see  what  parents  owe  to  their  children,  if  they  would  be  pa- 
rents in  the  truest  sense.  St.  Paul  in  Eph.  6 :  1, — when  commanding  children 
to  honor  their  parents,  and  setting  forth  the  excellence  of  this  commandment, 
and  its  reasonableness,  says,  "children,  obey  your  parents  in  the  Lord."  Here 
he  intimates  that  parents  should  not  be  such  after  the  flesh  merely,  as  it  is  with 
the  heathen,  but  in  the  Lord.  And,  that  children  may  be  obedient  to  their  pa- 
rents in  the  Lord,  he  adds  this  caution  to  parents,  directly  afterward  in  the 
fourth  verse:  "And,  ye  fathers,  provoke  not  your  children  to  wrath,"  lest  they 
be  discouraged;  "but  bring  them  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord."  The  first  and  foremost  care  that  he  here  enjoins  upon  parents  with  ref- 
erence to  their  children,  in  what  pertains  to  the  mind  and  heart,  (for  of  the 
nurture  of  the  body  ho  does  not  speak  here  at  all,)  is,  that  they  provoke  them 
not  to  wrath  and  discouragement.  This  is  a  rebuke  to  such  as  display  a  violent 
and  impetuous  temper  in  the  management  of  their  children.  For,  under  such  an 
evil  discipline,  their  disposition,  while  yet  tender  and  impressible,  becomes  perma- 
nently clouded  with  fear  and  diffidence ;  and  so  there  grows  up  in  their  breasts 
a  hatred  toward  their  parents,  in  so  far  that  they  run  away  from  them,  and  pur- 
sue a  course  that  otherwise  they  never  would  have  entered  upon.  And,  in  truth, 
what  hope  is  there  of  a  child,  who  exercises  hatred  and  mistrust  toward  his  pa- 
rents, and  is  ever  downcast  in  their  presence?  Nevertheless  St.  Paul  in  this 
passage  does  not  intend  to  forbid  parents  altogether  from  being  angry  with  their 
children  and  chastening  themjjbut  rather,  that  they  punish  them  in  love,  when 
punishment  is  necessary ;  not,  as  some  do,  in  a  passionate  spirit,  and  without  be- 
stowing a  thought  upon  their  improvement. 

A  child,  who  has  once  become  timid,  sullen  and  dejected  in  spirit,  loses  all 
his  self-reliance,  and  becomes  utterly  unfitted  for  the  duties  of  life ;  and  fears  rise 
up  in  his  path,  so  often  as  any  thing  comes  up  for  him  to  do,  or  to  undertake. 
But  this  is  not  all ; — for,  where  such  a  spirit  of  fear  obtains  the  mastery  over  a 
man  in  his  childhood,  he  will  hardly  be  able  to  rid  himself  of  it  to  the  end  of 
his  days.  For,  if  children  are  accustomed  to  tremble  at  every  word  spoken  by 
their  lather  or  mother,  they  will  start  and  quake  forever  after,  even  at  the  rustl- 
ing of  a  loaf.  Neither  should  those  women,  who  are  employed  to  attend  upon 
children,  ever  be  allowed  to  frighten  them  with  their  tricks  and  mummeries, 
and,  above  all,  never  in  the  night-time.  But  parents  ought  much  rather  to  aim 
at  that  sort  of  education  for  their  children,  that  would  inspire  them  with  a 
wholesome  fear:  a  fear  of  those  things  that  they  ought  to  fear,  and  not  of  those 
...  which  only  make  them  cowardly,  and  so  inflict  a  lasting  injury  upon  them. 
Thus  parents  go  too  far  to  the  kft.  Now  let  UB  consider  how  they  are  led  too  far 
to  the  rifjht. 

8t  Paul  teaches,  further,  that  children  should  be  brought  up  in  the  nurture 
and  admonition  of  the  Lord ;  that  is,  that  they  should  bo  instructed  respecting 
that  which  they  ought  to  know,  and  should  be  chastised  when  they  do  not  hold 
to  the  doctrine.  For  instance,  they  need  both  that  you  teach  them  that  which 
they  do  not  know  of  God,  and  al»o  that  you  punish  them  when  they  will  not 


LUTHER'S  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS.  133 

retain  this  knowledge.  Wherefore,  see  to  it,  that  you  cause  your  children  first 
to  be  instructed  in  spiritual  things, — that  you  point  them  first  to  God,  and,  after 
that,  to  the  world.  But  in  these  days,  this  order,  sad  to  say,  is  inverted.  And 
it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at ;  for  parents  themselves  have  not  learned  by  their 
own  experience  what  is  this  admonition  of  the  Lord,  nor  do  they  know  much 
about  it  from  hearsay.  Still  we  had  hoped  that  schoolmasters  would  remedy 
this  evil — that  in  school,  at  least,  children  would  l««arn  something  good,  and 
there  have  the  fear  of  God  implanted  in  their  hearts.  But  this  hope,  too.  has 
come  to  nought.  All  nations,  the  Jews  especially,  keep  their  children  at  school 
more  faithfully  than  Christians.  And  this  is  one  reason  why  Christianity  is  so 
fallen.  For  all  its  hopes  of  strength  and  potency  are  ever  committed  to  the 
generation  that  is  coming  on  to  the  stage ;  and,  if  this  is  neglected  in  its  youth, 
it  fares  with  Christianity  as  with  a  garden  that  is  neglected  in  the  spring  time.  , 

For  this  reason  children  must  be  taught  the  doctrine  of  God-  But  this  is  the 
doctrine  of  God,  which  you  must  teach  your  children, — namely,  to  know  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  keep  ever  fresh  in  their  remembrance  how  he  has  suffered 
for  our  sakes,  what  he  has  done,  and  what  commanded.  So  the  children  of 
Israel  were  commanded  of  God  to  show  to  their  children,  and  to  the  generation 
to  come,  the  marvelous  things  which  he  did  in  the  sight  of  their  fathers  in  the 
land  of  Egypt. — Psalm  78  ;  4,  12.  And  when  they  have  learned  all  this,  but 
nevertheless  do  not  love  God,  nor  acknowledge  their  obligations  to  him  in  grate- 
ful prayer,  nor  imitate  Christ, — then  you  should  lay  before  them  the  admonition 
of  the  Lord ;  that  is,  present  to  their  view  the  terrible  judgments  of  God,  and 
his  anger  at  the  wicked.  If  a  child,  from  his  youth  up,  learns  these  things, 
namely,  God's  mercies  and  promises,  which  will  lead  him  to  love  God,  and  his 
judgments  and  warnings,  which  will  lead  him  to  fear  God, — then,  hereafter,  when 
he  shall  be  old,  this  knowledge  will  not  depart  from  him. 

For  God  calls  upon  men  to  honor  him  in  two  ways;  namely,  to  love  him  as  a 
father,  for  the  benefits  which  he  has  rendered,  is  now  rendering,  and  ever  will 
render  toward  us;  and  to  fear  him  as  a  judge,  for  the  punishments  which  he  has 
inflicted,  and  which  he  will  inflict  upon  the  wicked.  Hear  what  he  speaks  by 
the  mouth  of  the  prophet  Malachi,  1 :  6.  "  If  then  I  be  a  father,  where  is  mine 
honor  ?  And  if  I  be  a  master,  where  is  my  fear  ?  "  Therefore,  the  children  of 
God  should  learn  to  sing  of  mercy  and  judgment. — Ps.  101 :  1.  And  St.  Paul 
intends  to  convey  this  two-fold  meaning,  when  he  says  that  children  should  be 
brought  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord.  It  belongs  to  nurture, 
to  tell  your  children  how  God  hascieated  all  things,  and  how  he  has  given  them 
their  senses,  their  life,  and  then*  soul,  and  is  daily  providing  them  with  the  good 
things  of  his  creation.  Again,  how  he  has  suffered  for  us  all,  worked  miracles, 
preached  to  us,  and  how  he  has  promised  yet  greater  things.  And  with  all  this 
you  should  exhort  them  to  be  grateful  to  God,  to  acknowledge  his  providence, 
and  to  love  him  as  a  father.  It  belongs  to  admonition,  that  you  tell  them  how 
God,  aforetime,  smote  with  great  plagues  the  Egyptians,  the  heathen,  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Sodoin,  the  children  of  Israel,  yea,  all  men  in  Adam ;  again,  how  he  is 
now  daily  smiting  many  with  pestilence,  the  sword,  the  gallows,  water,  tire, 
wild  beasts,  and  all  manner  of  diseases,  and  how  he  menaces  the  wicked  with 
future  punishment 

This  admonition  God  requires  us  to  make  much  more  prominent  to  our  child- 
ren than  that  of  men,  or  human  penalties.  And  this,  not  without  reason ;  for 
thus  they  will  be  taught  always  to  look  out  of  themselves,  and  up  to  God,  and 
to  fear  not  men,  but  God.  For,  should  they  be  accustomed  to  fear  their  parents 
alone,  it  will  finally  come  to  pass  that,  even  in  respect  to  things  which  are 
pleasing  to  God,  that  they  will  fear  the  opinions  of  men,  and  so  will  become 
vacillating  and  cowardly.  On  this  account  children  should  be  educated  not  only 
to  fear  their  parents,  but  to  feel  that  God  will  be  angry  with  them  if  they  do  not 
fear  their  parents.  So  will  they  not  be  iaint-hearted,  but  courageous,  and,  should 
they  be  deprived  of  their  parents,  they  will  not  depart  from  God,  either  while 
good  betides  them,  or  when  evil  days  come  upon  them  ;  for  they  have  learned 
with  the  fear  of  God  to  fear  their  parents,  and  not  through  then*  fear  of  their 
parents  to  stand  in  awe  of  God. 

But  what  an  acceptable  sacrifice  it  is  to  God.  to  bring  up  children  thus,  we 
perceive  in  Genesis,  18 :  19,  where  it  is  said  that  God  could  not  hide  from  Abra- 
ham what  he  was  about  to  do,  and  that,  for  this  reason;  "for  I  know  him,"  God 


134  LUTHER'S  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS. 

said,  "  that  he  will  command  his  children,  and  they  shall  keep  the  way  of  the 
Lord."  Do  you  not  see  that  God  herein  indicates  that  the  knowledge  of  the 
doom,  which  was  to  come  upon  Sodom,  would  prove  to  the  pious  Abraham  a 
strong  motive  to  lead  him  to  bring  up  his  children  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord?  So 
Jonadab,  a  father  among  the  Rechabites,  was  gloriously  extolled  and  blessed  in 
his  children  ;  and  that,  because  he  had  brought  them  up  in  a  pious  and  godly 
manner,  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord.  In  such  a  manner  were  Tobias,  Joachim  and 
Susanna  brought  up.  On  the  other  hand,  the  judgment  pronounced  against  Eli, 
because  he  restrained  not  his  sons,  stands  forever  to  warn  us  in  1  Sam.,  3 :  13. 

II.      BAD  TRAINING. 

Luther  points  out  the  consequences  of  the  bad  training  of  children 
in  the  following  paragraphs : 

Are  we  not  fools  ?     See,  we  have  the  power  to  place  heaven  or  hell  within 
reach  of  our  children,  and  yet  we  give  ourselves  no  concern  about  the  matter ! 
For  what  does  it  profit  you,  if  you  are  ever  so  pious  for  yourself,  and  yet  neglect 
/     the  education  of  your  children  ?/  Some  there  are,  who  serve  God  with  an  extreme 
intensity  of  devotion, — they  fast,  they  wear  coarse  garments,  and  are  assiduous 
in  such  like  exercises  for  themselves;  but  the  true  service  of  God  in  their  fami- 
lies, namely,  the  training  up  their  children  aright, — this  they  pass  blindly  by, 
even  as  the  Jews  of  old  forsook  God's  temple,  and  offered  sacrifice  upon  the 
•,    high  places.     Whence,  it  becomes  you  first  to  ponder  upon  what  God  requires 
^^"of  you,  and  upon  the  office  that  he  has  laid  upon  you ;  as  St.  Paul  spake  in  1 
Cor.,  7 :  20. — "  Let  every  man  abide  in  the  same  calling,  wherein  he  was  called." 
Believe  me,  it  is  much  more  necessary  for  you  to  take  diligent  heed  how  you 
may  train  up  your  children  well,  than  to  purchase  indulgences,  to  make  long 
prayers,  to  go  on  pilgrimages  to  distant  shrines,  or  to  impose  numerous  vows 
upon  yourselves. 

Thus,  fathers  and  mothers,  ye  see,  what  course  it  is  your  duty  to  adopt  toward 
your  children,  so  that  you  may  be  parents  indeed,  and  worthy  of  the  name  ; 
wherefore,  be  circumspect,  lest  you  destroy  yourselves,  and  your  children  with 
you.  But  those  destroy  their  children,  who  knowingly  neglect  them,  and  suffer 
them  to  grow  up  without  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord ;  and  though 
they  do  not  themselves  set  them  a  bad  example,  yet  they  indulge  them  overmuch, 
out  of  an  excess  of  natural  affection,  and  so  destroy  them.  "  But "  they  say,  "  these 
are  mere  children;  they  neither  know  nor  understand !"  That  may  be;  but 
look  at  the  dog,  the  horse,  or  the  ass ;  they  have  neither  reason  nor  judgment, 
and  yet  we  train  them  to  follow  our  bidding,  to  come  or  go,  to  do  or  to  leave 
undone,  at  our  pleasure.  Neither  does  a  block  of  wood  or  of  stone  know  whether 
it  will  or  will  not  fit  into  the  building,  but  the  master-workman  brings  it  to  . 
shape ;  how  much  more  then  a  man !  Or  will  you  have  it  that  other  people's 
children  may  be  able  to  learn  what  is  right,  but  that  yours  are  not  ?  They  who 
are  so  exceedingly  scrupulous  and  tender,  will  have  their  children's  sins  to  bear, 
precisely  as  if  these  sins  were  their  own. 

f  There  are  others  who  destroy  their  children  by  using  foul  language  and  oaths 
in  their  presence,  or  by  a  corrupt  demeanor  and  example.-/  I  have  even  known 
some,  and,  would  God  there  were  no  more  of  them,  who  have  sold  their 
daughters  or  their  wives  for  hire,  and  made  their  living  thus  out  of  the  wages  of 
unchastit}'.  And  truly,  murderers,  beyond  all  question,  do  better  for  their 
daughters  than  such  parents.  \  There  are  some  who  are  exceedingly  well  pleased 
if  their  sons  betray  a  fierce  and  warlike  spirit,  and  are  ever  ready  to  give  blows, 
as  though  it  were  a  great  merit  in  them  to  show  no  fear  of  any  one.  Such 
parents  are  quite  likely  in  the  end  to  pay  dear  for  their  folly,  and  to  experience 
Borrow  and  anguish,  when  their  sons,  as  often  happens  in  such  cases,  are  sud- 
denly cut  off;  nor,  in  this  event,  can  they  justly  complain.  Again,  children  are 
Kuflieiently  inclined  to  give  way  to  anger  and  evil  passions,  and  hence  it  behooves 
parents  to  remove  temptation  from  them,  as  far  as  poasible,  by  a  well-guarded 
example  in  themselves,  both  in  words  and  in  actions.  For  what  can  the  child  of 
a  man,  whose  language  is  habitually  vile  and  profane,  bo  expected  to  learn, 
unless  it  be  the  like  vileness  and  profanity? 

Others  again  destroy  their  children  by  inducing  them  to  set  their  affections 
on  the  world,  by  taking  no  thought  for  them  further  than  to  see  that  they 


LUTHER'S  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS.  135 

cultivate  graceful  manners,  dress  finely,  dance  and  sing,  and  all  this,  to  be  admired, 
and  to  make  conquests ;  for  this  is  the  way  of  the  world.     In  our  day,  there  are 
but  few  who  are  chiefly  solicitous  to  procure  their  children  an  abundant  supply 
of  those  things  that  pertain  to  God,  and  to  the  interests  of  the  soul ;  for,  the  most  f 
strive  to  insure  them  wealth  and  splendor,  honor  and  pleasure. 

Thus  Luther  censures  a  rough,  passionate  severity  in  parents,  as 
well  as  a  spirit  of  indulgence ;  and  wisely  commends  to  them  to 
inspire  their  children  with  a  dread,  rather  of  God's  displeasure  than  of 
human  penalties,  to  chasten  them  betimes,  etc. 

Of  the  like  import  are  his  reflections  when  commenting  on  1  John, 
2:  14. 

There  is  that  in  the  nature  of  young  children,  which  exults,  when  the  reins  of 
discipline  are  slackened.  Nor  is  the  case  otherwise  with  youth,  and  if  they  are 
held  in,  even  with  so  firm  a  hand  that  they  can  not  break  away,  nevertheless  they 
will  murmur.  The  right  of  fathers  over  their  children  is  derived  from  God;  he 
is.  in  truth,  the  Father  of  all,  "of  whom  the  whole  family  in  heaven  and  earth  is 
named." — Eph.  3:  15.  "Wherefore,  the  authority  of  earthly  fathers  over  their 
children  should  not  be  exercised  in  a  hard  and  unfriendly  manner.  He  who  gov- 
erns in  anger  only  adds  fuel  to  the  fire.  And,  if  fathers  and  masters  on  earth  do 
not  acknowledge  God,  he  so  orders  it  that  both  children  and  servants  shall  dis- 
appoint their  hopes.  Experience,  too,  shows  us  abundantly,  that  far  more  can  be 
accomplished  by  love,  than  by  slavish  fear  and  constraint.  But  it  is  the  duty  of 
children  to  learn  the  fear  of  God  first  of  all ;  then,  to  love  those  who  labor  for 
their  improvement.  The  fear  of  God  should  never  depart  from  them  ;  for,  if  they 
put  it  away,  they  become  totally  unfit  to  serve  God  or  man.  Correction,  too, 
which  includes  both  reproof  and  chastisement,  saves  the  soul  of  the  child  from 
the  endless  punishment  of  hell.  Let  not  the  father  spare  the  rod,  but  let  him 
remember  that  the  work  of  training  up  children  is  an  honor  which  comes  from 
God;  yea,  if  they  turn  out  well,  let  him  give  God  the  glory.  Whoso  does  not 
know  to  do  this,  hates  his  children  and  his  household,  and  walks  in  darkness. 
For  parents,  who  love  their  children  blindly,  and  leave  them  to  their  own  courses, 
do  no  better  in  the  end  than  if  they  had  hated  them.  And  the  ruin  of  children 
almost  invariably  lies  at  the  door  of  parents,  and  it  commonly  ensues  from  one 
of  these  two  causes ;  namely,  either  from  undue  lenity  and  foolish  fondness,  or 
from  unbending  severity,  and  an  irritable  spirit  Both  these  extremes  are 
attended  with  great  hazard,  and  both  should  be  shunned  alike. 

Against  indulging  children  Luther  likewise  inveighs,  in  a  sermon  on 
the  married  state. 

There  is  no  greater  obstacle  in  the  way  of  Christianity  than  neglect  in  the 
training  of  the  young.  If  we  would  re-instate  Christianity  in  its  former  glory, 
we  must  improve  and  elevate  the  children,  as  it  was  done  in  the  days  of  old. 
But,  alas !  parents  are  blinded  by  the  delusiveness  of  natural  affection,  so  that 
they  have  come  to  regard  the  bodies  of  their  children  more  than  their  souls.  On 
this  point  hear  the  words  of  the  wise  man ;  Prov.  13 :  24. — "  He  that  spareth 
the  rod,  hateth  his  son;  but  he  that  loveth  him,  chasteneth  him  betimes." 
Again.  22:  15. — " Foolishness  is  bound  in  the  heart  of  a  child;  but  the  rod  of 
correction  shall  drive  it  far  from  him."  Again,  Prov.  23 :  14. — "  Thou  shalt  beat 
him  with  the  rod,  and  shalt  deliver  his  soul  from  helL" 

"  Wherefore  it  is  the  chief  duty  of  the  father  of  a  family,  to  bestow 
more,  greater,  and  more  constant  care  upon  the  soul  of  his  child  than 
upon  his  body  ;  for,  this  is  his  own  flesh,  but  the  soul  is  a  precious 
immortal  jewel,  which  God  has  intrusted  to  his  keeping,  and  which  he 
must  not  suffer  either  the  world,  the  flesh  or  the  devil  to  steal  or  to 
destroy.  And  a  strict  account  of  his  charge  will  be  required  of  him 
at  death  and  the  judgment.  For  whence,  think  you,  shall  come  the 


136  LUTHER'S  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS. 

terrible  wailing  and  anguish  of  those,  who  shall  there  cry  out, 
'  Blessed  are  the  wombs  that  never  bare,  and  the  paps  which  never 
gave  suck  ?' — Luke  23  :  29.  Doubtless,  from  the  bitter  thought  that 
they  have  not  brought  their  children  back  to  God,  from  whom  they 
had  only  received  them  in  trust." 

III.       MONKISH    TRAINING    OP   THE    YOUNG. 

Luther  disapproves  of  isolating  children  from  the  world,  after  the 
usage  of  the  monks.  "  Solomon,"  says  he,  "  was  a  right  royal  school- 
master. He  does  not  forbid  children  from  mingling  with  the  world, 
or  from  enjoying  themselves,  as  the  monks  do  their  scholars;  for  they 
will  thus  become  mere  clods  and  blockheads,  as  Anselm  likewise  per- 
ceived. Said  this  one ;  '  a  young  man,  thus  hedged  about,  and  cut 
off  from  society,  is  like  a  young  tree,  whose  nature  it  is  to  grow  and 
bear  fruit,  planted  in  a  small  and  narrow  pot.'  i  For  the  monks  have 
imprisoned  the  youth  whom  they  have  had  in  charge,  as  men  put 
birds  in  dark  cages,  so  that  they  could  neither  see  nor  converse  with 
any  one.  -  But  it  is  dangerous  for  youth  to  be  thus  alone,  thus  de- 
barred from  social  intercourse.  Wherefore,  we  ought  to  permit  young 
people  to  see,  and  hear,  and  know  what  is  taking  place  around  them 
in  the  world,  yet  so  that  you  hold  them  under  discipline,  and  teach 
them  self-respect.  "  Your  monkish  strictness  is  never  productive  of 
any  good  fruit.  It  is  an  excellent  thing  for  a  young  man  to  be  fre- 
quently in  the  society  of  others ;  yet  he  must  be  honorably  trained  to 
adhere  to  the  principles  of  integrity,  and  to  virtue,  and  to  shun  the 
contamination  of  vice.  This  monkish  tyranny  is  moreover  an  absolute 
injury  to  the  young ;  for  they  stand  in  quite  as  much  need  of  pleas- 
ure and  recreation  as  of  eating  and  drinking;  their  health,  too,  will 
be  firmer  and  the  more  vigorous  by  the  means." 

IV.       OFFENSE    GIVEN    TO    CHILDREN. 

In  Luther's  exposition  of  the  sixth  commandment,  he  pointedly 
condemns  the  offense  which  is  given  to  the  young  by  the  use  of  foul 
language.  f-J'  It  is  a  great  sin  to  use  such  infamous  language  in  the 
presence  of  innocent  boys  and  girls.  Those  who  do  it  are  guilty  of 
all  the  sins  which  their  inconsiderate  words  beget.  For  the  tender 
and  inexperienced  minds  of  children  are  very  quick  to  receive  an  im- 
pression from  such  words;  and,  what  is  far  worse,  this  filthy  language 
clings  to  their  memory,  and  long  abides  with  them,  even  as  a  stain  on 
a  fine  white  cloth  is  much  harder  to  efface  than  if  it  came  on  one  that 
is  rough  and  course.  •(  This  the  pagans,  too,  learned  from  experience : 
Horace,  for  example,  who  says  that  a  new  vase  long  retains  the  odor 
of  that  substance  that  happened  first  to  have  been  put  into  it ! 
'  Quo  timid  eat  imbuta  recent  seitubit  odorem 
Testa  diu.' 


LUTHER'S  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS.  137 

And  Juvenal,  '  you  should  pay  the  utmost  regard  to  your  boy ;  and, 
if  you  meditate  any  thing  base,  think  not  that  his  age  is  too  tender  to 
remain  unsullied.' 

'Maxima  debeter  puero  reverentia,  si  quid 
Turpe  paras,  hujus  tu  nf.  contemseris  annos.1 

"  We  will  now  inquire  more  particularly  what  these  people  do,  who 
thus  offend  children?  Since  it  is  a  good  thing  to  pay  regard  to  their 
tender  years,  and  to  keep  them  in  the  observance  of  propriety  and 
decorum,  (for  it  is  an  acceptable  sacrifice  to  God,  to  seek  the  welfare 
of  souls,)  we  should,  therefore,  with  all  diligence,  watch  over  young 
boys  and  girls,  and  prevent  them  either  from  seeing  or  hearing  any 
thing  infamous;  for  their  evil  tendencies  are  strong  enough  by 
nature.  If  you  seek  to  quench  fire,  not  with  water,  but  by  adding 
fuel  to  it,  what  good  do  you  think  you  will  do  ?  But,  alas!  how  many 
wicked  people  there  are,  who  make  themselves  the  tools  of  the  devil, 
and  destroy  innocent  souls  with  their  poisonous  and  corrupt  language. 
The  devil  is  truly  called  a  destroyer  of  souls,  but  he  does  not  do  his 
work,  unless  with  the  help  of  the  infamous  tongues  of  such  as  are  on 
his  side,  and  take  pattern  by  his  example. 

"Can  a  child  root  out  of  his  soul  the  vile  word,  that  has  once  passed 
in  at  his  ear  ?  The  seed  is  sown,  and  it  germinates  in  his  heart,  even 
against  his  will.  And  it  branches  out  into  strange  and  peculiar  fan- 
cies, which  he  dares  not  utter,  and  can  not  rid  himself  of.  But,  woe 
to  thee!  whoever  thou  art,  who  hast  conveyed  into  an  artless  mind, 
that  had  otherwise  been  free  from  the  guile,  such  troubles,  perils  and 
poison !  Thou  hast  not.  indeed,  marred  the  body ;  but,  as  much  as  in 
thee  lay,  thou  hast  disfigured  that  much  nobler  part,  the  soul.  Thou 
hast  poured,  through  the  ear  of  a  fellow-being,  a  deadly  bane  into  his 
life-blood  ;  yea,  thou  hast  slain  his  soul.  Such  people  are  of  the  race 
of  Herod,  who  slew  the  innocents  in  Bethlehem.  You  would  not  suffer 
your  own  children  to  be  murdered  before  your  eyes; — why  then  will 
you  destroy  souls  that  are  not  yours,  but  God's.  St.  Louis,  king 
of  France,  said  that  his  mother  would  rather  have  seen  her  children 
die  by  violence  than  commit  a  deadly  sin.  And  what  a  terrible  con- 
demnation does  our  Lord  pronounce  upon  such  corruption  of  child- 
ren. '  But  whoever  shall  offend  one  of  these  little  ones,  which  be- 
lieve in  me,  it  were  better  for  him  that  a  mill-stone  were  hanged 
about  his  neck,  and  that  he  were  drowned  in  the  depth  of  the  sea.' 
Matt.,  18  :  6.  See  what  care  Christ  bestows  on  innocent  little  child- 
ren, in  that  he  affixes  a  Hew  and  peculiar  penalty  upon  the  sin  of 
those  who  offend  and  injure  them  ;  a  penalty  that  is  denounced  upon 
no  other  sin.  By  this  he  would  doubtless  indicate,  that  such  persons 


138  LUTHER'S  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS. 

shall  undergo  an  aggravated  punishment  in  the  world  of  woe.  And 
hear  him  further,  in  the  7th  verse,  '  Woe  unto  the  world,  because  of 
offenses !  for  it  must  needs  be  that  offenses  come ;  but  woe  to  that 
man  by  whom  the  offense  comcth  !'  And,  in  the  10th,  '  Take  heed> 
that  ye  despise  not  one  of  these  little  ones ;  for  I  say  unto  you,  that 
in  heaven  their  angels  do  always  behold  the  face  of  my  Father  which 
is  in  heaven.' 

"If  any  one  should  be  disposed  to  judge  these  persons  mildly,  and 
say  their  words  may  raise  a  blush,  but  they  themselves  are  clean,  as 
Ovid  falsely  alledges  of  himself, 

My  manners  differ  widely  from  my  verse ; 
The  muse  may  dally, — I  am  none  the  worse. 

let  him  hear  what  Christ  says,  and  keep  silence.  '  Out  of  the 
abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh.'  '  A  tree  is  known  by 
its  fruits.' 

"  And  hence  it  is,  too,  that  the  Christian  faith  is  at  so  low  an  ebb, 
because  the  children  have  been  led  out  of  the  way ;  and,  if  the  Chris- 
tian church  is  again  to  rise  from  the  dust,  we  must  begin  with  a  care- 
ful instruction  of  the  young." 

V.       DEGENERATE    CHILDREN. 

W-hen,  despite  the  conscientious  efforts  of  parents  and  teachers, 
children  turn  out  ill,  Luther  casts  a  consoling  view  upon  the  case. 
"  What  is  greater  and  more  glorious  than  this  your  labor,  ye  faithful 
taskmasters  ?  You  are,  in  all  truthfulness,  to  instruct,  to  teach,  to 
chasten  and  admonish  the  youth  committed  to  your  care,  in  the  hope 
that  some  will  keep  in  the  way  of  wisdom,  though  some  too  may 
turn  aside.  For  whoever  will  do  any  good,  must  bear  in  mind,  that 
this  effort  may  prove  all  in  vain,  and  his  benevolence  be  thrown  away ; 
for  there  are  always  many  who  scorn  and  reject  good  counsel,  and 
but  few  who  follow  it.  We  should  be  satisfied,  if  our  good  deeds  are 
not  wholly  fruitless ;  and  if,  among  ten  lepers,  one  returns  and  gives 
thanks,  it  is  well. — Luke,  17  :  17.  So,  if  among  ten  scholars,  there 
is  but  one  who  bends  to  discipline  and  learns  with  zeal,  it  is  well ; 
for  our  kindness  is  not  wholly  lost;  and  Christ  himself  bids  us,  after 
the  example  of  his  Heavenly  Father,  do  good  to  the  thankful  and  the 
unthankful  alike. 

••  TlhT.-t'iiv,  stand  in  your  lot,  and  labor  with  all  diligence;  and,  if 
God  does  not  crown  you  with  success,  yet  ascribe  to  him  glory  and 
dominion  in  the  highest,  and  faint  not,  neither  be  impatient.  Think 
what  an  admirable  example  Solomon  has  set  us ;  for  Solomon  him- 
self, or  any  other  king,  may  train  up  his  son  from  infancy  in  the  best, 
most  pains-taking,  and  most  godly  manner,  thinking  and  hoping, 


LUTHER'S  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS.  139 

he  shall  succeed,  and  may  fail,  notwithstanding  all.  Have  you  a 
pious  son ; — then  say,  '  thanks  be  to  God,  who  has  made  him  and 
given  him  to  me;' — but,  if  your  son  has  grown  up  to  evil  courses, 
you  can  but  say, — '  such  is  this  poor  human  life ;  I  have  toiled  to 
train  up  my  son  aright ;  but  it  was  not  the  Lord's  will  he  should 
prosper ;  yet.  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord.' 

"Nor  must  parents  ever  cease  to  seek  their  children's  good,  however 
degenerate  and  ungrateful  they  may  be." 

VI.       ALLOWED    DISOBEDIENCE. 

But  should  parents,  in  the  training  of  their  children,  trangress  God's 
commandments,  then,  Luther  thinks,  they  can  not  justly  claim  their 
obedience. 

If  parents  act  with  such  thoughtless  folly,  as  to  bring  up  their  children  to 
worldly  pleasure  and  dissipation,  then  the  children  may  cease  to  obey  them.  For 
we  see  by  the  first  three  commandments  that  God  will  be  honored  before  earthly 
parents.  By  bringing  them  up  to  the  world,  I  mean,  pointing  them  to  nothing 
higher  than  pleasure,  honor  and  wordly  good.  J, 

VII.       SCHOOLS. 

The  establishment  of  institutions  of  learning  by  magistrates,  as  a 
means  of  providing  a  constant  succession  of  well-educated  and  able 
men  for  the  church,  the  school  and  the  government,  and  a  defense  of 
study,  especially  the  study  of  the  languages,  and  the  found'fng  of 
libraries,  are  treated  of  in  "Dr.  Martin  Luther's  Address  to  the 
Councilmen  of  all  the  towns  of  Germany,  calling  upon  them  to 
establish  and  sustain  Christian  schools.  A.  D.,  1524." 

To  the  Mayors  and  Councilmen  of  all  the  towns  of  Germany  : — 
Grace  and  peace  from  God  the  Father  and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Beloved 
rulers,  wise  and  sagacious  men,  ye  all  do  know  that  I  have  been  under  ban  and 
outlawry  for  well  nigh  three  years ;  and  I  surely  would  keep  silence  now,  if  I  feared 
the  commandments  of  men  more  than  I  fear  God  ;  for  which  cause  also,  many  in 
this  our  German  land,  both  high  and  low,  are  even  now  denouncing  my  words 
and  deeds,  and  shedding  much  blood  over  them.  But,  for  all  this,  I  can  not  refrain 
from  speaking ;  for  God  has  opened  my  mouth,  and  commanded  me  to  speak, 
yea,  to  cry  aloud,  and  to  spare  not,  while  at  the  same  time  he  has  ever  been  giv- 
ing strength  and  increase  to  my  cause,  and  that  too  without  any  device  or  act  of 
mine :  for  the  more  "  they  rage  and  set  themselves,  the  more  he  laughs  and  has 
them  in  derision." — 2nd  Psalm.  And  by  this  one  thing  alone,  whosoever  is  not 
hardened  in  unbelief  may  see  that  this  cause  is  of  God.  For  this  is  ever  the 
way  with  God's  word  and  work  here  on  the  earth  ;  they  manifest  the  greatest 
power  precisely  when  men  are  the  most  eager  to  overthrow  and  destroy  them. 
Therefore,  I  will  speak,  and,  as  Isaiah  saith,  "I  will  not  hold  my  peace,  till  the 
righteousness  of  Christ  go  forth  as  brightness,  and  his  salvation  as  a  lamp  that 
burneth."  And  I  beseech  you  all,  my  beloved  rulers  and  friends,  receive  this  my 
writing  and  exhortation  with  joy,  and  lay  it  to  heart.  For  whatever  I  am  in  my- 
self, yet  in  this  matter  I  can  say  of  a  truth,  with  a  pure  conscience  in  the  sight 
of  God,  that  I  have  not  sought  mine  own  good,  (which  I  could  the  more  e.-isily 
have  secured  by  silence ;)  but,  out  of  n  true  heart,  I  speak  to  you  and  to  the  whole 
of  Germany,  even  as  God  has  ordained  me  to  do,  whether  ye  hear,  or  whether  ye 
forbear.  And  I  would  have  you  freely,  cheerfully  and  in  a  spirit  of  love,  give  me 
your  attention ;  since,  doubtless,  if  ye  obey  me  herein,  ye  obey  not  me,  but 
Christ,  and  whoever  does  not  follow  my  precepts,  despises  Christ,  and  not  me. 


|40  LUTHER'S  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS. 

Wherefore  I  beseech  you  all,  beloved  rulers  and  friends,  for  the  sake  of  God  and 
of  poor  neglected  youth,  do  not  count  this  a  small  matter,  as  some  do,  who,  in 
their  blindness,  overlook  the  wiles  of  the  adversary.  For  it  is  a  great  and  solemn 
duty  that  is  laid  upon  us,  a  duty  of  immense  moment  to  Christ  and  to  the  world, 
to  give  aid  and  counsel  to  the  young.  And  in  so  doing  we  likewise  promote  our 
own  best  interests.  And  remember,  that  the  silent,  hidden  and  malicious  assaults 
of  the  devil  can  be  withstood  only  by  manly  Christian  effort.  Beloved  rulers, 
if  we  find  it  necessary  to  expend  such  large  sums,  as  we  do  yearly,  upon  artillery, 
roads,  bridges,  dykes,  and  a  thousand  other  things  of  the  sort,  hi  order  that  a 
city  may  be  assured  of  continued  order,  peace,  and  tranquillity,  ought  we  not  to 
expend  on  the  poor  suffering  youth  therein,  at  least  enough  to  provide  them  with 
a  schoolmaster  or  two?  God  the  Almighty,  has,  in  very  deed,  visited  us  Ger- 
mans with  the  snrnll  rain  of  his  grace,  and  vouchsafed  to  us  a  right  golden  har- 
vest. For  we  have  now  among  us  many  excellent  and  learned  young  men,  richly 
furnished  with  knowledge,  both  of  the  languages  and  of  the  arts,  who  could  do 
great  good,  if  we  would  only  set  them  to  the  task  of  teaching  our  little  folks.  Do 
we  not  see  before  our  very  eyes,  that  a  boy  may  now  be  so  thoroughly  drilled  in 
three  years,  that,  at  fifteen  or  eighteen,  he  shall  know  more  than  hitherto  all  the 
high  schools  and  cloisters  put  together  have  ever  been  able  to  impart  ?  Yea,  what 
other  thing  have  the  high  schools  and  cloisters  ever  achieved,  but  to  make  asses 
and  blockheads  ?  Twenty,  forty  years  would  they  teach  you,  and  after  all  you 
would  know  nothing  of  Latin,  or  of  German  either  ;  and  then,  too,  there  is  their 
shameful  profligacy,  by  which  how  many  ingenuous  youths  have  been  led  astray  ! 
But,  now  that  God  has  so  richly  favored  us,  in  giving  us  snch  a  number  of  per- 
sons competent  to  teach  these  young  folks,  and  to  mould  their  powers  in  the  best 
manner,  truly  it  behooves  us  not  to  throw  his  grace  to  the  wind,  and  not  to  suffer 
him  to  knock  at  our  door  in  vain.  lie  is  even  now  waiting  for  admittance ;  good 
betide  us  if  we  open  to  him,  happy  the  man  who  responds  to  his  greeting.  If  we 
slight  him  until  he  shall  have  passed  by,  who  may  prevail  with  him  to  return? 
Let  us  bethink  ourselves  of  our  former  sorrow,  and  of  the  darkness  wherein  once 
we  groped.  I  do  not  suppose  that  Germany  has  ever  heard  so  much  of  God's 
word  as  now  ;  certainly  we  may  search  our  history  in  vain  for  the  like  state  of 
things.  If  we  let  all  this  slip  away,  without  gratitude  and  praise,  it  is  to  be  feared 
that  worse  calamities  and  a  deeper  darkness  will  come  upon  us.  My  dear  Ger- 
man brothers,  buy,  while  the  market  is  at  your  door ;  gather  in,  while  the  sun 
shines,  and  the  weather  is  fair ;  apply  the  word  and  the  grace  of  God  to  your 
hearts,  while  they  are  here.  For  this  you  should  always  bear  in  mind,  that 
God's  word  and  grace  are  a  passing  shower,  that  goes, — never  to  return.  And 
do  not,  my  German  brothers,  indulge  in  the  delusive  dream  that  it  will  abide  with 
you  forever.  For  an  ungrateful  and  a  scornful  spirit  will  drive  it  away.  ~-*AV  here- 
fore,  lay  hold  of  it,  and  keep  it,  ye,  who  may  ;  idle  hands  reap  never  a  harvest. 
God's  command,  so  often  communicated  through  Moses,  to  the  effect  that  parents 
should  teach  their  children,  is  thus  taken  up  and  enforced  in  the  78th  Psalm,  3rd 
verse,  et  scq.,  "  which  our  fathers  have  told  us,  we  will  not  hide  them  from  their 
children,  showing  to  the  generations  to  come  the  praise  of  the  Lord."  And  the 
5th  commandment  God  deemed  of  such  vast  importance,  that  the  punishment  of 
death  was  decreed  upon  stubborn  and  disobedient  children.  And  why  is  it,  that 
we,  the  elder,  are  spared  to  the  world,  except  to  train  up  and  instruct  the  young  ? 
It  is  impossible  that  the  gay  little  folks  should  guide  and  teach  themselves  ;  and 
accordingly  God  has  committed  to  us,  who  are  old  and  experienced,  the  knowl- 
edge which  is  needful  for  them,  and  he  will  require  of  us  a  strict  account  of  what 
we  have  done  with  it.  Listen  to  Moses,  in  Deuteronomy,  32  :  7. — "  Ask  thy 
father,  and  he  will  show  thee  ;  thine  elders,  and  they  will  tell  thee."  But  with 
us,  to  our  sin  and  our  shame  be  it  spoken,  it  has  come  to  this,  that  we  must  drive 
and  be  driven,  before  we  can  bring  up  our  children  aright,  and  seek  their  good  ; 
and  yet,  nature  itself  would  seem  to  prompt  us  what  to  do,  and  manifold  exam- 
ples among  pagan  nations,  to  incite  us  to  do  it.  There  is  not  a  brute  animal  that 
does  not  direct  and  instruct  its  young  to  act  (is  befits  its  nature  ;  unless  we  except 
the  ostrich,  of  which  God  saith,  in  Job,  39  :  14,  16 ;  u  which  leavcth  her  eggs  in 
the  earth,"  "  she  is  hardened  against  her  young  ones,  as  though  they  were  not 
hers.''  And  what  would  it  profit  us,  if  we  were  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  every 
other  duty,  and  should  become  well-nigh  perfect,  if.  withal,  we  failed  to  do 


LUTHER'S  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS.  141 

precisely  the  thing  for  which  our  lives  arc  lengthened  out,  namely,  to  cherish  and 
watch  over  the  young  ?  I  truly  think  that,  of  outward  sins,  there  is  none,  for 
whieh  the  world  is  so  culpable,  and  for  which  it  merits  such  severe  condemnation, 
as  this  which  we  are  guilty  of  with  regard  to  our  children,  in  not  giving  them  u 
right  training.  Woe  to  the  world,  ever  and  forever  !  Children  are  daily  born, 
and  are  suffered  to  grow  up  among  us,  and  there  is,  alas !  no  one  to  take  the  poor 
young  people  to  himself,  and  show  them  the  way  in  whieh  they  should  go ;  but 
we  all  leave  them  to  go  whither  they  will.  But,  you  say,  "all  this  is  addressed 
to  parents  ;  what  have  councilmen  and  magistrates  to  do  with  it  ?"  This  is  very 
true,  I  grant  you  ;  but  how  if  parents  should  not  do  it,— what  then?  Who,  I 
ask,  will  ?  Shall  it  be  left  undone,  and  the  children  be  neglected  ?  Will  magis- 
trates and  councilmen  then  plead  that  they  have  nothing  to  do  in  the  matter  7 
There  are  many  reasons  why  parents  do  not  deal  as  they  should  by  their 
children. 

And,  first,  there  are  some  who  are  not  so  pious  and  well-meaning  as  to  do  this, 
even  when  they  have  the  ability  j  but,  like  the  ostrich,  which  leaveth  her  eggs  in 
the  dust,  and  is  hardened  against  her  young  ones,  BO  they  bring  children  into 
being,  and  there  is  an  end  of  their  care.  But  these  children  are  to  live  among"^ 
us,  and  to  be  of  us  in  one  common  city.  And  bow  can  you  reconcile  it  with  reason, 
and  especially  with  Christian  love,  to  permit  them  to  grow  up  uncared  for  and 
untaught,  to  poison  and  to  blast  the  morals  of  other  children,  so  that  at  last  these 
too  will  become  utterly  corrupt ;  as  it  happened  to  Sodom,  Gomorrah,  Gaba  and 
many  other  cities?  And  again,  the  majority  of  parents  are,  alas !  entirely  unfit 
to  educate  their  children,  knowing  neither  what  to  teach  them,  nor  how  to  teach 
it.  For  they  have  learned  nothing  themselves,  save  how  to  provide  for  the  body  ; 
and  they  must  look  to  a  special  class,  set  apart  for  the  purpose,  to  take  their 
children  and  bring  them  up  in  the  right  way.  In  the  third  place,  there  are  quite 
a  number  of  parents  who,  though  both  willing  and  capable,  yet,  by  reason  of  their 
business  or  the  situation  of  their  families,  have  neither  the  time  nor  the  place, 
convenient;  so  that  necessity  compels  them  to  get  teachers  for  their  children. 
And  eaeh  would  be  glad  to  have  one  entirely  to  himself.  This,  however,  is 
out  of  the  question,  for  it  would  be  too  great  a  burden  for  men  of  ordinary  means 
to  bear ;  and  thus,  many  a  fine  boy  would  be  neglected,  because  of  poverty. 
Add,  that  so  many  parents  die,  and  leave  orphans  behind  them  ;  and  what  care 
guardians  commonly  give  to  them,  if  observation  did  not  teach  us,  yet  we  could 
judge  from  what  God  calls  himself,  in  Psalm  68  :  6,  "a  father  of  the  father- 
less,''— whieh  is  as  much  as  to  say  that  they  are  forsaken  by  all  others.  There 
are  some,  again,  who  have  no  children  themselves,  and  who,  on  this  account,  take 
no  interest  at  all  in  the  welfare  of  the  young. 

In  view  of  all  this,  it  becomes  councilmen  and  magistrates  to  watch  over  youth 
with  unremitting  care  and  diligence.  For  since  their  city,  in  all  its  interests,  life, 
honor,  ami  possessions,  is  committed  to  their  faithful  keeping,  they  do  not  deal 
justly  by  their  trust,  before  God  and  the  world,  unless  they  strive  to  their  utmost, 
night  and  day,  to  promote  the  city's  increase  and  prosperity.  Now,  a  city's  in- 
crease consist*  not  alone  in  heaping  up  great  treasures,  in  building  solid  walls  or 
•lately  houses,  or  in  multiplying  artillery  and  monitions  of  war ;  nay,  where 
there  is  great  store  of  this,  and  yet  fools  with  it,  it  is  all  the.  worse,  and  all  the 
greater  loss  for  the  city.  But  this  is  the  best  and  the  richest  increase,  prosperity 
and  strength  of  a  city,  that  it  shall  contain  a  great  number  of  polished,  learned, 
intelligent,  honorable,  and  well-bred  citizens ;  who,  when  they  have  become  ail 
this,  may  then  get  wealth  and  put  it  to  a  good  use.  Since,  then,  a  city  must  have 
citizens,  and  on  all  accounts  its  saddest  lack  and  destitution  were  a  lack  of  citizens, 
we  are  not  to  wait  until  they  are  grown  up.  We  can  neither  hew  them  out  of 
stones,  nor  carve  them  out  of  wood  ;  for  God  does  not  work  miracles,  so  long  as 
the  ordinary  gifta  of  his  bounty  are  able  to  subserve  the  use  of  man.  Hence, 
we  must  use  the  appointed  means,  and,  with  cost  and  care,  rear  up  and  mould  our 
citizens.  Whose  fault  is  it,  that  now  in  every  city  there  is  such  a  dearth  of  intel- 
ligent and  capable  men,  but  that  of  the  magistrates,  who  have  left  the  young  to 
grow  up  like  the  trees  of  the  forest,  and  have  not  given  a  thought  to  their  instruc- 
tion and  training?  You  see  how  wild  the  trees  grow;  they  are  only  good  for 
fency  or  for  fire-wood,  and  are  by  no  means  fit  for  the  use  of  the  builder.  Yet, 
we  must  have  governments  here  upon  the  earth.  And  how  wild  and  aenaelew 


142  LUTHER'S  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS. 

is  the  hope,  if  clods  and  addle-brains  rule  us,  that  somehow  they  will  get  wis- 
dom, and  all  will  go  well  with  us.  Rather  let  us  elect  so  many  swine  or 
wolves  for  rulers,  and  place  them  over  such  as  know  not  what  it  is  to 
be  ruled  by  men.  And  besides,  it  is  brutish  recklessness,  to  act  merely  for  the 
present  time,  and  to  say,  "  as  for  us,  we  will  rule  now ;  but,  we  care  not  how 
it  shall  be  with  those  who  come  after  us."  Such  men  as  these,  who  use  their 
power  only  for  their  own  individual  honor  and  profit,  ought  not  to  rule  over 
men,  but  over  dogs  or  swine.  For  even  when  we  exert  our  utmost  diligence  to 
train  shrewd,  learned,  and  competent  men  for  rulers,  we  do  not  find  it  a 
very  easy  matter  to  reach  our  aim.  What  then  can  we  expect,  when  we  do 
"•••  absolutely  nothing? 

"  This  may  be  so,"  you  reply  ;  "  but,  though  we  ought  to  have  schools,  and 
must  have  them,  still  what  will  it  profit  us  to  have  Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew, 
and  your  other  liberal  arts  taught  in  them  ?  Will  not  German  suffice  to  teach 
us  all  of  the  Bible  and  the  Word  of  God  that  is  essential  to  salvation  ?''  Alas, 
I  fear  me,  that  we  Germans  must  ever  be  and  continue  to  be  mere  brutes  and 
wild  beasts,  as  our  neighbors  with  such  good  reason  style  us.  I  wonder  that 
you  do  not  say,  "  what  have  we  to  do  with  silks,  wine,  spices,  and  other  pro- 
ductions of  foreign  lands ;  inasmuch  as  we  have  wine,  corn,  wool,  flax,  wood, 
and  stone  here  in  Germany,  not  only  to  supply  our  wants,  but  enough  and  in 
variety  enough  to  minister  either  to  comfort, dignity  or  luxury?''.  And  yet,  these 
languages  and  these  arts,  which  do  us  no  harm,  but  are  agreeable  and  useful 
alike,  sources  both  of  honor  and  profit,  throwing  light  upon  the  Scriptures,  and 
imparting  sound  wisdom  to  rulers,  these  we  despise ;  while  the  productions  of 
other  lands,  which  do  us  no  good  whatever,  we  fret  and  worry  ourselves  after 
to  that  degree  that  even  success  ofttimes  proves  no  better  to  us  than  failure.  Of 
a  truth,  we  are  rightly  called  German  fools  and  beasts!  Surely,  were  there  no 
other  good  to  be  got  from  the  languages,  the  bare  thought  that  they  are  a  noble 
and  a  glorious  gitl  from  God,  wherewith  he  has  visited  and  enriched  us,  almost 
beyond  all  other  nations,  this  thought,  I  say,  ought  to  be  a  powerful  motive, 
yea,  an  allurement  to  cultivate  them.  The  cases  are  rare,  indeed,  where  the  devil 
has  suffered  the  languages  to  be  in  repute  in  the  universities  and  the  cloisters ; 
nay,  these  have  almost  always  raised  a  hue  and  cry  against  them  in  the  past 
ages,  as  likewise  they  do  now.  For  the  prince  of  darkness  is  shrewd  enough 
to  know  that,  where  the  languages  flourish,  there  his  power  will  soon  be  so 
rent  and  torn  that  he  can  not  readily  repair  it.  But  now,  since  he  can  not  keep 
them  from  expanding  into  a  vigorous  growth,  and  from  bearing  fruit,  he  is  at 
work,  devising  how  he  may  render  them  dwarfed  and  sickly,  if  so  be  that  they 
may  decay  and  die  of  themselves.  If  an  unwelcome  guest  comes  to  his  house, 
he  sets  before  him  so  meagre  an  entertainment,  that  he  is  forced  to  shorten  his 
visit.  Few  of  us,  my  good  friends,  perceive  this  craft  and  snare  of  the  devil. 
Wherefore,  my  beloved  countrymen,  let  us  open  our  eyes,  and,  thanking  God  for 
this  precious  jewel,  let  us  keep  fast  hold  of  it,  lest  it  be  filched  away  from  us,  and 
the  devil  see  his  malicious  purposes  accomplished"}"  for,  though  the  gospel  came 
in  former  times  as  now,  day  by  day,  it  comes  to  us,  by  the  Holy  Spirit  alone,  yet 
we  can  not  deny  that  at  the  first  it  was  received  through  the  languages,  that  its 
blessings  are  now  spread  abroad  by  their  means,  and  by  their  means  that  it  is 
to  be  kept  in  the  world.  For  when  God,  by  the  apostles,  sent  the  gospel  to  men, 
he  sent  the  gift  of  tongues  with  it;  and,  before  that  time,  he  had  used  the  Roman 
power  as  an  instrument  to  diffuse  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages  far  and  wide 
over  the  whole  world,  in  order  that  the  gospel  might  spread  rapidly  through  all  the 
nations.  And,  in  the  same  manner,  he  has  worked  at  the  present  day.  No 
man  understood  the  reason  why  God  caused  the  languages  again  to  put  on  bloom 
and  vigor,  until  now,  at  last,  we  see  that  it  was  for  th«  sake  of  the  gospel,  which  he 
purposed  to  bring  to  light  and  thereby  make  manifest,  and  overthrow  the  king- 
dom of  Anti-Christ.  For  that  c.-iuse  it  was  that  he  gave  Greece  into  the  hands 
of  the  Turks,  in  order  that  the  Greeks,  hunted  out  of  their  own  land  and  scat- 
tered over  the  face  of  the  earth,  might  curry  with  them  out  amongst  the  nations 
the  knowledge  of  the  Greek  language,  and  thereby  cause  a  beginning  to  be  made 
of  learning  the  other  languages  also.  Now,  since  the  gospel  is  so  dear  to  us,  let 
us  hold  fast  to  the  languages.  Nor  should  it  be  in  vain  to  us  that  God  has  caused 
bin  Scripture*  to  be  written  in  two  languages  only, — the  Old  Testament  iiFthe 


LUTHER'S  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS.  143 

Hebrew,  and  the  New  Testament  in  the  Greek.  These  languages  God  has  not 
despised,  but  has  chosen  them  for  his  word,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others ;  and  j 
we  too  ought  therefore  to  honor  them  above  all  others.  And  St.  Paul  glories 
in  tliis,  as  a  special  honor  and  advantage  of  the  Hebrew,  namely,  that  ( Jod's 
word  was  written  therein.  ''  What  advantage  then  hath  the  Jew  ?  Much  every 
way ;  chiefly  because  unto  them  were  committed  the  oracles  of  God." — Romans, 
3  :  1,2.  King  David,  too,  bestows  a  like  praise  upon  it,  in  Psalm,  147  :  19. — 
"  He  shcweth  his  word  unto  Jacob,  his  statutes  and  judgments  unto  Israel.  He 
hath  not  dealt  so  with  any  nation,"  il  nor  to  any  nation  revealed  his  judgments ;" 
as  though  he  would  say,  "  God  hath,  in  this,  consecrated  and  set  apart  the  He- 
brew tongue."  And  St.  Paul,  in  Romans,  1  :  2,  calls  the  Scriptures  holy ; 
doubtless,  because  the  Holy  AVord  of  God  is  contained  therein.  In  like  manner, 
also,  may  the  Greek  be  called  a  sacred  language,  in  that  it  was  chosen  before  all 
other  languages  as  that  one  in  which  the  New  Testament  should  be  written,  and 
out  of  which  it  should  flow,  as  out  of  a  fountain,  into  other  languages  by  the 
means  of  translations,  thus  consecrating  these  too.  And  let  us  bethink  our- 
selves, that  haply  we  may  not  be  able  to  retain  the  gospel  without  the  knowledge 
of  the  languages  in  which  it  was  written.  For  they  are  the  scabbard,  in  which 
this  sword  of  the  spirit  is  sheathed  ;  they  are  the  casket,  in  which  this  jewel  is 
enshrined  ;  the  vessel,  in  which  this  drink  is  kept;  the  room,  where  this  meat  is 
stored.  And,  as  we  are  taught  in  the  gospel  itself,  they  are  the  baskets,  in  which 
were  gathered  this  bread,  these  fishes,  and  these  fragments.  Yea,  should  we 
overlook  all  this,  and  (which  God  forbid !  )  let  go  our  hold  on  the  languages, 
then  we  would  not  only  lose  the  gospel,  but  would  finally  fall  away  to  that  degree, 
that  we  should  be  able  neither  to  speak  nor  to  write  either  German  or  Latin. 
And  in  this,  let  us  take  a  lesson  and  a  warning  by  the  sad  example  of  the  universi- 
ties and  cloisters,  where  they  have  not  only  let  the  gospel  slip  away  from  their 
grasp,  but  have  also  either  lost  or  corrupted  both  Latin  and  German,  so  that  the 
creatures  have  become  but  little  better  than  brute  beasts,  knowing  neither  how 
to  read  nor  write,  and,  more  than  this,  have  well-nigh  lost  even  their  native 
intellect  too.  For  this  reason,  the  apostles  themselves  felt  constrained  to  enclose 
and  bind  up,  as  it  were,  the  New  Testament  in  the  Greek  language ;  without 
doubt,  to  preserve  it  for  us  safe  and  intact,  as  in  a  holy  ark.  For  they  saw  all 
that,  which  was  to  come  to  pass,  and  which  even  now  has  been  fulfilled  ;  name- 
ly, if  it  were  committed  to  tradition  alone,  that,  amid  many  a  wild,  disorderly,  and 
tumultuous  clash  and  commingling  of  opinions,  Christianity  would  become  ob- 
scured; which  event  it  would  ba  impossible  to  guard  against,  and  equally  impos- 
sible to  preserve  the  plain  and  simple  truth,  unless  the  New  Testament  were  made 
sure  and  immutable  by  writing  and  by  language.  Hence,  we  may  conclude  that,, 
where  the  languages  do  not  abide,  there,  in  the  end,  the  gospel  must  perish. 
That  this  is  true,  is  manifest,  moreover,  from  history ;  for  soon  after  the  apos- 
tles' time,  when  the  gift  of  tongues  ceased,  the  knowledge  of  the  gospel,  faith  in 
Christ,  and  the  whole  system  of  Christianity,  fell  away  more  and  more ;  and 
later,  since  the  time  that  the  languages  went  into  disrepute,  there  has  very  little 
transpired  in  Christendom  that  has  been  worthy  of  note  ;  but  a  vast  number  of 
frightful  enormities  have,  on  the  other  hand,  been  engendered,  in  consequence  of 
ignorance  of  the  languages.  And  now,  that  the  languages  have  again  dawned" 
upon  us,  they  have  brought  such  light  with  them,  and  they  have  accomplished 
such  mighty  results,  that  all  the  world  is  lost  in  amazement,  and  is  forced  to 
confess  that  we  have  the  gospel  in  as  great  purity  almost  as  did  the  apostles-, 
nay,  that  it  has  come  again  in  its  pristine  purity,  and  is,  beyond  all  comparison, 
purer  than  it  was  in  the  time  of  St.  Jerome  or  St.  Augustine.  And,  in  fine, 
the  Holy  Spirit  understands  this  matter:  he  does  not  employ  any  light  or  need- 
less means  for  his  work  ;  and  he  hus  deemed  the  languages  of  such  importance, 
that  he  has  often  brought  them  with  him  from  heaven.  Which  fact  alone 
ought  to  be  a  sufficient  inducement  to  us  to  cultivate  them  with  diligenee  and  to 
pay  them  due  honor ;  and  not,  by  any  means,  to  despise  them,  now  that  he  is 
again  breathing  into  them  the  breath  of  life  throughout  the  world.  "  But,"  yon 
will  say,  "  many  of  the  Fathers  have  died  without  the  languages,  and  they 
nevertheless  have  been  saved."  Very  true.  But  what  do  you  say  to  this,  that 
they  so  often  missed  wide  of  the  true  sense  of  the  Scriptures  ?  How  often  is 
St.  Augustine  at  fault  in  his  commentaries  on  the  Psalter,  and  elsewhere  ;  and 
No.  11.— [VOL.  IV.,  No.  2.]— 28. 


144  LUTHER'S  VIEWS  OP  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS. 

Hilary,  too ;  yea.  and  all  who,  without  the  aid  of  the  languages,  have  undertaken 
to  expound  the  Scriptures  ?  And,  though  they  perhaps  may  have  spoken  the 
right  thing,  yet  have  they  not  betrayed  an  uncertainty,  whether  the  passage  in  hand 
would  bear  the  construe; ion  that  they  have  put  upon  it?  But,  if  we  thus,  with 
our  own  doubtful  arguments  and  our  stumbling  references,  approach  to  the  de- 
fense of  the  faith,  will  not  Christians  be  contemned  and  derided  by  such  of  their 
antagonists  as  are  well-versed  in  the  languages?  And  will  not  these  become 
more  stubborn  in  their  unbelief,  inasmuch  as  they  will  -have  good  reason  to  con- 
clude our  faith  a  delusion  ?  To  what  is  it  owing,  that  religion  is  now  so  generally 
scandalized  ?  To  the  fact  alone,  th»t  we  are  ignorant  of  the  languages ;  and 
there  is  no  help  for  it,  but  to  learn  them.  Was  not  St.  Jerome  constrained  to 
translate  the  Psalms  anew  from  the  Hebrew,  solely  because  when  there  came  up 
nnv  controversy  with  the  Jews,  they  silenced  their  opponents  with  the  sneering 
remark,  that  the  passage  cited  did  not  read  thus  and  so  in  the  Hebrew.  Now, 
all  the  expositions  of  the  ancient  fathers,  who  treated  the  Scriptures  without  the 
aid  of  the  languages,  (though  perhaps  they  advocated  no  unsound  doctrines,)  are 
nevertheless  quite  often  based  upon  doubtful,  inaccurate  or  inappropriate  render- 
ings. And  they  groped  about,  like  a  blind  man  at  a  wall,  quite  often  failing  alto- 
gether of  the  right  text,  and  stupidly  overlooking  it  in  their  enthusiasm,  so  that 
even  St.  Augustine  himself  was  obliged  to  confess,  in  his  treatise  on  the  Christian 
doctrines,  that  a  Christian  teacher,  who  would  interpret  the  Scriptures,  must 
understand  not  only  Latin  and  Greek,  but  Hebrew  likewise  ;  "  for  otherwise,  it  is 
impossible  but  that  he  will  stumble  on  all  hands."  And  truly,  there  is  need  of 
labor  enough,  even  when  we  do  know  the  languages.  For  this  reason,  it  is  one 
thing  with  the  unlettered  preacher  of  the  faith,  and  quite  another  with  the  inter- 
preter of  the  Scriptures,  or  the  prophet,  as  St.  Paul  calls  the  latter.  The  unlet- 
tered preacher  has  at  his  command  such  a  number  of  clear  and  intelligible  texts 
and  paragraphs  in  the  vernacular,  that  he  can  understand  Christ  and  his  doctrine, 
lead  a  holy  life  himself,  and  preach  all  this  to  others  ;  but,  to  set  forth  the  sense 
of  the  Scriptures,  to  put  one's  self  in  the  van,  and  to  do  battle  against  heretics  and 
errorists,  this  can  never  come  about,  except  with  the  help  of  the  languages. 
And,  accordingly,  we  must  ever,  in  the  Christian  church,  have  such  prophets,  who 
shall  study  and  expound  the  Scriptures,  and,  besides,  shall  be  stalwart  champions 
of  the  faith ;  for  all  which,  a  holy  life  and  sound  precepts  are  not  enough.  Hence, 
the  languages  are  of  the  first  necessity  to  a  pure  Christianity,  as  they  are  the 
source  of  the  power  that  resides  in  prophets  or  commentators;  although,  we 
ought  not  to  require  every  Christian  or  preacher  to  be  such  a  prophet,  as  also  St. 
Paul  admits,  in  1st  Cor.,  12 :  8,  9.  and  Eph.,  4:11. 

We  thus  see  how  it  is  that,  since  the  apostles'  time,  the  Scriptures  have  re- 
mained so  obscure ;  for,  nowhere  have  any  sure  and  reliable  commentaries  been 
written  upon  them.  Even  the  holy  fathers,  as  we  said  before,  have  often  fallen 
into  error,  and,  because  they  were  ignorant  of  the  languages,  they  very  seldom 
agree,  but  one  says  one  thing,  and  another  another.  St.  Bernard  was  a  man  of 
great  genius ;  so  much  so,  that  I  would  place  him  above  all  the  eminent  doctrin- 
ist*, both  ancient  and  modern.  But  yet,  how  often  does  he  play  upon  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Scriptures,  (albeit  in  a  spiritual  sense.)  thus  turning  it  aside  from 
its  true  meaning.  Hence,  the  sophists  averred  that  the  Scriptures  were  obscure, 
and  that  the  word  of  our  God  was  couched  in  perplexing  and  contradictory 
trrms.  But  they  did  not  see  that  all  that  was  wanted,  was  a  knowledge  of  the 
laniTUMges  in  which  it  was  recorded.  For  nothing  is  more  plain-spoken  than 
God's  word,  when  we  have  become  thorough  masters  of  its  language.  A  Turk 
might  well  seem  obscure  to  me,  because  I  do  not  understand  his  speech,  when 
u  Turkish  child  of  seven  shall  easily  discern  his  meaning.  Hence,  it  is  a  rash 
undertaking,  to  attempt  to  learn  the  Scriptures  through  the  expositions  of  the 
Fathers,  and  through  reading  their  numerous  treatises  and  glosses.  For  thia 
purpose  you  ought  to  go  direct  to  the  language  yourself.  For  the  beloved 
Fathers,  because  they  were  without  the  languages,  have  at  times  descanted  at 
great  length  upon  a  single  verse,  and  yet  cast  such  a  feeble  glimmer  of  light 
upon  it,  that  their  interpretation  was,  at  last,  but  half  right,  and  half  wrong. 
And  yet  you  will  persist  in  painfully  running  after  them,  when,  with  the  languages, 
you  might  be  yourself  in  a  position  rather  to  lead  than  to  follow.  For,  as  the 
light  <  f  the  sun  dispel*  the  shadows  of  the  night,  to  do  the  languages  render 


LUTHER'S  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLR        145 

useless  all  the  glosses  of  the  Fathers.  Since  now,  it  becomes  Christians  to  re- 
gard the  Scriptures  as  the  one  only  book,  which  is  all  their  own,  and  since  it  is  a 
sin  and  a  shame  for  us  not  to  be  familiar  with  our  own  book,  and  with  the  lan- 
guage and  the  word  of  our  God  ; — so  it  is  a  still  greater  sin  and  shame,  for  us 
not  to  learn  the  languages,  especially  now  that  God  is  bringing  to  us  and  freely 
offering  us  learned  men,  and  suitable  books,  and  every  thing  which  we  need  for 
this  purpose,  and  is,  so  to  speak,  urging  us  to  the  task,  so  desirous  is  he  to  have 
his  book  open  to  us.  O,  how  joyful  would  those  beloved  Fathers  have  been, 
if  they  could  have  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures,  and  have  learned 
the  languages  so  easily  as  we  now  may  do  it !  How  great  was  their  labor,  how 
constant  their  diligence  in  picking  up  but  a  few  of  the  crumbs,  while  we  may 
secure  half,  yea,  even  the  whole  of  tJu;  loaf,  with  scarce  any  trouble  at  all.  And 
how  does  their  diligence  put  our  inactivity  to  the  blush  ?  Yea,  how  severely 
will  God  punish  this  our  apathy  and  neglect !  Again,  in  order  to  follow  Paul's 
precept,  in  1  Cor.,  14 :  29,  to  the  effect  that  we  must  judge  of  every  doctrine  of 
Christianity,  we  must,  of  necessity,  first  learn  the  languages.  For  it  may  chance 
that  the  teacher  or  preacher  shall  go  through  with  the  whole  of  the  Bible,  ex- 
plaining it  as  seemeth  to  him  good,  whether  that  be  right  or  wrong,  and  none 
of  his  hearers  can  dispute  him,  if  none  of  them  is  competent  to  judge  of  his 
truth  or  error.  But,  to  judge,  we  must  know  the  languages,  else  we  shall  have 
nothing  to  guide  us.  Hence,  though  the  faith  of  the  gospel  may  be  set  forth  in  a 
certain  measure  by  the  unlettered  preacher  ;  yet  such  preaching  is  weak  at  the 
best,  and  we  soon  become  wearied  and  discouraged,  and  we  faint  fur  lack  of  nu- 
triment. But,  where  the  languages  are  well  understood,  there  all  is  freshness 
and  strength,  the  Scriptures  are  thoroughly  winnowed,  and  faith  is  renewed  day 
by  day.  Nor  should  we  suffer  ourselves  to  be  led  astray,  because  some  magnify 
the  spirit,  while  they  despise  the  letter.  So,  too,  some,  like  the  Waldensian  breth- 
ren, deem  the  languages  of  no  account  whatever.  But,  my  good  friends,  the 
spirit  is  here, — the  spirit  is  there.  I  too  have  been  in  the  spirit;  and,  I  too  have 
seen  spirits,  (if  I  may  glory  of  myself.)  And  my  spirit  has  proved  some  things, 
while  your  spirit  has  been  quietly  sitting  in  a  corner,  and  doing  little  more  than 
making  a  vain-glorious  boast  of  its  existence.  I  know,  as  well  as  another,  that  it 
is  the  spirit  alone  which  does  almost  every  thing.  Had  I  passed  my  days  in  obscu- 
rity, and  had  I  received  no  aid  from  the  languages  toward  a  sure  and  exact  un- 
derstanding of  the  Scriptures,  I  might  yet  have  led  a  holy  life,  and  in  my  retire- 
ment have  preached  sound  doctrine ;  but  then  I  should  have  left  the  pope  and 
the  sophists,  together  with  the  whole  body  of  Anti-Christ,  just  where  I  found  them. 
The  devil  does  not  regard  my  spirit  of  near  so  much  account  as  my  thoughts, 
and  my  writings  upon  the  Scriptures.  For  my  spirit  takes  nothing  from  him, 
save  myself  alone ;  but  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  the  sayings  therein  contained, 
make  the  world  too  narrow  for  him,  and  strip  him  of  his  power.  Therefore,  I 
can  not  accord  my  praise  at  all  to  my  Waldensian  brothers,  for  the  low  esteem  in 
which  they  hold  the  languages.  For,  though  their  precepts  square  with  the 
truth,  yet  they  can  not  but  fail  often  of  the  right  text,  and  they  must  necessarily 
ever  be  unprepared  and  unequipped  for  the  defense  of  the  faith,  and  the  uproot- 
ing of  false  doctrines.  And  for  this  reason  are  they  so  obscure ;  and  their  speech 
is  so  warped  from  the  standard  of  the  Scriptures,  that  I  greatly  fear  they  are  not 
or  else  will  not  abide  in  a  pure  faith.  For  it  is  very  dangerous  to  speak  of  the 
things  of  God  otherwise,  or  in  other  words,  than  God  himself  employs.  In  a 
word,  it  may  be  that  they  have  the  witness  of  a  holy  life  and  sound  doctrine 
among  themselves  ;  but,  while  they  remain  without  the  languages,  they  will  fail 
precisely  where  others  have  failed,  namely,  in  not  searching  the  Scriptures  with 
thoroughness  and  care,  in  order  thereby  to  render  themselves  useful  to  others. 
But,  since  they  now  have  the  opportunity  to  do  this,  and  yet  will  not  do  it,  let 
them  consider  how  they  will  answer  for  themselves  before  God. 

Thus  far  I  have  spoken  of  the  usefulness  and  the  necessity  of  the  languages  in 
their  bearing  on  spiritual  concerns  and  on  the  welfare  of  the  soul.  Now  let 
us  look  to  the  body  and  ask,  were  there  no  soul,  no  heaven,  nor  hell,  and  were 
temporal  affairs  to  be  administered  solely  with  a  view  to  this  world,  whether  these 
would  not  stand  in  need  of  good  schools  and  learned  teachers  much  more  even 
than  do  our  spiritual  interests  ?  Nor  hitherto  have  the  sophists  interested  them- 
selves in  this  matter  at  all,  but  have  adapted  their  schools  to  the  spiritual  order 


146  LUTHER'S  VIEWS  OF  EDLCA1ION  AND  SCHOOLS. 

nlone;  so  that  it  was  counted  a  reproach  to  a  learned  man,  if  he  was  married; 
and  such  an  one  was  told,  *'.  you  are  of  the  world,  for  you  have  severed  yourself 
jfrom  our  order  entirely  ;"  as  if  the  spiritual  order  alone  were  pleasing  in  the  sight 
of  God,  while  the  temporal,  (as  they  style  it,)  was  given  over  to  the  devil  and 
Anti-Christ.  It  is  needless  for  me  here  to  argue,  that  all  temporal  government 
is  of  Divine  origin  and  authority  ;  for  on  this  point  I  have  spoken  elsewhere,  and 
that  so  fully,  that  no  one,  I  hope,  will  venture  to  deny  it ;  but,  the  question  now 
is,  how  to  provide  able  and  competent  men  to  govern  us.  And  in  this  the  heathen 
might  justly  put  us  to  shame  and  confusion  of  face  ;  for  they,  the  Greeks  and 
Romans  especially,  gave  diligent  heed  to  the  teaching  and  training  of  boys  and 
girls,  to  fit  them  for  all  the  various  stations  of  temporal  trust  and  authority,  and  yet 
they  were  entirely  ignorant  whether  this  was  pleasing  in  the  sight  of  God  or 
not ;  so  that  I  blush  for  our  Christians,  when  I  think  of  it,  and  for  our  Germans, 
above  all,  who  are  clowns;  yea,  brute  beasts,  one  might  call  them.  For  they 
say,  "  of  what  use  are  schools,  unless  you  intend  to  enter  the  service  of  the 
church  ?"  But  surely  we  know,  or  ought  to  know,  how  necessary,  how  proper, 
and  how  pleasing  in  the  sight  of  God  it  is,  for  a  prince,  a  lord,  a  magistrate,  or 
any  one  in  authority,  to  excel  in  learning  and  in  wisdom,  so  that  he  may  discharge 
the  duties  of  his  office  in  a  Christian  manner.  If  now,  as  for  argument's  sake  I 
have  supposed,  there  were  no  soul,  and  if  we  had  no  need  at  all  of  schools  or 
of  the  languages  for  the  sake  of  the  Scriptures,  or  of  God,  yet  it  would  be  a  suffi- 
cient reason  for  establishing  in  every  place  the  very  best  of  schools,  both  for  boys 
and  girls,  that  the  world,  merely  to  maintain  its  outward  prosperity,  has  need  of 
shrewd  and  accomplished  men  and  women.  Men  to  pilot  state  and  people 
safely,  and  to  good  issues ;  women  to  train  up  well  and  to  confirm  in  good  courses 
both  children  and  servants.  Now,  such  men  must  first  be  boys,  and  such 
women,  girls.  Hence,  it  is  our  duty  to  give  a  right  training  and  suitable  instruc- 
tion to  these  boys  and  girls.  "  Yes,"  you  will  say,  "  but  every  one  can  do  this 
for  himself,  and  can  teach  his  sons  and  daughters,  and  bring  them  up  under  a 
good  discipline."  I  answer,  verily  we  sec  but  too  well,  what  sort  of  teaching 
and  discipline  this  is.  For  where  it  is  carried  to  the  farthest  extent,  and  turns 
out  well  besides,  it  does  not  go  any  further  than  this,  to  impart  an  easy  air,  and 
respectful  carriage;  otherwise,  the  children  appear  to  no  more  advantage  than  so 
many  machines,  who  do  not  know  how  to  converse  well  upon  a  variety  of  topics, 
and  who  are  the  very  farthest  from  being  able  to  give  aid  and  counsel  to  others. 
But,  if  they  were  taught  and  trained  in  schools  or  elsewhere,  where  the  masters 
and  mistresses  were  learned  and  discreet,  and  could  instruct  them  in  the  lan- 
guages, arts,  and  histories,  they  would  thus  become  familiar  with  the  great  deeds 
and  the  famous  sayings  of  all  times ;  would  see  how  it  fared  with  such  a  city, 
kingdom,  province,  man,  or  woman,  and  would  bring  before  their  eyes,  as  it  were 
in  a  mirror,  the  whole  world  from  the  beginning,  with  all  its  character  and 
life,  its  plans  and  achievements,  its  successes  and  failures  :  by  all  this  they  would 
shape  their  sentiments,  and  to  all  this  conform  the  course  of  their  life  in  the  fear 
of  God.  From  the  same  histories,  too,  they  would  gain  wit  and  wisdom,  and 
learn  what  to  pursue  and  what  to  avoid  in  life,  and  so,  by  and  by,  be  able  to 
counsel  or  to  govern  others.  But,  the  instruction  which  is  imparted  at  home, 
without  such  schools,  will  make  us  wise  only  through  our  own  experience.  And 
before  we  get  wisdom  thus,  we  shall  be  an  hundred  times  dead,  and  shall  have 
passed  our  lives  in  folly  ;  for,  to  perfect  our  experience,  we  need  a  long  series  of 
years.  Since,  then,  young  people  are  always  full  of  frolic  and  life,  and  always 
seeking  something  to  do,  and  finding  their  pleasure  in  action  ;  and  since  you  can 
not  curb  their  spirits,  nor  would  it  be  a  good  thing  even  if  you  could  ;  why  should 
we  not  establish  such  schools,  and  unfold  before  them  such  arts  ?  For  now,  by 
God's  grace,  matters  have  taken  such  a  turn,  that  children  are  enabled  to  learn 
by  means  of  pleasure,  and,  in  sport,  as  it  were,  every  thing,  whether  it  be  lan- 
guages, arts,  or  histories.  And  our  schools  are  no  longer  hells  and  purgatories,  as 
they  once  were,  where  a  boy  was  forever  tormented  with  their  cases  and  their 
tenses,  and  where  he  learned  nothing,  absolutely  nothing,  by  reason  of  ceaseless 
flogging,  trembling,  woe  and  anguish.  If,now,  we  take  so  much  time  and  trouble 
to  teach  children  to  play  at  cards,  to  sing  and  to  dance,  why  shall  we  not  also 
spend  time  enough  to  teach  reading  and  the  other  arts,  while  they  have  youth 
and  leisure,  and  while  they  show  both  an  aptness  and  a  fondness  for  such  things  ? 


I.CTHER'S  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS.  147 

As  for  myself,  if  I  had  children  and  were  able,  I  would  teach  them  not  only  the 
languages  and  history,  but  singing  likewise;  and  with  music  I  would  combine  a 
full  course  of  mathematics.  For  what  would  it  all  require  but  a  mere  child's 
play,  as  the  Greeks  brought  up  their  children  of  old  ?  And  what  a  wonderful 
people  they  were,  and  how  well-fitted  for  all  manner  of  occupations.  And 
alas !  how  often  do  I  lament  my  own  case,  in  that  I  read  so  few  of  the  poets  and 
historians  when  I  was  young,  and  that  there  was  no  one  to  direct  me  to  them. 
But,  in  their  place,  I  was  compelled  to  flounder  in  all  manner  of  vain  philoso- 
phies and  scholastic  trash,  true  Serbonian  bogs  of  the  devil,  and  with  much  cost 
and  care,  and  vast  detriment  besides,  so  that  1  have  had  enough  to  do  ever  since, 
in  undoing  the  harm  they  did  me. 

But,  you  say,  "  we  can  not  bring  all  our  children  up  to  bs  students  ;  we  can 
not  spare  them  ;  we  need  them  at  home  to  work  for  us."  I  answer,  "  I  do  not 
ask  for  the  establishment  of  such  schools,  as  we  have  had  hitherto,  where  our 
young  men  have  spent  twenty  or  thirty  years  over  Donatus  or  Alexander,  and 
yet  have  not  learned  any  thing  at  all.  We  have  now  another  world,  and  things 
are  done  after  a  different  pattern.  And  I  ask  no  more  than  this,  namely,  that 
boys  shall  attend  upon  such  schools  as  I  have  in  view,  an  hour  or  two  a  day.  and 
none  the  less;  spend  the  rest  of  their  time  at  home,  or  in  learning  some  trade,  or 
doing  whatever  else  you  will ;  thus  both  these  matters  will  be  cared  for  together, 
while  they  are  young  and  opportunities  are  favorable.  For  else,  they  would 
haply  spend  tenfold  this  time  in  gunning  and  ball-playing.  So,  too,  your  little 
girls  may  easily  find  time  enough  to  go  to  school  an  hour  a  day,  and  yet  do  all  their 
household  duties;  for  they  now  devote  more  than  that  to  over-much  play, 
dancing,  and  sleep. 

It  is  very  plain  that  all  we  need,  is  a  cordial  and  earnest  determination  to  train 
up  our  youth  aright,  and  by  this  means  furnish  the  world  with  wise  and  efficient 
men.  For  the  devil  is  better  pleased  with  coarse  blockheads  and  with  folks  who 
are  useful  to  nobody ;  because  where  such  characters  abound,  then  things  do 
not  go  on  prosperously  here  on  the  earth. 

Now,  as  for  the  most  promising  children,  those  who  we  may  hope  will  become 
fitted  for  the  position  of  teachers,  either  male  or  female,  or  of  preachers,  or  whom 
we  shall  look  to  to  fill  other  offices  in  the  world  and  in  the  church ;  these  we 
should  leave  more  and  longer  at  schools,  or  perhaps  keep  them  there  altogether : 
as  we  read  concerning  the  blessed  martyrs,  who  educated  St.  Agnes,  Agatha, 
Lucia,  and  the  like.  For  this  purpose,  too,  were  cloisters  and  monasteries  first 
founded  ;  but  now,  they  have  been  turned  aside  to  subserve  other  and  most  un- 
holy uses.  And  perhaps  it  must  needs  have  bsen  so ;  for  the  shorn  flock  are 
well-nigh  fleeced  altogether :  they  have  become  for  the  most  part  wholly  unfit 
either  to  teach  or  to  guide,  for  they  know  nothing  except  how  to  pamper  their 
bodies ;  and  this  is  no  wonder,  for  no  one  thing  besides  have  they  ever  learned. 
But,  verily,  we  must  have  men  of  another  sort ;  men  who  shall  dispense  to  us 
God's  word  and  his  ordinances,  and  who  shall  watch  for  the  souls  of  the  peo- 
ple. Such  men,  however,  it  will  be  in  vain  for  us  to  look  for,  if  we  suffer  out- 
present  schools  to  decay,  without  establishing  other  and  Christian  schools  in 
their  place.  And  though  the  schools,  as  hitherto  kept,  may  be  still  in  existence, 
yet  they  can  only  furnish  us  with  blind  guides,  perverse  and  corrupt  in  all  their 
ways. 

Hence,  there  is  great  need,  not  for  the  sake  of  the  young  alone,  but  also  for  the 
welfare  and  the  stability  of  all  our  institutions,  temporal  and  spiritual  alike,  that 
we  should  b.?gin  at  once,  and  in  good  earnest,  to  attend  to  this  matter.  For,  if 
we  delay  too  long,  we  may  haply  find  no  place  for  effort,  however  much  we  shall 
desire  it,  and  our  most  poignant  regrets  will  then  be  unavailing  forever.  Con- 
sider, for  example,  the  great  diligence  that  King  Solomon  exercised  in  this  mat- 
ter, and  the  interest  that  he  shewed  in  the  young,  in  that,  amid  all  his  royal  occu-  4 
pations,  he  found  time  to  compose  a  book  for  their  special  instruction,  viz :  the 
Book  of  Proverbs.  Consider  Christ  himself:  how  he  called  little  children  to 
him ;  with  what  care  he  commended  them  to  us,  telling  us  withal  that  angels 
wait  upon  them. — Matt.  18:  2.  And  in  this,  he  shews  us  how  great  a  service 
it  is  to  bring  them  up  well,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  that  he  is  ever  exceedingly 
angry  when  we  offend  or  pervert  them. 

Wherefore,  dearly  beloved  rulers,  bend  yourselves  to  the  work  which  God 
BO  strictly  enjoins  upon  you,  which  your  office  involves,  which  our  youth  stand 


148  LUTHER'S  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS. 

so  much  in  need  of,  and  which  neither  the  world  nor  the  spirit  can  afford  to  do 
without.  Wo  have  lain,  alas !  too  long  iu  the  darkness  of  corruption  and  death ; 
too  long  have  we  been  German  beasts.  Let  us  now  act  as  becomes  reasonable 
beings,  so  that  God  may  mark  our  gratitude  for  the  good  things  he  has  given 
us.  and  that  other  lands  may  see  that  we,  too,  are  men  ;  nay,  more,  that  we  are 
men  who  can  either  learn  somewhat  from  them,  or  impart  somewhat  to  them  : 
so,  through  us,  the  world  shall  be  made  better.  I  have  done  my  part;  and  with 
longing  have  I  desired  to  bring  aid  and  counsel  to  this  German  land.  That 
some,  who  ought  to  know  better,  detest  me  for  it,  and  throw  my  faithful  counsel 
to  the  wind, — all  this  I  must  let  pass.  I  well  know  that  others  might  have  done 
better  than  I ;  but,  since  these  have  remained  silent,  I  have  spoken  out,  as  well  as 
it  lay  in  me  to  do.  __  Poorly  though  it  has  been  said,  it  were  better  thus,  than  had 
I  held  my  peace.  "And  I  am  in  hopes  that  God  will  awaken  some  of  you,  so  that 
my  true  admonitions  shall  not  be  spilt  upon  the  ground ;  and  that,  taking  no 
thought  of  him  who  speaks,  you  may  be  moved,  by  the  things  spoken  of,  to  bestir 
yourselves. 

Finally,  it  is  well  for  all  those  who  eagerly  desire  to  see  such  schools  and  studies 
established  and  sustained  over  Germany,  to  bear  in  mind  the  importance  of  sparing 
neither  trouble  nor  expense,  to  the  end  that  good  libraries  may  be  founded,  espe- 
.cially  in  the  large  cities ;  since  in  them  both  means  and  opportunities  are  greater 
than  elsewhere.  For  if  the  gospel,  together  with  all  the  arts  and  sciences,  are  to 
be  perpetuated,  they  must  be  enclosed  and  bound  up  in  books  and  writings.  And 
the  prophets  and  apostles  themselves,  as  I  said  before,  did  this  very  thing.  And 
this  was  not  only  that  those  who  minister  to  us  both  in  temporal  and  in  spiritual 
things  might  have  wherewithal  to  read  and  to  study  ;  but  also  that  good  books 
themselves  should  be  preserved  and  not  be  lost,  so  that  we  might  have  that 
knowledge  of  the  languages,  which  now,  by  God's  grace,  we  possess.  We  see, 
too,  the  importance  that  St.  Paul  attaches  to  this  matter,  where  he  commands 
Timothy,  (1st.  Ep.  4:  13,)  "to  give  attendance  to  reading;"  and  also  where  he 
bids  him,  (2nd  Ep.  4:13,)  bring  with  him  when  he  came  the  parchments  that  he  left 
at  Troas.  Yea,  all  nations  eminent  in  history  have  paid  attention  to  this  matter ;  the 
Israelites  more  than  all.  Moses,  who  made  their  first  record, commanded  the  book  of 
the  law  to  be  preserved  in  the  ark  of  God,  and  committed  it  to  the  keeping  of  the  Le- 
vites.  And,  whoever  desired  it,  could  there  have  a  copy  made  for  himself;  Moses, 
also,  laid  his  prophetic  injunction  on  the  king  that  was  to  come,  to  obtain  such  copy 
from  the  Levites.  Thus  we  see  clearly  that  God  ordained  the  Levitical  priest- 
hood, that  they  might,  in  connection  with  their  other  duties,  keep  and  guard  the 
books  of  the  law.  Afterward,  the  collection  was  enriched  and  rendered  more 
complete  by  Joshua,  Samuel,  David,  Solomon,  Isaiah,  and  other  kings  and  proph- 
ets. Hence,  arose  the  Holy  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament,  which  would 
never  have  been  brought  together  or  preserved,  had  not  God  so  solemnly  and 
repeatedly  commanded  it  to  be  done.  With  this  example  in  view,  the  monaste- 
ries and  cloisters  in  former  times  founded  libraries,  albeit  they  contained  but  few 
good  books.  And  what  a  pity  it  was,  that  more  pains  had  not  been  taken  to  collect 
good  books,  and  form  good  libraries,  at  the  proper  time,  when  good  books  and 
able  men  were  in  abundance ;  but,  alas,  we  know  too  well  that,  in  the  gradual 
lapse  of  time,  all  the  arts  and  the  languages  went  to  decay,  and,  instead  of  books 
having  the  ring  of  the  true  metal,  the  devil  brought  in  upon  us  a  flood  of  un- 
couth, useless,  and  pernicious  monkish  legends ;  the  "  Florista,"  "  Grzecista," 
"  Labyrinthus,"  "  Dormi  Secure,"  and  the  like ;  by  the  means  of  which  the 
Latin  tongue  has  become  corrupt,  and  there  are  nowhere  any  good  schools, 
doctrines,  or  systems  of  study  remaining.  But  now,  in  these  latter  times,  as  it  has 
been  told  us,  and  as  we  ourselves  may  see,  there  have  arisen  men  who  have  re- 
stored, though  as  yet  in  a  very  imperfect  manner,  the  languages  and  arts ;  having 
picked  them  out  of  a  few  pieces  and  fragments  of  old  books,  that  had  long  been 
given  over  to  the  dust  and  worms  ;  nor  have  they  yet  ceased  from  their  labors,  but 
ore  renewing  them  daily.  So  we  search  for  gold  or  jewels  amid  the  ashes  of 
some  ruined  city.  In  this  matter  it  would  be  right,  and  God  would  justly  punish 
our  ingratitude,  in  not  acknowledging  his  bounty,  and  taking  means  in  time,  and 
while  we  can,  to  keep  gixxl  books  and  learned  men  among  us,  (but  letting  them 
pass  by.  as  though  they  did  not  concern  us;)  it  would  be  right,  I  say,  if  he  should 
suffer  all  this  to  leave  us,  and  instead  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  good  books, 
should  bring  us  Aristotle  back  again,  together  with  other  pernicious  books,  which 


LUTHER'S  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS.  J4Q 

•erve  only  to  lead  us  ever  further  away  from  the  Bible,  that  so  we  might  be  deliv- 
ered over  again  to  the  monks,  those  minions  of  the  devil,  and  to  the  vain  mum- 
meries of  the  scholastics.  Was  it  not  a  burning  shnme  that  formerly  n  boy  must 
needs  study  twenty  years  or  longer,  only  to  learn  a  jargon  of  bad  Latin,  and 
then  to  turn  priest  and  say  mass  ?  And  he,  who  finally  arrived  at  this  pinnac-le 
of  his  hopes,  was  accounted  happy  ;  and  happy  was  the  mother  who  had  borne 
such  a  son.  But,  for  all  this,  he  remained  a  poor  illiterate  man  all  his  days,  and 
was  neither  good  to  cluck  nor  to  lay  eggs.  Such  are  the  teachers  and  guides 
that  we  have  had  to  put  up  with,  who  knew  nothing  themselves,  and  accordingly 
were  unable  to  teach  any  thing  that  was  either  good  or  true.  Yea  !  they  did  not 
even  know  how  to  learn, any  more  than  they  did  how  to  teach.  And,  why  was 
this  so  ?  It  was  because  there  were  no  other  books  accessible,  save  the  barbar- 
ous productions  of  the  monks  and  sophists.  Of  course,  in  such  a  state  of  things, 
we  could  not  look  for  any  thing  else  than  scholars  and  teachers  as  barbarous  as 
the  books  which  taught  them.  A  jackdaw  hatches  never  a  dove  ;  neither  will  a 
fool  make  a  wise  man.  Such  is  the  reward  of  our  ingratitude,  in  not  using  dili- 
gence in  the  establishment  of  libraries,  and  in  leaving  good  books  to  perish,  while 
we  have  cherished  and  preserved  useless  ones.  But,  my  advice  is,  that  you  do 
not  carry  home  all  sorts  of  books,  without  distinction,  thinking  of  numbers  only. 
I  would  have  a  choice  exercised  in  this  matter,  so  that  we  should  not  heap  to- 
gether the  commentaries  of  all  the  jurists,  the  writings  of  all  the  theologians,  the 
researches  of  all  the  philosophers,  nor  the  sermons  of  all  the  monks.  Nay,  I 
would  banish  all  such  muck  and  mire,  and  provide  me  a  library  that  should  con- 
tain sterling  books, — books  commended  to  me  by  learned  men.  In  the 
first  place,  the  Holy  Scriptures  should  be  there,  both  in  Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew, 
and  German ;  also  in  all  other  languages  in  which  they  might  be  contained. 
Next,  I  would  have  those  books  which  are  useful  in  learning  the  languages ;  as, 
for  instance,  the  poets  and  orators,  and  that  without  inquiring  whether  they  are 
Pagan  or  Christian,  Greek  or  Latin.  For.  from  all  such  are  we  to  learn  gram- 
mar and  style.  Next,  there  should  be  books  pertaining  to  the  liberal  arts  ;  and 
likewise  treatises  on  all  the  other  arts,  and  on  the  sciences.  And  lastly,  books  on 
jurisprudence  and  medicine;  though  here,  too,  a  wary  choice  is  to  be  exercised. 
But,  foremost  of  all,  should  be  chronicles  and  histories,  in  whatever  languages  we 
could  procure  them ;  for  these  are  of  singular  usefulness,  to  instruct  us  in  the 
course  of  the  world,  and  in  the  art  of  government ;  and,  in  these,  too,  we  may 
see  the  manifestation  of  God's  wonderful  works.  Oh  !  how  many  a  worthy  say- 
ing, how  many  a  noble  deed,  said  and  done  here  in  Germany,  might  we  now 
have  hiid,  if  they  had  not,  alas !  passed  clean  out  of  the  memory  of  man  !  And 
this,  for  the  reason  that  there  was  no  one  to  record  them ;  or,  if  they  were  re- 
corded, that  no  one  has  preserved  the  record.  This,  too,  is  the  reason  that  they 
know  nothing  of  us  in  other  lands;  and  all  the  world  must  fain  call  us  German 
beasts,  who  only  know  how  to  get  substance,  and  then  consume  it  in  gluttony  and 
riotous  living.  But  the  Greeks  and  the  Romans,  and,  for  the  matter  of  that,  the 
Hebrews,  too,  have  described  the  events  that  took  place  in  their  midst  so  minutely 
and  faithfully,  that,  if  but  a  woman  or  a  child  said  or  did  any  thing  worthy  of 
note,  forthwith  it  was  chronicled,  so  that  all  the  world  should  read  it  and  know 
of  it ;  and  yet,  we  Germans  remain  bound  up  in  ourselves,  having  neither  a 
thought  nor  a  wish  that  looks  beyond  our  own  interests. 

But  since,  now  in  these  days.  God  has  so  graciously  come  to  our  aid  with  all 
fullness  both  of  art,  learned  men  and  books,  it  is  time  that  we  should  reap  and 
gather  in  of  the  choicest  that  we  can  find,  and  lay  up  great  store  of  treasure, 
that  we  may  have  wherewith  to  maintain  ourselves  in  the  future  out  of  these 
golden  years,  by  reason  of  having  improved  the  opportunity  of  this  rich  harvest. 
For  there  is  danger  that  it  may  finally  come  to  this,  (and  already  things  are  tend- 
ing that  way,)  that,  through  the  agency  of  the  devil,  good  books,  which  have  bjen 
restored  to  us  by  the  art  of  printing,  shall  be  submerged  under  a  flood  of  disso- 
lute and  pernicious  works,  in  which  there  is  neither  s?nse  nor  reason ;  a  flood 
that  shall  pour  in  again,  as  aforetime,  and  fill  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  land. 
For  the  devil  is  surely  plotting  to  bring  back  the  former  state  of  thinss,  so  that 
men  shall  again  painfully  stagger  under  a  load  of  "  catholicons,"  "floristas,"' 
4*  modernistas,"  and  all  the  vile  and  abominable  trash  of  the  monks  and  sophists ; 
so  we  shall  again  be  ever  learning,  and  never  coining  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth. 


150  LUTHER'S  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS. 

Wherefore,  I  beseech  you,  my  beloved  rulers  and  friends,  let  this  my  faithfulness 
and  diligence  bear  fruit  in  you.  And,  though  there  be  some  who  deem  me  of 
too  little  consequence  to  give  heed  to  my  counsel,  and  despise  me  no  one  under  the 
ban  of  tyrants,  yet,  I  hope  that  one  day  they  will  see  that  I  did  not  seek  my 
own,  but  only  the  welfare  and  the  happiness  of  the  entire  German  nation.  And 
though  I  were  a  fool,  and  yet  should  light  upon  some  good  path,  it  would  be  no 
disgrace  to  a  wise  man  to  follow  me.  And  though  I  were  a  Turk  and  a  heathen, 
yet,  should  Christians  perceive  that  what  I  had  said  was  not  to  my  own  profit 
but  to  that  of  others,  even  thus,  they  could  not  justly  despise  my  efforts  to  serve 
them.  There  are  times,  too,  when  a  fool  may  give  better  advice  than  a  whole 
army  of  counselors.  Moses  suffered  himself  to  be  taught  by  Jethro. — Exodus, 
18:  17. 

Now,  I  commend  you  all  to  the  grace  of  God,  and  I  pray  him  to  soften  your 
hearts,  so  that  you  may  right  earnestly  espouse  the  cause  of  poor,  needy,  for- 
saken youth,  and  through  Divine  help  assisting  you,  and  for  the  sake  of  a  good 
and  a  Christian  government  here  in  our  Germany,  that  you  may  aid  and  counsel 
them,  in  body  and  -in  soul,  with  all  fullness  and  superfluity,  to  the  praise  and 
glory  of  God  the  Father,  through  our  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ.  Amen." 

Vlll.       DUTY    OF   SCHOOL   ATTENDANCE    OF    CHILDREN. 

In  his  sermon,  "  On  keeping  children  at  school,"  Luther  says : 

God  has  given  you  children  and  the  means  of  their  support,  not  that  you  should 
idolize  them,  or  lead  them  into  the  vanities  of  the  world.  But  he  has  laid  his 
most  solemn  injunctions  upon  you,  to  train  them  up  for  his  service. 

He  speaks  in  terms  of  praise  of  the  learned  classes,  especially  the 
clerical,  and  presses  conviction  upon  consciences  of  parents,  when,  out 
of  avarice,  they  withhold  from  study  a  boy  who  is  strongly  bent  upon 
learning. 

Cheerfully  let  thy  son  study,  and  should  he  the  while  even  be  compelled  to  earn 
his  bread,  yet  remember  that  you  are  offering  to  our  Lord  God  a  fine  little  block 
of  marble  out  of  which  he  can  hew  for  yon  a  master-piece.  And  do  not  regard 
the  fact  that  in  these  days  the  lust  for  gain  is  everywhere  throwing  learning  into 
contempt ;  nor  say,  in  your  haste,  "  If  my  son  can  write  and  read  German  and 
keep  accounts,  it  is  enough ;  I  will  make  a  merchant  of  him  •,"  for  they  will  soon 
be  brought  to  such  a  pass,  that  they  would  gladly  dig  ten  ells  deep  in  the  ground 
with  their  fingers,  if,  by  so  doing,  they  could  find  a  learned  man  ;  for  a  merchant, 
methinks,  would  not  be  a  merchant  long,  should  law  and  theology  perish.  Of 
this  I  am  full  sure,  we  theologians  and  jurists  must  remain  with  yon,  or  the 
whole  world  will  go  to  ruin  together,  and  that  without  remedy.  If  theologians 
turn  aside,  then  the  word  of  God  will  come  to  naught,  and  we  shall  all  become 
heathen,  yea,  very  devils;  if  jurists  turn  aside,  then  law  will  fly  away,  bearing 
peace  with  it;  and,  amid  robbery,  murder,  outrage,  and  all  manner  of  violence,  we 
shall  sink  below  the  beasts  of  the  forest.  But,  how  much  the  merchant  will  make 
and  heap  together,  when  peace  shall  have  fled  from  the  earth,  his  ledger  will  lell 
him  better  than  I;  and  how  much  good  his  possessions  will  do  him,  when 
preaching  shall  be  no  more,  this  let  his  conscience  declare. 

Luther  did  not  mean,  however,  to  insist  that  all  boys  should  go 
through  a  complete  course  of  study,  as  we  may  perceive  from  the 
"Letter  to  the  German  nobles."  He  expresses  himself  in  the  most 
decided  terms,  on  the  duty  of  magistrates  to  compel  the  attendance 

of  children  at  school. 

M 

I  hold  it  to  be  incumbent  on  those  in  authority  to  command  their  subjects  to 
keep  their  children  at  school ;  for  it  is,  beyond  doubt,  their  duty  to  insure  the 
permanence  of  the  above-named  offices  and  positions,  so  that  preachers,  jurists, 
curates,  scribes,  physicians,  schoolmasters,  and  the  like,  may  not  fail  from  among 


LUTHER'S  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS.  15 1 

us ;  for  we  can  not  do  without  them.  If  they  have  the  right  to  command  their 
subjects,  ihe  able-bodied  among  them,  in  time  of  war,  to  handle  musket  and  pike, 
to  mount  the  walls,  or  to  do  whatever  else  the  exigency  may  require  ;  with  how 
much  the  more  reason  ought  they  to  compel  the  people  to  keep  their  children  at 
school,  inasmuch  as  here  upon  earth  the  most  terrible  of  contests,  wherein  there 
is  never  a  truce,  is  ever  going  on.  and  that  with  the  devil  himself,  who  is  lying  in 
wait,  by  stealth  and  unawares,  if  so  bu  that  he  may  drain  city  and  kingdom,  and 
empty  quite  out  of  them  all  the  brave  and  good,  even  until  he  has  removed  the 
kernel  utterly,  and  naught  shall  be  left  but  a  mere  shell,  full  of  idle  mischief- 
makers,  to  be  mere  puppets  in  his  hands  to  do  his  pleasure.  Then  will  your 
city  or  your  country  suffer  a  true  famine,  and,  without  the  smoke  of  conflict,  will 
be  silently  destroyed  from  within,  and  that  without  warning.  Even  the  Turk 
manages  in  another  way ;  for  he  takes  every  third  child  throughout  his  empire, 
and  trains  him  to  some  calling  perforce.  How  much  more,  then,  ought  our  rul- 
ers to  put  at  least  some  children  to  school  •  not  that  I  would  have  a  boy  taken 
away  from  his  parents,  only  that  he  should  be  educated,  for  his  own  good  and 
the  general  welfare,  to  some  calling  that  shall  yield  him  abundant  fruits  of  his 
industry.  Wherefore,  let  magistrates  lay  these  things  to  heart,  and  let  them 
keep  a  vigilant  look-out ;  and,  wherever  they  see  a  promising  lad,  have  him  placed 
at  school. 

Those  fathers,  who  feared  that  learning  would  be  pernicious  to 
their  children,  Luther  pacified  by  using  their  own  arguments. 

But,  you  say,  "  how  if  it  turn  out  ill,  and  my  son  become  a  heretic  or  a  vil- 
lain ?  For  the  proverb  says,  the  scholar's  skill  turns  oft  to  ill  ?"  Well,  and  what 
of  it  ?  Venture,  nevertheless.  Your  diligence  and  toil  will  not  be  thrown  away. 
God  will  reward  you  according  to  your  faithfulness,  whether  your  work  pros- 
per or  fail.  Besides,  you  must  act  on  uncertainties  in  respect  to  any  pursuit 
whatever,  that  you  may  train  him  for.  How  was  it  with  good  Abraham,  when 
his  son  Ishmael  disappointed  his  hopes?  How  with  Isaac  and  Esau?  Or  with 
Adam  and  Cain?  Was  Abraham  on  that  account  to  neglect  training  Isaac  up 
for  the  service  of  God  ?  Or  Isaac,  Jacob  ?  Or  Adam,  Abel  1 

IK.       THE    DIGNITV    AND    DIFFICULTY    OF   THE    WORK    OF    TEACHING. 

In  the  same  sermon,  Luther  takes  especial  pains  to  magnify  the 
office  of  the  school-teacher. 

Where  were  your  supply  of  preachers,  jurists,  and  physicians,  if  the  arts  of 
grammar  and  rhetoric  had  no  existence  ?  These  are  the  fountain,  out  of  which 
they  all  flow.  I  tell  you,  in  a  word,  that  a  diligent,  devoted  school-teacher,  precep- 
tor, or  any  person,  no  matter  what  is  his  title,  who  faithfully  trains  and  teaches 
boys,  can  never  receive  an  adequate  reward,  and  no  money  is  sufficient  to  pay 
the  debt  you  owe  him  ;  so,  too,  said  the  pagan,  Aristotle.  Yet  we  treat  them 
with  contempt,  as  if  they  were  of  no  account  whatever ;  and,  all  the  time,  we 
profess  to  be  Christians.  For  my  part,  if  I  were,  or  were  compelled,  to  leave  off 
preaehing  and  to  enter  some  other  vocation,  I  know  not  an  office  that  would 
please  me  better  than  that  of  schoolmaster,  or  teacher  of  boys.  For  I  am  con- 
vinced that,  next  to  preaching,  this  is  the  most  useful,  and  greatly  the  best  labor 
in  all  the  world,  and,  in  fact,  I  am  sometimes  in  doubt  which  of  the  positions  is  the 
more  honorable.  For  you  can  not  teach  an  old  dog  new  tricks,  and  it  is  hard  to 
reform  old  sinners,  but  this  is  what  by  preaching  we  undertake  to  do,  and  our 
labor  is  often  spent  in  vain  ;  but  it  is  easy  to  bend  and  to  train  young  trees,  though 
haply  in  the  process  some  may  be  broken.  My  friend,  nowhere  on  earth  can 
you  find  a  higher  virtue  than  is  displayed  by  the  stranger,  who  takes  your  child- 
ren and  gives  them  a  faithful  training, — a  labor  which  parents  very  seldom  per- 
form, even  for  their  own  offspring. 

To  the  like  effect,  does  Luther  speak  of  school-teachers  in  the  Table 
Talk. 

I  would  have  no  one  enter  the  ministry,  who  has  not  first  been  a  schoolmaster. 
Our  young  men,  now-a-days,  do  not  think  so ;  they  shrink  from  the  toil  of  teaching, 


152  LUTHER'S  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS. 

and  rush  at  once  for  the  sacred  office.  But,  after  one  has  taught  school  for 
ten  years  or  thereabouts,  he  may,  with  a  good  conscience,  break  oft';  for  the  labor 
is  great,  and  the  reputation  small.  Still,  as  much  depends  in  a  city  on  a  school- 
master as  on  the  preacher.  And,  if  I  were  not  a  preacher,  I  know  not  the  posi- 
tion on  earth  which  I  had  rather  fill.  You  must  not  be  swayed  in  this  matter  by 
the  opinions  or  the  rewards  of  the  world,  but  consider  how  God  regards  the 
work,  and  how  he  will  exalt  it  at  the  last  day. 

Though  Luther  thought  so  very  highly  of  the. office  of  the  teacher, 
yet  he  remarks,  in  his  commentary  on  Galatians,  that  this  office  is  for 
the  most  part  in  ill-repute  with  children,  and  that  severe  teachers, 
particularly  when  their  severity  is  habitual,  are  any  thing  but  loved 
by  their  pupils. 

It  is  impossible  that  a  disciple,  or  a  scholar,  can  love  the  teacher  who  is  harsh 
and  severe ;  for,  how  can  he  prevail  on  himself  to  love  one  who  immures  him,  as 
it  were,  in  a  dungeon  ;  that  is,  who  constrains  him  to  do  that  which  he  will  not, 
and  holds  him  back  from  doing  that  which  he  will ;  and  who,  when  he  does  any- 
thing that  has  been  forbidden  him,  straightway  flogs  him,  and,  not  content  with 
this,  compels  him  to  kiss  the  rod  too.  A  most  gracious  and  excellent  obedience 
and  affection  this  in  the  scholar,  that  comes  from  an  enforced  compliance  with 
the  harsh  orders  of  a  hateful  taskmaster !  My  friend,  do  you  suppose  that  he 
obeys  with  joy  and  gladness  ?  But,  what  does  he  do  when  the  teacher's  back  is 
turned  ?  Does  he  not  snatch  up  the  rod,  break  it  into  a  thousand  pieces,  or  else 
throw  it  into  the  fire  ?  And,  if  he  had  the  power,  he  would  not  suffer  his  teacher 
to  whip  him  again ;  nay,  he  would  turn  the  tables  on  him,  and  not  simply  take 
the  rod  to  him,  but  cudgel  him  soundly  with  a  club.  Nevertheless,  the  child 
needs  the  discipline  of  the  rod  ;  but  it  must  be  tempered  with  admonition,  and 
directed  to  his  improvement;  for,  without  this,  he  will  never  come  to  any  good, 
but  will  be  ruined,  soul  and  body.  A  miserable  teacher,  indeed,  would  that  man 
be,  who  should  only  know  how  to  beat  and  torment  his  scholars,  without  ever 
being  able  to  teach  them  any  thing.  Such  schoolmasters  there  have  been,  whose 
schools  were  nothing  but  so  many  dungeons  and  hells,  and  themselves  tyrants 
and  gaolers;  where  the  poor  children  were  beaten  beyond  endurance  and  with- 
out cessation,  and  applied  themselves  to  their  task  laboriously  and  with  over-pushed 
diligence,  but  yet  with  very  small  profit.  A  well-informed  and  faithful  teacher, 
on  the  other  hand,  mingles  gentle  admonition  with  punishment,  and  incites  his 
pupils  to  diligence  in  their  studies,  and  to  a  laudable  emulation  among  themselves  ; 
and  so  they  become  rooted  and  grounded  in  all  kinds  of  desirable  knowledge,  as 
well  as  in  the  proprieties  and  the  virtues  of  life,  and  they  now  do  that  spontane- 
ously and  with  delight,  which  formerly,  and  under  the  old  discipline,  they  ap- 
proached with  reluctance  and  dread. 

X.       PLAN    FOR    SCHOOL    ORGANIZATION. 

Luther  writes,  in  1524,  to  Spalatin  : 

I  send  you  my  sketch  of  the  school  as  it  should  be,  that  yon  may  lay  it  before 
the  Elector;  and  though  I  do  not  expect  that  much  heed  will  be  given  to  it,  yet  1 
must  venture,  and  leave  the  issue  with  God. 

Four  years  later,  (1528,)  Melancthon's  "  Manual  of  Visitation,"  made 
its  appearance,  in  which  he  communicated  a  full  and  complete  plan 
for  the  organization  of  schools,  which  had  received  the  sanction  of  the 
elector,  and  which  was,  undoubtedly,  based  upon  the  sketch  that 
Ltither  had  sent  to  Spalatin.* 

*  Luther's  plan,  nbove  referred  to,  I  have  never  seen,  nor  is  it,  to  far  as  I  am  aware,  on 
record.  That  Melancthon's.  however,  essentially  agrees  with  it  we  have  abundant  cause  to 
conclude.  Especially  does  this  appear  from  a  letter  that  Melancthon  wrote  to  Camerarius 
nn  the  subject  of  the  Manual.  He  says  in  this,  "you  vr ill  see  that  I  have  written  nothing 
mort  than  what  Luther  hae  propounded  pattim.'' 


LUTHER'S  VIEWS  ON  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS.  153 

XI.       UNIVERSITIES. 

In  the  letter  to  the  Christian  nobles  of  4he  German  nation  on  the 
elevation  of  the  Christian  order,  Luther  takes  occasion  to  express  him- 
self on  German  universities  as  follows. 

Our  universities  need  a  good  thorough  purging;  I  must  say  it,  let  whoever  • 
will  be  offended.  For,  what  are  they,  save  a  few  recently  instituted,  but  li  places 
of  exercise  for  the  chief  young  men,"  as  the  2nd  Book  of  Maccabees,  4  :  12, 
hath  it ;  where  a  free  life  is  le  i,  after  "  the  glory  of  the  Grecians ;"  where  the  Holy 
Scriptures  and  faith  in  Christ  are  lightly  accounted  of ;  and  where  that  blind 
pagan,  Aristotle,  reigns  solitary  and  alone,  even  to  the  dethroning  of  Christ  1 
Now  this  is  my  counsel,  that  Aristotle's  books  on  physics,  metaphysics,  the  soul, 
and  ethics,  which  have  been  ever  esteemed  his  best,  should  be  thrown  away,  with 
all  the  host  of  those  which  pretend  to  treat  of  natural  science,  while  in  reality 
nothing  can  be  learned  from  them,  of  things  natural  or  things  spiritual 
either :  add,  that  what  he  does  advance  not  a  soul  has  hitherto  understood,  and 
yet  so  many  noble  intellects  have  been  weighed  down  and  paralyzed  under  the 
cost,  toil,  time  and  study  that  they  have  been  forced  to  devote  to  him. 

But  I  would,  neverthelessjbe  willing  to  retain  his  logic,  rhetoric  and  poetics — • 
abridged,  I  would  prefer  them, — for  they  are  useful  to  direct  the  young  to  a  good 
style  of  speaking,  either  for  the  bar  or  the  pulpit ;  but  the  commentaries  and 
glosses  are  useless.  Cicero's  rhetoric,  likewise,  may  be  read,  but  only  the  pure 
and  simple  text,  unencumbered  with  your  unwieldy  and  interminable  commenta- 
ries. \  But  now,  they  teach  neither  how  to  plead  nor  how  to  preach,  but  all  the 
result  they  shew  is  mere  wrangling  and  stupidity.  And  we  ought,  moreover,  to 
adopt  the  languages,  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew,  the  mathematics  and  history, 
all  which  I  commend  to  the  more  intelligent.  But,  the  claims  of  these  studies 
will  need  no  urging,  as  soon  as  there  is  a  right  earnest  desire  for  a  reformation. 
And  truly,  this  is  a  matter  of  the  utmost  consequence.  For,  here  our  Christian 
youth,  and  our  nobles,  in  whom  rest  the  hopes  of  Christianity,  are  to  be  taught, 
and  to  be  fitted  for  action.  And,  accordingly,  it  is  my  firm  belief  that  a  reforma- 
tion and  a  renovation  of  our  universities  would  be  a  work  of  greater  magnitude 
than  pope  or  emperor  ever  undertook,  since  there  is  not  a  more  crafty,  or  a  more 
devjjish  device  on  the  face  of  the  earth  than  a  university  overgrown  with  the 
thorns  and  the  briars  of  godless  ignorance. 

XII.       THE    STUDY    OF    TIIR    BIBLE. 

We  have  given,  in  the  preceding  pages,  Luther's  opinion  of  many 
of  the  university  studies.  It  is  not  desirable,  he  says,  to  read  a  multi- 
tude of  books ;  among  such  as  are  read,  however,  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures demand  our  chief  care. 

Books  should  be  fnver,  and  we  must  choose  out  the  best.  For  many  books  do 
not  impart  knowledge,  nor  much  reading  either;  but,  that  which  is  goixl,  if  it  be 
read  often,  no  matter  how  small  its  compass,  that  it  is  which  throws  light  upon 
the  Word,  and  inspires  piety  besides.  Yea,  even  the  works  of  the  holy  Fathers 
are  to  be  read  only  as  a  means  by  which  we  may  the  better  come  at  the  sense  of 
the  Word  ;  but  now  we  read  them  for  themselves  and  abide  in  them,  without 
ever  coming  to  the  Scriptures  ;  in  this,  we  are  like  men  who  look  at  the  guide- 
posts,  but  who  never  follow  the  road.  The  dear  Fathers  would  have  their  writ- 
ings lead  us  into  the  Scriptures ;  let  us,  then,  carry  out  their  intention.  For  the 
Scriptures,  and  they  alone,  are  our  vineyard,  in  which  we  are  to  exercise 
ourselves,  and  to  labor. 

Above  all  things,  let  the  Scriptures  be  the  chief  and  the  most  frequently  used 
reading-book,  both  in  primary  and  in  high  schools :  and  the  very  young  should  be 
kept  in  the  gospels.  Is  it  not  proper  and  rijrht  that  every  human  being,  by  the 
time  he  has  reached  his  tenth  year,  should  be  familiar  with  the  holy  gospels,  in 
which  the  very  core  and  marrow  of  his  life  is  bound  ?  Even  the  spinner  and  the 
seamstress  impart  the  mysteries  of  their  craft  to  their  daughters,  while  these  are 
yet  in  girlhood.  And,  again,  when  the  high  schools  shall  huve  become  grounded 


154        LUTHER'S  VIEWS  OX  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS. 

in  tlic  Scripturos,  we  then  are  not  all  of  us  to  send  our  sons  there,  as  is  die 
practice  now,  when  numbers  alone  are  regarded,  and  each  will  have  his  boy  a 
doctor;  but  \ve  ought  to  admit  only  those  who  are  best  fitted,  and  who  have  pre- 
viously been  well  trained  in  the  preparatory  schools;  to  which  matter,  princes  of 
magistrates  ought  to  pay  special  attention,  not  allowing  any  to  be  sent  to  the  high 
schools  but  the  most  capable.  But,  where  the  Holy  Scriptures  do  not  bear  sway, 
there  I  would  counsel  none  to  send  his  child.  For  every  institution  will  degener- 
ate, where  God's  word  is  not  in  daily  exercise ;  in  proof  of  this,  we  need  but 
look  at  those  who  have  been  moulded  by,  or  who  are  now  in  the  high  schools. 
The  high  schools  ought  to  send  forth  men  thoroughly  versed  in  the  Scriptures,  to 
become  bishops  and  pastors,  and  to  stand  in  the  van,  against  heretics,  the  devil, 
and,  if  need  be,  the  whole  world.  But,  what  do  we  find  them  ?  I  greatly  fear  they 
are  no  better  than  broad  gates  to  hell,  wherever  they  do  not  busily  exercise  and 
practice  our  youth  in  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

XIII.       STUDY   OF   THE    LANGUAGES. 

In  what  high  esteem  Luther  held  the  languages,  we  have  already 
had  occasion  to  remark.  To  Hebrew,  in  particular,  he  frequently 
recurs  in  terms  of  praise. 

The  Hebrew  tongue  surpasses  all  others;  it  is  the  richest  in  words  of 
any,  and  it  is  pure;  it  borrows  nothing,  but  has  its  own  independent 
hue.  The  Greek,  the  Latin,  and  the  Germans  .nil  borrow;  they  have,  moreover, 
man}'  compound  words,  whereas  the  Hebrew  has  none.  From  a  simple  word  the 
Germans  make  twenty  compounds,  which  all  proceed  from  it,  and  are  pieced 
together  out  of  it;  as,  from  /di//<en,  to  run,  come  entlaufen,  to  run  away  from  ; 
verlaufen,  to  run  wrong ;  umlaufen,  to  run  about ;  belaufen,  to  run  to  see ;  zit- 
laufen,  to  run  toward  ;  ablaufen,  to  run  from  a  place ;  weglaufen,  to  run"  from 
one's  duty ;  einlaufen,to  run  in ;  etc.  On  the  contrary,  the  Hebrew  has  no  com- 
pound, no  patchwork  word,  but  each  idea  is  expressed  by  a  word  wholly  its  own. 
So,  again,  the  word  heart,  for  instance,  has  with  us  quite  a  generic  use.  For  it 
means  a  pact  of  the  body,  as  if  we  should  say,  he  has  no  heart ;  that  is,  he  is 
spiritless  and  cowardly  ;  or  again,  my  heart  tells  me  that  his  heart  burns  within 
him  ;  that  is,  that  he  is  angry.  In  each  of  these  cases,  the  Hebrew  empl<%-s  a 
special  and  peculiar  word. 

In  reference  to  the  manner  of  learning  the  languages,  Luther  lays 
great  stress  upon  continual  practice,  though  he  does  not  undervalue 
grammar,  by  any  means. 

We  learn  German  or  other  languages  much  better  by  word  of  mouth,  at  homo, 
in  the  street,  or  at  the  church,  than  out  of  books.  Letters  are  dead  words ;  the 
utterances  of  the  mouth  are  living  words,  which  in.  writing  can  never  stand  forth 
BO  distinct  and  so  excellent,  as  the  soul  and  spirit  of  man  bodies  them  forth  through 
the  mouth. 

Tell  me,  where  was  there  ever  a  language,  which  men  could  learn  to  speak  with 
correctness  and  propriety  by  the  rules  of  grammar  ?  Is  it  not  true  that  even 
those  language's,  like  the  Latin  and  the  Greek,  which  possess  the  most  unerring 
rules,  are  much  better  learned  by  use  and  wont,  than  from  these  rules  ?  Is  it 
not  tlu-n  extremely  absurd,  for  one  who  would  learn  the  sacred  tongue,  in  which 
divine  and  spiritual  things  are  discoursed  of,  to  neglect  a  straightforward  and  per- 
tinent search  into  the  subject-matter,  and  attempt,  instead,  to  pick  the  language 
out  of  grammar  alone  ? 

lie  gives  his  view  of  the  relation  of  the  things  signified  to  the 
words  which  express  them,  as  follows,  holding  that  nn  understanding 
of  words  is  only  possible  where  there  is  an  understanding  of  things 
first. 

The  art  of  grammar  teaches  and  shows,  what  words  imply  and  signify ;  but  we 
must  first  learn  and  know  what  the  things  are,  and  what  the  matters  mean. 


LUTHER'S  VIEWS  OX  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS.  153 

Hence,  must  he,  who  would  teach  and  preach,  first  know  his  subject  and  its  bear- 
ings, before  lie  can  speak  of  it ;  for  grammar  only  teaches  the  names  and  forms  of 
the  words  which  we  use  to  set  forth  our  subject. 

Our  knowledge  is  two-fold  5  relating  to  words  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the 
other  to  things.  And  accordingly,  ho  who  does  not  possess  a  knowledge  of  the 
thing  or  the  subject  of  which  he  is  to  speak,  will  not  find  a  knowledge  of  words 
of  any  service  to  him.  There  is  an  old  proverb,  which  runs  thus :  It'  you  do  not 
know  what  you  are  talking  of,  you  may  talk  forever,  and  no  man  will  be  the  wiser. 
Many  such  people  there  are  in  our  day.  For  we  have  many  very  learned  and 
very  eloquent  men,  who  appear  exceedingly  foolish  and  ridiculous,  because  they 
undertake  to  speak  of  that  which  they  have  never  understood. 

But,  whoever  has  the  matter  inwrought  into  his  being,  so  that  he  comprehends 
it  fully,  is  an  able  teacher,  and  reaches  the  heart,  whether  he  be  eloquent,  and 
have  a  ready  flow  of  words,  or  not.  So  Cato.  when  he  spoke  in  the  council,  had 
more  influence  than  Cicero,  albeit,  his  language  was  rough  and  devoid  of  all 
polish  and  elegance ;  and,  though  his  speech  was  not  skillfully  framed  to  produce 
conviction,  yet  no  one  ever  gave  a  thought  to  his  manner. 

Accordingly,  the  understanding  of  words,  or  grammar,  is  easy,  when  we  well 
understand  the  subject ;  as  Horace  also  says :  that  words  come  of  their  own  ac- 
cord, when  the  subject  has  been  duly  admitted  to  the  mind,  retained  there,  and 
fully  considered ;  but,  where  the  subject  is  obscurely  apprehended,  there  the 
utmost  knowledge  of  words  will  do  no  good.  I  have  dwelt  upon  this  point  so 
fully  for  this  reason,  namely :  that  you  may  know,  if  you  shall  ever  read  the 
Rabbins,  what  sort  of  masters  you  will  have  :  they  may  well  understand  the  lan- 
guage, but  the  subjects  that  are  conveyed  in  it  they  know  nothing  about,  nor  can 
they  ever  teach  them  in  a  true  and  proper  manner. 

But,  through  the  goodness  and  the  grace  of  God,  we  have  the  knowledge  and 
the  understanding  of  the  matters,  of  which  the  Holy  Scriptures  treat,  while  they 
are  left  in  blindness.  Hence,  though  they  know  the  grammar,  yet  they  have 
no  correct  understanding  of  the  Scriptures ;  but,  as  Isaiah,  (29,  11,)  saith  :  '*  And 
the  vision  is  become  as  the  words  of  a  book  that  is  sealed.  Who  then  shall 
follow  them  ?" 

Now  let  no  one  think  or  conclude  from  all  this  that  I  would  reject  the  gram- 
mar, for  this  is  altogether  necessary  ;  but  this  much  I  do  say :  he  who,  with  the 
grammar,  does  not  study  the  contents  of  the  Scriptures  also,  will  never  make  a 
good  teacher.  For,  as  a  certain  one  has  said,  "  the  words  of  the  teacher  or 
preacher  should  follow  the  subject,  and  grow,  not  in  his  mouth,  bat  out  of  his  heart." 

XIV.       NATURAL  SCIENCE. 

In  commenting  on  Erasmus'  want  of  appreciation  of  natural  science, 
Luther  remarks : 

We  are  now  in  the  morning-dawn  of  a  better  life  ;  for  we  are  beginning  again 
to  rei-over  that  knowledge  of  the  creation  which  we  lost  through  Adam's  fall. 
By  God's  grace,  we  are  beginning  to  recognize,  even  in  the  structure  of  the 
humblest  floweret,  his  wondrous  glory,  his  goodness,  and  his  omnipotence.  In  the 
creation  we  can  appreciate  in  some  mesisure  the  power  of  Him,  who  spake  and  it 
was  done,  who  commanded  and  it  stood  fast.  Consider  the  peach-stone  ;  although 
it  is  very  hard,  yet,  in  its  due  season,  it  is  burst  asunder  by  the  force  of  the  very 
ten.ler  germ  which  is  inclosed  within  the  shell.  But  all  this  Erasmus  passes  by, 
not  regarding  it  for  a  moment ;  and  riews  this  new  knowledge  of  the  creature 
only  as  cows  look  upon  a  new  gate. 

XT.      H1STOBV. 

The  importance  that  Luther  attached  to  history,  we  have  before 
adverted  to;  he  has  more,  to  the  same  purport,  in  his  preface  to 
Galeatti  Capella's  history  of  the  Duke  of  Milan. 

Says  the  highly-renowned  Roman,  Varro,  (so  this  preface  rtms,)  the  best 
instruction  is  that  which  combines  illustration  and  example  with  precept.  Fo;- 
through  those  we  apprehend  the  speech  or  the  doctrine  more  clearly,  and  also 


156  LUTHER'S  VIEWS  ON  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS. 

retain  it  the  more  readily  in  our  memories ;  but,  where  the  discourse  is  without 
illustration,  no  matter  how  just  and  excellent  it  may  be  in  itself,  yet  it  does  not 
move  the  heart  with  such  power,  neither  is  it  so  clear,  nor  so  easily  remembered. 
Hence,  we  may  see  what  a  priceless  value  resides  in  histories.  For  all  that  phi- 
losophers, sages,  and  the  collective  wisdom  of  humanity  can  devise  or  teach,  rela- 
tive to  the  conduct  of  life,  this,  history,  with  her  incidents  and  examples,  enforces, 
causing  it  all  to  pass  before  our  eyes,  so  to  speak,  as  if  we  ourselves  were  on  the 
spot,  beholding  those  things  in  action,  whoso  nature  we  had  heard  before  in  doc- 
trine or  in  precept.  There  we  learn  what  things  those  who  were  pious  and  wise 
pursued,  what  they  shunned,  and  how  they  lived,  and  how  it  fared  with  them,  or 
how  they  were  rewarded  ;  and  again,  how  they  lived  who  were  wicked  and  obsti- 
nate in  their  ignorance,  and  what  punishments  overtook  them. 

And  did  we  but  think  of  it,  all  laws,  arts,  good  counsels,  warnings,  threatenings, 
terrors, — all  solace,  strength,  instruction,  foresight,  wisdom,  prudence,  together 
with  every  virtue, — flow  from  records  an<l  histories  as  from  a  living  fountain.  For 
histories  are  an  exhibition,  memorial,  and  monument  of  the  works  and  the  judg- 
ments of  God  ;  how  he  upholds  and  rules  the  world,  and  men  more  than  all, 
causing  their  plans  to  prosper  or  to  fail,  lifting  them  on  high,  or  humbling  theui  in 
the  dust,  according  as  their  deeds  are  good  or  evil.  And  though  there  be 
many  who  neither  know  nor  regard  God,  yet  even  such  can  not  fail  to  start  back 
before  the  portraitures  of  history,  and  to  fear  lest  the  same  evils  come  upon  them, 
too,  that  overtook  this  or  that  person,  whose  course  is  graven,  as  a  warning,  forever 
upon  the  page  of  history;  whereby  they  will  be  far  more  deeply  moved,  than  if 
you  should  strive  to  restrain  and  curb  them  with  the  bare  letter  of  the  law,  or 
with  mere  dry  doctrine.  So  we  read,  not  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  alone,  but  in 
pagan  books  too,  how  the  men  of  old  instanced  and  held  up  to  view  the  example 
of  their  forefathers,  in  word  and  in  deed,  when  they  wished  to  arouse  the  enthu- 
siasm of  the  people,  or  when  on  any  occasion  they  \yould  teach  and  admonish,  or 
warn  and  deter. 

Hence,  too,  historians  are  the  most  useful  of  men,  and  the  best  of  teachers. 
Nor  can  we  ever  accord  too  much  praise,  honor,  or  gratitude  to  them  ;  and  it 
should  be  the  work  of  the  great  ones  of  the  earth,  as  emperors,  kings,  and  the 
like,  to  cause  a  faithful  record  to  be  made  of  the  history  of  their  own  times,  and 
to  have  such  records  sacredly  preserved  and  set  in  order  in  libraries.  And,  to 
this  end,  they  should  spare  no  expense,  which  may  be  needful,  to  educate  and 
maintain  those  persons  whose  talents  mark  them  out  for  this  task. 

But  he  who  would  write  history,  must  be  a  superior  man, — lion-hearted  and 
fearless  in  writing  truth.  For  most  manage  to  pass  by  in  silence,  or  at  leiist  to 
gloss  over  the  vices  or  the  mischances  of  their  times,  to  please  great  lords  or  their 
own  friends;  or  they  give  too  high  a  place  to  minor,  or  it  may  be,  insignificant 
actions  ;  or  else,  from  an  overweening  love  of  country,  and  a  hatred  toward 
foreign  nations,  they  bedizen  or  befoul  histories,  according  to  their  own  likes  or 
dislikes.  Hence  it  is,  that  a  suspicious  air  invests  histories,  and  God's  providence 
is  shamefully  obscured  ;  so  the  Greeks  did  in  their  perverseness,  so  the  Pope's 
flatterers  have  done  heretofore,  and  are  now  doing,  till  it  has  come  to  this,  at  last, 
that  \vedo  not  know  what  to  admit  or  what  to  reject.  Thus  the  noble,  precious, 
and  highest  use  of  history  is  overlooked,  and  we  have  only  a  vain  babble  and 
gossip.  And  this  is  because  the  worthy  task  of  writing  annals  and  records  is 
open  to  every  one  without  discrimination  ;  and  they  write  or  slur  over,  praise  or 
condemn,  at  their  will. 

How  important,  then,  is  it,  that  this  office  should  be  rilled  by  men  of  eminence, 
or  at  least  by  those  who  are  worthy.  For,  inasmuch  as  histories  are  records  of 
God's  work,  that  is,  of  his  grace  and  his  displeasure,  which  men  should  believe 
with  as  much  reason  as  if  the  same  stood  written  in  the  Bible,  surely  they  ought 
to  be  penned  with  all  diligence,  truth  and  fidelity.  This,  however,  will,  I  fear, 
never  come  to  pass,  unless  the  enactment  which  was  in  force  with  the  Jews  shall 
again  b"ar  sway.  Meanwhile,  we  must  rest  content  with  our  histories  as  they  are, 
and  reflect  and  judge  for  ourselves,  as  we  peruse  them,  whether  the  writer  has 
been  warped  through  favor  or  prejudice,  whether  he  praises  or  blames  either  too 
little  or  too  much,  according  as  the  persons  or  the  events  that  come  under  his 
notice,  please  or  displease  him  :  just  as  in  such  a  loose  government  as  ours,  we 
must  endure  to  have  carriers  dilute  their  foreign  wine  with  water,  so  that  we  can 
not  buy  the  pure  growth,  but  must  content  ourselves  with  getting  some  part  pure, 
be  this  more  or  be  it  less. 


LUTHER'S  VIEWS  ON  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS.  157 

XVI.       LOGIC — RHETORIC. 

Luther  has  much  to  say,  in  the  "  Table  Talk,"  both  on  logic  and 
on  rhetoric. 

Logic  is  a  lofty  art ;  it  speaks  direct,  whether  of  wrong  or  right,  as  if  I  should 
say,  "give  me  some  drink."  But  rhetoric  adds  ornament,  as  thus:  "give  me 
of  the  pleasant  juice  in  the  cellar,  the  carling,  sparkling  juice,  that  makes  the 
heart  merry." 

Logic  tells  us  how  to  teach  every  thing ;  still,  for  all  this,  though  we  have 
learned  it  so  that  we  thoroughly  understand  it,  it  does  not,  of  itself,  give  us  the 
ability  to  teach  any  thing;  for  it  is  only  an  instrument  and  a  tool,  by  means  of 
which  we  may  impart,  in  a  correct  and  methodical  manner,  that  which  we  already 
understand  and  know.  For  instance,  I  can  not  speak  of  mining  or  of  the  duties 
of  the  overseer  of  a  mine,  because  I  neither  know  how  to  open  a  mine,  nor  how 
to  sink  a  shaft,  nor  can  I  tell  where  the  galleries  should  run  ;  but,  had  I  searched 
into  this  matter,  and  become  familiar  with  it,  I  should  then  be  better  able  to  speak 
on  the  subject  than  the  surveyor  himself.  Logic  does  not  furnish  the  subject  of 
which  we  are  to  speak,  or  the  branch  that  we  are  to  teach  ;  it  only  directs  us  how 
to  teach  such  branch,  or  to  speak  of  such  subject,  in  a  just  and  appropriate  manner, 
with  method,  directness,  and  brevity. 

Logic  is  a  useful  and  a  necessary  art,  which  we  ought  with  as  much  reason  to 
study  and  to  learn  as  we  do  arithmetic  or  geometry.  And,  though  there  are  some 
heads  so  sharp  by  nature,  that  they  can  draw  conclusions  and  form  judgments,  on 
almost  any  subject,  from  the  impressions  they  receive  from  it,  yet  this  is  an  uncer- 
tain and  a  dangerous  gift,  unless  art  come  to  its  aid.  For  logic  gives  us  a  clear, 
correct,  and  methodical  arrangement,  showing  us  the  grounds  of  our  conclusions, 
and  how  we  may  know,  to  a  certainty,  from  the  nature  of  the  subject  itself,  what 
is  right  or  wrong,  and  what  we  should  judge  and  decide. 

Logic  teaches,  rhetoric  moves  and  persuades  ;  the  latter  controls  the  will,  the 
former  the  understanding.  St.  Paul  includes  them  both,  in  Romans,  12  :  7,8: 
"  lie  that  teacheth,  let  him  wait  on  teaching  ;  or  he  that  exhorteth,  on  exhortation." 

The  most  excellent  fruit  and  use  of  logic  is  to  define  and  describe  a  thing  with 
completeness  and  brevity,  and,  in  accordance  with  its  nature,  neither  fnore  nor  less 
than  it  is.  Hence,  we  should  accustom  ourselves  to  use  good,  pointed,  and  intel- 
ligible words,  words  that  are  in  common  use.  and  thereby  fitted  to  call  up  and  set 
forth  the  matter,  so  that  men  may  understand  just  what  it  includes.  And,  if  any 
man  has  this  power,  let  him  give  God  the  glory,  for  it  is  a  special  gift  and  grace, 
since  crafty  writers  often  disguise  their  sentiments  designedly,  with  astonishing, 
far-fetched,  or  obsolete  words ;  inventing  a  new  style  and  mode  of  speaking,  so 
double-sided,  double-tongued,  and  inter  tangled,  that,  when  convenient,  they  can 
bend  their  language  into  whatever  meaning  they  choose,  as  the  heretics  do. 

Eloquence  does  not  consist  in  a  tinseled  flourish  of  gaudy  and  unfamiliar  words, 
but  in  that  chaste  and  polished  expression,  which,  like  a  beautiful  painting,  shows 
the  subject-matter  in  a  clear,  suitable  and  every  way  admirable  light.  They  who 
coin  and  foist  in  strange  words,  must  also  bring  in  strange  and  novel  things,  as  did 
Scotus,  with  his  "  hiccity,"  '•  nominality,"  etc.,  or  the  Anabaptists,  with  their 
"  immersion,"  "  purification,"  "  quietism,"  etc.  Hence, you  should  beware,  above 
all  things,  of  those  who  make  frequent  use  of  new,  unfamiliar  and  useless  words  ; 
for  such  a  mode  of  speaking  is  at  war  with  all  true  eloquence. 

XVII.       MATHEMATICS. 

Luther  was  desirous,  as  we  have  seen,  to  have  the  mathematics 
introduced  into  the  universities.  In  astronomy,  he  took  ground 
against  Copernicus.  Nevertheless  he  could  not  abide  astrology,  though 
Melancthon  maintained  its  truth.  Among  other  arguments  against 
it,  that  of  Augustin  was  his  chief  stronghold,  namely,  that  Esau  and 
Jacob  were  both  born  at  the  same  time,  consequently  under  the  same 
constellation,  and  were,  114  vertheless,  wholly  unlike  each  other  in  all 
respects. 


158  LUTHER'S  VIEWS  ON  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS. 

XVIII.       PHYSICAL    EXERCISE. 

Exercise  and  music  both,  Luther  commends  highly ;  and  he 
opposed,  as  \ve  have  seen,  the  moping  and  joyless  tenets  of  the  monkish 
teachers. 

It  was  admirably  provided  and  ordered  by  the  ancients  that  the  people  should 
have  honorable  and  useful  modes  of  exercise  to  resort  to,  so  that  they  might  not 
fall  into  gluttony,  lewdness,  surfeiting,  rioting,  and  gambling.  Accordingly,  I 
pronounce  in  favor  of  these  two  exercises  and  pastimes,  namely,  music,  and  the 
knightly  sports  of  fencing,  wrestling,  etc.;  of  which,  the  one  drives  care  and  gloom 
from  the  heart,  and  the  other  gives  a  full  development  to  the  limbs,  and  maintains 
the  body  in  health.  And  another  argument  for  them  is  this,  that  they  keep  men 
from  tippling,  lewdness,  cards,  and  dice,  which,  alas !  are  now  so  common  every 
whore,  at  court  and  in  the  town,  where  we  hear  nothing  but  "  fair  play  !"  "  more 
wine !"  and  the  like  phrases.  And  then,  in  their  flush,  they  stake  you,  perhaps, 
an  hundred  gulden  or  more,  at  a  cast.  So  it  goes,  when  those  other  honorable 
exercises  and  knightly  sports  are  scorned  and  neglected. 

XIX.       MUSIC. 

Music  was  Luther's  joy  and  delight. 

Music  is  one  of  the  fairest  and  best  gifts  of  God  ;  and  Satan  hates  it,  nor  can 
he  bear  it,  since  by  its  means  we  exorcise  many  temptations  and  wicked  thoughts. 
Music  is  one  of  the  best  of  the  arts.  The  notes  breathe  life  into  the  words.  It 
chases  away  the  spirit  of  melancholy,  as  we  may  see  by  the  case  of  King  Saul. 
Some  of  our  nobility  think  that  they  have  done  some  great  thing,  when  they  give 
three  thousand  gulden  yearly  toward  music,  and  yet  they  will  throw  away,  with- 
out scruple  perhaps,  thirty  thousand  on  follies.  Kings,  princes  and  lords  must 
maintain  music,  (for  it  is  the  duty  of  great  potentates  and  monarchs  to  uphold 
excellent,  liberal  arts,  as  well  as  laws,)  inasmuch  as  the  common  people  and  private 
individuals  desire  it,  and  would  have  it  if  their  means  were  sufficient.  Music  is 
the  best  solace  to  a  wearied  man ;  through  it,  the  heart  is  again  quieted,  quickened, 
and  refreshed  ;  as  that  one  says,  in  Virgil : 

"  Tu  calamos  inflare  leves,  ego  dicere  versus." 
Do  you  play  the  air,  and  I  will  sing  the  verse. 

x*"Music  is  a  half-discipline,  and  it  is  a  teacher ;  it  makes  men  gentler  and  milder, 
more  mannerly  and  more  rational.  And  even  'poor  violinists  or  organists  do  us 
this  service,  they  show  us  what  a  noble  and  excellent  art  music  is,  as  we  can 
distinguish  white  the  better  if  we  place  black  beside  it. 

,>**f!m  the  17th  of  December.  1538,  while  Dr.  M.  Luther  was  entertaining  some 
musicians  at  his  house,  who  sang  many  sweet  tunes  and  lofty  cantatas,  he  ex- 
claimed, in  his  rapture :  "  If  in  this  life  our  Lord  God  has  scattered  around  and 
heaped  upon  us  such  noble  gifts,  what  will  it  be  in  that  immortal  life,  where  all  is 
perfection  and  fullness  of  delight?  But  here  we  have  only  the  beginning,  the 
materia  prima.  I  have  always  loved  music.  He  who  knows  this  art  is  in  the 
right  frame,  and  fitted  for  every  good  pursuit,  I  We  can  not  do  without  music  in 
our  schools.  A  schoolmaster  must  know  how'to  sing,  or  I  would  not  allow  him 
to  teach.  Nor  ought  we  to  ordain  young  tlu-ologians  to  the  sacred  office,  unless 
they  have  first  been  well-tried  and  practiced  in  the  art  in  the  school."  As  they 
sang  a  cantata  of  Senffel's,  Luther  was  filled  with  emotion  and  wonder,  praising  it 
highly.  He  thon  said  :  "  Such  a  cantata  it  is  not  in  my  power  to  compost-,  even 
though  I  should  try  to  my  utmost ;  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  could  Senffel  expound  a 
psalm  as  well  an  I.  For  the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit  are  of  divers  kinds ;  so  in  one 
body  there  are  different  members.  But  no  one  is  contented  with  his  own  gift,  no 
one  rests  satisfied  with  what  (Jod  has  bestowed  upon  him,  for  all  wish  to  be,  not 
members  merely,  but  the  whole  body. 

Music  is  a  fair,  glorious  gift  of  God  ;  and  it  lies  very  near  to  theology.     I  would 

not  part  with  my  small  faculty  of  music,  for  vast  possessions.     We  should  practice 

the  young  continually  in  this  art.  for  it  will  make  able  and  polished  men  of  them. 

Singing  is  the  best  art  and  exercise.     It  has  nothing  in   common  with   the 


LUTHER'S  VIEWS  ON  EDUCATION  AND  SCHOOLS.  159 

world  ;  it  is  far-removed  from  the  jar  and  wrangling  of  the  court  and  the  lawsuit. 
Singers,  too,  are  never  overwhelmed  with  care,  but  are  joyful ;  and,  with  their 
singing,  they  drive  care  out  and  away." 

And  he  said  further  :  ''How  comes  it  to  pass  that,  in  carnal  things,  we  have 
so  many  a  fine  poem,  and  so  many  a  sweet  song,  while,  in  spiritual  things,  all  is  so 
cold  and  listless  ?"  He  then  recited  some  German  odes,  The  Tournament,  by 
Bollen,  etc.  "I  hold  this  to  be  the  reason,  as  St.  Paul  has  expressed  it,  in 
Romans,  7 :  23  ;  'I  see  another  law  warring  in  my  members,'  a  law  that  will  net 
be  overcome,  and  that  does  not  yield  up  its  power  so  readily  as  does  the  law  in 
the  soul.  If  any  one  despises  music,  as  all  the  fanatics  do,  I  can  not  confide  in 
him.  For  music  is  a  gift  and  bestowment  of  God  ;  it  does  not  proceed  from  man. 
And  it  drives  away  the  devil,  and  makes  men  happy:  in  it,  we  forget  all  anger, 
lasciviousness,  pride,  and  every  vice.  Next  to  theology  I  rank  music,  and  hold  it 
in  almost  equal  honor.  For  look  how  David  and  all  holy  men  have  uttered  their 
heavenly  meditations  in  verse,  rhyme  and  song.  Quia  pads  tempore  regnal 
musica." 

I  am  convinced  that  my  readers  would  feel  aggrieved,  were  I  to 
offer  them  an  apology  for  dwelling  so  long  upon  Luther.  In  fact, 
were  any  apology  in  place,  it  would  be  for  my  having  omitted  so 
much  ;  and  this  I  have  done  because  I  feared  lest  I  might  communi- 
cate some  passages  that  we  were  all  perfectly  well  acquainted  with. 
Among  such  I  would  place  the  admirable  preface  to  the  little  book, — 
the  book  which  he  composed  at  the  same  time  with  the  writings 
above  cited, — the  shorter  catechism. 

Who  will  not  be  delighted  to  recognize  this  great  man  as  a 
reformer  of  German  education  also?  His  admonitions  have  reached 
the  hearts  of  myriads  of  our  countrymen,  awakened  many  sleeping 
consciences,  and  strengthened  many  feeble  hands ;  his  utterances  have 
been  to  both  princes  and  people  as  the  voice  of  God. 

And  he  has  deserved  such  confidence  in  the  fullest  measure,  because 
he  also  received  into  his  own  heart,  so  abundantly,  that  faith  which 
worketh  by  love.  What  could  not  such  a  divinely-governed,  and  un- 
tiring love  accomplish,  seconded  as  it  was  by  such  great  gifts  ;  so  clear 
an  eye,  so  sound  an  understanding,  such  aptness  for  the  languages, 
such  creative  skill  in  speech,  such  a  soaring  imagination,  and  such 
profound  speculation  ?  Who  among  all  of  Luther's  contemporaries 
can  compare  with  him  in  genuine,  comprehensive  culture  ?  Only  let 
as  not  guage  culture  with  the  measuring-rod  of  the  Latinized  school 
pedant,  neither  with  that  of  the  Mephistophelian  scoffer ;  for  we  have 
to  do  with  large  spiritual  gifts,  which  were  brought  into  the  service  of 
a  consecrated,  determined,  irresisiible  will, — a  will  made  free  by  the 
Son,  a  will  that  governed  itself,  inasmuch  as  it  purposed  to  servo 
God,  and  God's  will  alone. 

•  On  this  head,  also  compare  Luther's  letter  to  Louis  Senfft  1,  musician  to  ihe  Duke  of  Dava. 
ria.  De  Wette,  4,  180. 

No.  11.— [VoL.  IV.,  No.  2.]_29. 


LIFE  AND  EDUCATIONAL  SERVICES  OF  PHILIP  MELANCTHON. 

FROM  THE  GERMAN  OF  KARL  VON  RAUMER. 


i.     MELANCTHON'S  CHILDHOOD. 

HISTORIANS  called  Melanclhon  the  fellow-soldier  ( 
of  Luther.  "  God  joined  together  these  two  instruments  of  his 
purpose,"  said  Winshemius,  in  his  Eulogy  upon  Melancthon,  "  these 
two  great  men,  whose  dispositions  were  so  admirably  blended,  that 
if  to  Erasmus  and  others  Luther  appeared  to  be  too  harsh  a  physician 
for  the  disease  that  had  infected  the  church,  Philip,  on  the  contrary, 
though  pursuing  the  same  course  without  deflection,  seemed  too 
tender  and  mild."  In  this  we  may  perceive  the  secret  counsels  of 
Him,  who  calls  men  by  name,  while  as  yet  they  have  not  come  into 
being. 

Both  these  men  were  fully  sensible  that  they  were,  so  to  speak, 
the  complements  one  of  the  other,  and  that  in  the  labors  of  their  life 
they  could  not  be  separated.  Hence  the  uncontrollable  delight  of 
Luther  at  Melancthon's  first  entrance  into  Wittenberg ;  hence  too  his 
agonizing  and  answered  prayer  for  the  recovery  of  his  fellow-laborer, 
when,  in  1540,  the  latter  lay  dangerously  sick  at  Weimar.*  How 
forlorn  too  was  Melancthon's  condition  while  Luther  was  on  the 
Wartburg;  how  consolatory  and  cheering  must  Luther's  letters  to 
him  from  Coburg  have  been  during  the  Augsburg  Diet ;  and  how 
unhappy  was  he  in  the  closing  years  of  his  life  after  the  death  of 
Luther ! 

PHILIP  MELANCTHON  was  born  the  16th  of  February,  1497,  fourteen 
years  after  Luther;  he  likewise  survived  him  fourteen  years,  and  they 
both  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-three.  They  yet  show  in  Bretten,  a  small 
town  in  the  Duchy  of  Baden,  the  humble  mansion  where  he  first  saw 
the  light.  His  father  was  a  skillful  armorer,  and  a  devout  and 
upright  man.  His  maternal  grandfather,  John  Reuther,  took  charge 
of  the  boy,  and  put  him  under  the  instruction  of  John  Hungarus. 
Of  the  latter  Melancthon  wrote  :  "  I  had  a  teacher,  who  was  an  excel- 
lent grammarian,  and  who  kept  me  constantly  at  the  grammar.f 

•  Melancthon  thus  write*  of  his  convalescence:  -Ego  fuisseni  ejctinctun,  nisi  adtentu. 
Lutheri  wr  media  morte  rezoealus  cssem." 

1  "lllc  adegit  me  ad  Grammaticam,  et  ita  adegit,  ut  constructions  fcxerem  :  cogebar  red- 
dere  regvlas  construct 'ionis  per  rertus  Mantuani." 


162  PHILIP  MELANCTHON. 

Whenever  I  made  a  slip,  he  whipped  me,  but  with  mildness  and 
forbearance.  Thus  he  made  me  a  grammarian  too.  He  was  a  good- 
hearted  man  ;  he  loved  me  as  a  son,  I  him  as  a  father." 

His  grandfather  died  in  the  year  1507,  and,  eleven  days  afterward, 
his  father.  The  latter,  on  his  death-bed,  exhorted  his  son  to  the  fear 
of  God:  "I  have  witnessed  many  commotions,  but  there  are  far 
greater  to  come.  I  pray  God  that  he  would  guide  you  safely  through 
them.  Fear  God  and  do  right.'' 

Melancthon  was  now  taken,  with  his  brother,  into  the  family  of 
his  grandmother,  who  was  Reuchlin's  sister,  and  lived  in  Pforzheim. 
George  Simler,  of  Wimpfen,  whom  we  have  met  with  as  a  pupil  of 
Dringenberg's,  instructed  him  there  in  Greek.  Reuchlin,  who  was  a 
frequent  visitant  at  his  sister's,  in  Pforzheim,  was  delighted  with  the 
progress  of  the  boy,  and  gave  him  books, — among  the  rest  a  Greek 
grammar  and  a  Greek  dictionary.  He  brought  him  also,  for  sport's 
sake,  a  little  red  doctor's-cap.  And  after  the  fashion,  then  so  preva- 
lent, he  translated  his  original  name,  "Schwarzerd"  (black  earth,)  into 
the  Greek,  Melancthon. 

II.       MELANCTHON    AT    IIKIDKLBKKO. 

After  remaining  toward  two  years  at  Pforzheim,  he  was  sent  in 
1509,  at  the  age  of  twelve,*  to  the  university  of  Heidelberg.  This 
institution,  at  the  close  of  the  15th  century  and  the  commencement 
of  the  16th,  was  the  rallying  ground  of  the  most  eminent  men  of 
Germany,  those  especially  who  were  laboring  in  the  cause  of  a 
reformation  in  the  church  as  well  as  in  the  schools.  The  Elector- 
Palatine  Philip,  who  entered  upon  his  government  in  1476,  shewed 
the  utmost  concern  for  the  prosperity  of  this  university.  He  confided 
the  execution  of  his  generous  plans  principally  to  John  Kammerer,  of 
Worms,  the  Baron  of  Dalberg,  who  invited  learned  men  to  Heidel- 
berg, and  accorded  them  his  favor  and  protection.  Dalberg  was  born 
in  1445,  at  Oppenheim.  He  studied  at  Erfurt,  and  then  went  to 
Italy,  where  in  1476  he  lived  in  Ferrara  with  his  friend  Plenninger, 
and  with  Agricola.  In  1482  he  was  appointed  by  the  Elector  Philip 
his  chancellor,  and  shortly  afterward  obtained  the  rank  of  Prince 
Bishop  of  Worms.  Dalberg,  as  we  have  before  seen,  induced 
Rudolf  Agricola  to  come  to  Heidelberg;  he  it  was  too  who,  when 
John  Reuchlin  suffered  persecution  in  his  own  country,  threw  around 
him  his  most  cordial  protection ;  and  he  moreover  secured  the 

•  In  view  of  M.  l.-uici  In  Hi's  extreme  youth,  this  event  would  surprise  us,  did  we  not  consider 
that  at  that  time  much  was  tauirht  in  She  universities,  which  at  tlie  present  day  is  assigned  to 
the  upper  Classen  in  the  gymnasia;  no  ih.it  then  the  school-curriculum  was  completed  at  the 
uuivertily. 


PHILIP  MEI.ANCTHON.  163 

installation  of  Reuchlin's  brother,  Dionysius,  as  professor  of  the  Greek 
language  at  the  university.  About  the  same  time  Wimpheling,  that 
ardent  scholar  of  Dringenberg's,  taught  at  Heidelberg.  Conrad 
Celtes  too,  the  first  German  poet  who  was  honored  with  a  crown,* 
came  thither  while  on  his  travels  through  Germany  and  Italy ;  and 
at  his  suggestion  Dalberg  founded  the  Rhenish  literary  association.! 
But,  when  Melancthon  came  to  Heidelberg,  most  of  these  above- 
named  excellent  men  had,  it  is  true,  either  removed  or  died. 
Agricola  died  in  1485,  Dalberg  in  1503,  Celtes  in  1508,  while 
professor  of  the  art  of  poetry  at  Vienna:  in  1498  John  Reuchlin  had 
returned  to  Wurtemberg,  and  Wimpheling  too  had  left  Heidelberg 
nearly  at  the  same  time. 

Melancthon  was  received  into  the  family  of  the  aged  theological 
professor,  Pallas  Spangel,  who  had  taught  here  for  thirty-three  years ; 
and  he  recounted  to  the  young  lad  many  incidents  of  the  past,  in 
which  Agricola  and  others  were  actors. 

"At  the  university,"  says  Melancthon,  "  nothing  was  placed  before 
us  but  their  babbling  dialectics  and  meagre  physics.  As  I,  however, 
had  learned  the  art  of  versifying,  I  applied  myself  to  the  poets,  and 
likewise  to  history  and  mythology.  I  read,  too,  all  the  moderns  of 
Politian's  school  whom  I  could  lay  hands  on;  and  this  was  not 
without  its  influence  upon  my  style." 

In  his  14th  year,  (loll,)  the  university  gave  Melancthon  the 
Baccalaureate  degree.  He  then  took  charge  of  the  studies  of  two 
sons  of  Count  Lowenstein,  and  sketched,  for  their  use  probably,  the 
first  outlines  of  a  grammar  of  the  Greek  language. 

By  reason  of  his  extreme  youth,  the  degree  of  Master  was  not  con- 
ferred upon  him ;  this  fact,  taken  in  connection  with  an  attack  of 
fever,  determined  him  in  1512  to  leave  Heidelberg  and  go  to 
Tubingen. 

III.       MELANCTHON    AT   TUBINGEN. 

At  that  time  the  Tubingen  university  had  been  in  existence  for 
thirty-five  years  only,  since  it  was  founded  in  1477  by  the  excellent 
Eberhard  the  Elder,  the  first  Duke  of  Wurtemberg.  The  early 
history  of  this  university  reminds  one  of  the  Middle  Ages ;  for  nomi- 
nalism and  realism  here  renewed  their  old  battles,  and  it  often  hap- 
pened that  of  two  students  occupying  the  same  room  one  was  a 
nominalist  and  the  other  a  realist.  Gabriel  Biel,  who  was  the  last 

•  He  wts  crowned  for  his  Latin  poems  upon  the  Emperor  Frederick  III.  The  coronation 
took  place  in  1191,  at  Nuremberg. 

T  Societas  literaria  RJienana.  Dalberg  was  its  president,  and  it  numbered  among  its  mem- 
ber! Pirkheiiner,  Stbastian  Brandt,  and  many  other  distinguished  men. 


164  PHILIP  MELANCTHON. 

of  the  distinguished  scholastics,  and  a  nominalist,  was  a  professor 
here. 

But  it  was  not  long  before  the  elements  of  the  new  era  began  to 
bestir  themselves.  Paul  Scriptoris,  a  Franciscan,  though  he  read 
lectures  upon  Scotus,  nevertheless  deviated  here  and  there  from  the 
teachings  of  the  church,  and  Summenhart  sought  to  base  theology 
upon  the  Bible.  Both  of  these  men  had  learned  Hebrew ;  Hikle- 
brand  too,  full  of  pious  zeal,  taught  Hebrew  and  Greek  for  the  sake 
exclusively  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 

While  these  men,  led  by  their  earnest  religious  tendencies,  were 
thus  advancing  in  the  right  direction,  there  came  to  Tubingen  in  1496 
a  man  who  was  enthusiastically  devoted  to  the  classics.  This  man 
was  Henry  Bebel,  professor  of  poetry  and  eloquence.  Polite  litera- 
ture, (politiores  literae,)  as  it  was  called,  was  first  represented  at  the 
university  in  him ;  for  before  his  coining  there  had  not  been  even  a 
place  assigned  to  it.  He  opened  a  path  for  classical  studies  in  a  bold 
and  fearless  manner,  doing  battle  with  the  monks,  who  regarded 
these  studies  as  anti-Christian.  Brassicanus,  of  Constance,  co-operated 
with  him  also.  Among  the  professors  of  law  were  George  Simler, 
already  mentioned  as  Melancthon's  teacher,  and  Naucler,  who  was 
the  author  of  a  history  of  the  world.  John  Stoffler,  a  noteworthy 
man,  became  professor  of  mathematics  and  astronomy  in  1616. 

When  the  youthful  Melancthon  came  to  Tubingen,  he  was  involved 
in  the  struggle  between  the  old  and  the  new  eras.  Bebel,  Brassica- 
nus, and  others,  whose  courses  he  attended,  were  decided  Reuchlin- 
ists;  and  to  these  he  united  himself,  since  he  was  akin  to  Reuchlin 
in  two  senses, — as  well  by  mental  affinities  as  by  the  ties  of  nature. 

He  now  strove  with  the  energy  and  ardor  of  youth  to  compass  all 
branches  of  knowledge,  both  by  learning  and  teaching.  When,  in 
1514,  in  his  17th  year,  he  was  made  a  Master,  he  lectured  on  Virgil 
and  Terence.  Two  years  later,  in  1516,  he  published  an  edition  of 
Terence,  in  which  the  verses  were  disposed  according  to  the  metre.* 
In  the  dedication  of  the  same,  (to  Geraeander,)  be  commends  the 
poet  to  youth  particularly  as  a  teacher  both  of  morals  and  of  style. 

At  the  same  time  he  went  eagerly  into  Greek,  read  Hesiod  with 
Oecolampadius,  and  translated  much  of  Plutarch  and  Lucian,  and 
the  whole  of  Aratus.  In  1518  ho  brought  out  his  Greek  grammar: 
thus  early,  in  his  21st  year,  did  he  give  indications  that  he  was 
marked  out  to  be  the  uPr -acceptor  Germaniae"  as  he  was  afterward 
familiarly  called.  On  the  death  of  Bebel,  which  took  place  in  1516, 

•  Comoediae  P.  TtTcntii  metro  numtrisyie  rettitutae.  Tub.,  1516.  It  passed  through 
•everal  edition*. 


PHILIP  MELAXCTHON. 


165 


Melancthon,  the  mere  stripling  of  nineteen,  was  invited  to  fill  his 
chair  and  teach  rhetoric;  whereupon,  he  read  lectures  on  some  works 
of  Cicero  and  six  books  of  Livy.  During  this  period  the  logic  of 
Rudolf  Agricola  made  its  appearance,  and  Melancthon  was  incited 
by  it  to  undertake  a  critical  examination  into  the  course  of  argument 
in  the  speeches  of  Demosthenes  and  Cicero.  He  likewise  cultivated 
the  acquaintance  of  Francis  Stadian,  professor  of  logic.  At  the  close 
of  his  Greek  grammar,  he  announced  "  that  he  intended,  in  conjunction 
with  a  number  of  his  friends,  Stadian  especially,  to  edit  the  works  of 
Aristotle."  "  If  Aristotle,  even  in  the  original,  is  somewhat  obscure,'' 
said  Melancthon  in  one  of  his  orations,  "  in  the  Latin  versions  he  has 
become  horribly  mutilated  and  wholly  unintelligible."  We  have  seen 
that  the  Italians  likewise,  Politian,  for  example,  went  back  to  the 
original  text  of  Aristotle,  and  were  thus  enabled  to  lay  the  axe  at  the 
root  of  the  pseudo-Aristotelism  of  the  scholastics.  Heyd,  a  clear- 
sighted author,  thus  justly  observes  in  this  connection  :  "  Melancthon 
and  Stadian,  in  editing  and  translating  Aristotle,  sought  to  bring 
about  a  reformation  in  the  sphere  of  philosophy,  similar  to  that  which 
Luther's  translation  of  the  Bible  was  designed  to  effect  in  the  sphere 
of  theology.  Men  had  become  sick  of  turbid  streams,  and  longed  to 
quench  their  thirst  at  the  pure  fountains.  The  Bible  truly  was  a 
perennial  fountain,  but  a  century  later  Francis  Bacon  directed  inquiry 
from  Aristotle,  the  teacher  of  physics  back  to  nature,  (^jtfig-,)  the 
true  original  and  source  of  physics." 

Melancthon  attended  the  mathematical  lectures  of  Stoffler  for  three 
years,  and  entertained  the  highest  respect  for  his  character.  lie 
dedicated  to  him  an  oration,  "  de  artibus  liberalibus^  that  he  delivered 
in  1517,  in  Tubingen;  and  it  was  at  Stoffler's  request  that  he 
translated  Aratus. 

He  cultivated  the  science  of  law  likewise,  and  it  would  appear  that 
he  gave  private  instruction  in  jurisprudence.  He  also  heard  medical 
lectures,  and  studied  Galen  quite  as  much  with  reference  to  the  matter 
as  to  the  style.  And  he  was  moreover  led  into  close  historical  researches, 
by  remodeling  Naucler's  history  of  the  world  for  a  new  edition.  In 
theology  there  was  not  much  to  be  learned  from  the  professors  at 
Tubingen ;  and  for  that  reason  Melancthon  soon  applied  his  own 
linguistic  attainments  to  Biblical  exegesis ;  and  he  was  much  rejoiced 
at  the  appearance  of  the  New  Testament  of  Erasmus. 

Thus  were  his  studies,  yet  in  his  early  youth,  throughout  uni- 
versal,— no  branch  of  knowledge  remaining  wholly  unfamiliar  to  him  ; 
and  by  virtue  of  this  universality,  for  which  his  remarkable  talents 
fitted  him,  he  won  for  himself  the  appellation  "Praeceptor  Germaniae." 


166  PHILIP  MELANCTHON. 

IV.       MKLANCTIION    CALLED    TO    WITTENBERG. 

Melancthon  had  spent  six  years  at  Tubingen,  when  Frederick  the 
"Wise,  in  the  year  1518,  applied  to  Reuchlin  to  provide  him  a  teacher 
of  Greek,  and  one  of  Hebrew  also,  for  the  university  of  Wittenberg. 
Reuchlin,  in  his  reply  to  the  Elector,  assured  him  that  Germany, 
hitherto  called,  and  not  without  reason,  in  other  countries,  "  barbarian  " 
and  "  brutish,"  needed  these  studies.  For  Hebrew  he  named,  by  way 
of  eminence,  Oecolampadius ;  "  where  baptized  Jews  are  not  well- 
versed  in  Latin  they  are  not  fit  persons  to  teach  Hebrew,  as  their 
knowledge  has  been  derived  more  from  use  than  from  study.''  For 
Greek,  Reuchlin  recommended  in  the  most  decided  terms  "  Master 
Philip  Schwarzerd,"  whom  "from  his  youth  up  he  himself  had 
indoctrinated  in  this  language." 

On  the  12th  of  July,  Melancthon  wrote  an  impatient  letter  to 
Reuchlin,  signifying  his  longing  to  be  delivered  from  his  "  house  of 
bondage,"  where,  occupied  in  unimportant  labors  with  boys,  lie 
himself  was  fast  becoming  a  boy  again  himself.  He  was  willing  to 
go  whither  Reuchlin  should  send  him. 

Reuchlin  was  not  long  in  answering  the  letter.  The  Elector  had 
written  him  to  have  Melancthon  come  to  Wittenberg.  "  Not  figura- 
tively," Reuchlin  continued,  "  but  in  their  literal  sense  I  address  you 
in  the  words  of  the  command  of  God  to  the  faithful  Abraham :  'Get 
thee  out  of  thy  country,  and  from  thy  kindred,  and  from  thy  father's 
house,  unto  a  land  that  I  will  show  thee.  And  I  will  make  of  thee  a 
great  nation,  and  I  will  bless  thee,  and  make  thy  name  great ;  and 
thou  shalt  be  a  blessing.'  Thus  my  spirit  prophecies  to  thee,  and  I 
hope  that  these  things  will  be  fulfilled  in  thee,  my  Philip,  my  pupil, 
and  my  consolation."  To  the  Elector,  Reuchlin  wrote :  "  Melancthon 
will  come,  and  he  will  be  an  honor  to  the  university.  For  I  know  no 
one  among  the  Germans  who  excels  him,  save  Erasmus,  of  Rotterdam, 
and  he  is  more  properly  a  Hollander.  He,  (Erasmus,)  surpasses  all 
of  us  in  Latin." 

Melancthon  now  left  Tubingen.  Simler,  his  old  teacher,  thus 
spoke  of  his  departure :  "As  many  learned  men  as  the  university  can 
boast  of,  they  are  nevertheless  none  of  them  learned  enough  to  form 
a  suitable  estimate  of  the  learning  of  him  who  is  about  to  leave  us." 
From  Augsburg  and  Nuremberg,  where  Melancthon  made  friends  of 
Pirkheimer  and  Scheurl,  he  went  to  Leipzic.  Hero  he  spent  much 
time  in  the  society  of  the  excellent  Peter  Mosellanus.  On  the  25th 
of  August,  1518,  he  entered  Wittenberg,  there  to  remain  until  the 
close  of  his  life.  There,  for  eight  and  twenty  years,  he  labored  in 
connection  with  Luther.  And  his  labors  bore  fruit  in  an  abundan 


PHILIP  MELANCTIION.  167 

harvest  of  blessings ;  for  the  ecclesiastical  movement  set  on  foot  by  these 
two  men  in  a  small  German  university  assumed  an  ever  wider  sphere, 
till  at  last  it  encircled  the  globe,  and  thus  Reuchlin's  presentiments 
were  realized. 

Luther  could  not  find  words  to  depict  the  joy  that  he  felt  at 
Melancthon's  coming.  In  a  letter  to  Spalatin,  he  expresses  his 
admiration  of  the  inaugural  speech  which  Melancthon  delivered  four 
days  after  his  arrival.  He  only  fears  that  Melancthon's  delicate  con- 
stitution may  not  bear  the  North-German  climate  and  mode  of  life.  In 
another  letter  of  this  period,  he  styles  him  "  profoundly  learned, 
thoroughly  grounded  in  Greek,  (Graecanicissimus,)  and  not  unfamiliar 
with  Hebrew."  To  Reuchlin  he  writes:  "Our  Melancthon  is  a 
wonderful  man ;  yea,  in  every  quality  of  mind  almost  above  humanity, 
and,  withal,  very  confiding  and  friendly  in  his  demeanor  toward  me." 

Thus  did  Luther,  on  his  first  acquaintance  with  Melancthon,  recog- 
nize him  as  the  man  who  was  to  prove  the  complement  of  his  own 
being,  and  to  make  possible  the  realization  of  the  great  purpose  of 

his  life. 

v.    MELANCTHON'S  ACTIVITY  IN  WITTENBERG. 

The  activity  of  Melancthon  from  this  time  on  was  extraordinary. 

What  he  did  directly  for  the  church  I  omit,  as  not  coming  within 

the  scope  of  this  work.     The  universality  displayed  in  his  youthful 

studies  accompanied  him  throughout  the  whole  of  his  life,  as  we  see 

in  the  wide  range  of  subjects  which  he  taught,  or  on  which  he  wrote. 

a.     His  Lectures, 

His  lectures  embraced  the  most  diverse  subjects.  He  read  on  the 
exegesis  of  the  New  Testament ;  a  while  also  on  that  of  the  Old, 
besides  dogmatics.  At  the  same  time  he  gave  critical  interpretations 
of  many  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  classics.  To  these  were  added 
lectures  on  ethics,  logic,  and  physics.  From  his  writings  we  may 
perceive  what  a  union  of  depth  and  clearness  he  displayed  in  the 
treatment  of  his  subjects;  and  this  accounts  for  the  homage  and 
the  admiration  of  his  hearers.  Their  number  reached  at  times  as 
high  as  two  thousand.  They  were  composed  of  all  ranks,  and  not 
Germans  alone,  but  also  Frenchmen,  Englishmen,  Poles,  Hungarians, 
Danes,  yea,  even  Italians  and  Greeks  flocked  to  hear  him.  And  what 
distinguished  men  too  were  formed  under  bis  teachings!  Among 
them  we  may  include  those  highly  renowned  schoolmasters,  Joachim 
Camerarius,  Valentine  Trotzendorf,  and  Michael  Neander.  All  three 
loved  him  to  their  dying  day  with  a  depth  of  devotedness  that  they 
could  not  express ;  and  his  doctrines  they  held  sacred  and  worthy  of 
lasting  remembrance. 


168  PHILIP  MELANCTHON. 

b.     His  Personal  Relations  to  the  Students. 

But  that  devotedness  was  not  merely  the  fruit  of  Melancthon's 
lectures ;  it  proceeded  rather  from  the  affectionate  manner  that  he 
displayed  toward  the  students  individually.  "It  was  a  part,"  so 
Camerarius  tells  us,  "of  Melancthon's  household  arrangements,  never 
to  deny  himself  to  any  one.  Many  came  to  him  for  letters  of  recom- 
mendation; many  for  him  to  revise  their  essays.  Some  sought  his 
counsel  in  their  embarrassments ;  others  told  him  of  incidents  that 
had  befallen  them,  either  in  private  or  in  public,  provided  they  were 
such  as  merited  his  attention ;  others  again  brought  this  or  that 
complaint  before  him."  "I  can  assure  you,  of  a  truth,''  said  Melanc- 
thon  in  an  academical  oration,  "  that  I  embrace  all  the  students  with 
the  love  and  the  interest  of  a  father,  and  am  deeply  affected  by  every 
thing  that  menaces  them  with  danger." 

c.     What  he  did  for  the  School-System. 

Another  phase  of  Melancthon's  educational  activity  may  be  seen  in 
his  relation  to  schools.  For  he  was  often  and  in  various  ways 
appealed  to  for  counsel  in  school  matters.  Especially  noteworthy  in 
this  connection  is  his  correspondence  with  Hieronymus  Baumgartner, 
of  Nuremberg.  The  occasion  was  as  follows:  The  Nurembergers 
had  resolved  to  establish  a  gymnasium,  induced  thereto  chiefly  by 
the  solicitations  of  the  excellent  Lazarus  Spengler.  And  Melancthon 
was  formally  invited  through  Baumgartner  to  become  its  rector.  In 
his  reply  to  Baumgartner  he  declines,  because  in  the  first  place  he 
can  not  leave  Wittenberg  without  being  ungrateful  to  the  Elector ; 
and  again,  he  is  not  adapted  by  his  previous  training  for  such  a 
position.  It  requires  a  man  who  is  a  practiced  rhetorician,  and 
therefore  able  with  a  master's  hand  to  mold  the  young  to  rhetorical 
perfection.  To  this  he  is  in  no  wise  adapted,  for  his  style  is  bare  and 
dry,  with  no  elegance  in  it,  in  fact  altogether  scant  and  devoid  of  sap  ; 
whereas  the  diction  of  a  teacher  of  a  gymnasium  should  be  rich  and 
full  of  grace.  Reuchlin  had  sent  him,  when  on  the  threshold  of  man- 
hood, to  Saxony,  where  he  first  set  about  a  thorough  cultivation  of 
many  branches,  self-impelled  and  self-directed  thereto,  for  his  previous 
school-education  had  been  but  poor. 

The  Nurembergers,  as  might  have  been  anticipated,  did  not  take 
Melancthon's  estimate  of  himself  in  earnest,  but,  believing  it  to  be  the 
result  of  an  overweening  modesty,  repeated  their  invitation  through 
Baumgartner  again.  Melancthon  now  replied  decidedly  that  he 
could  not  come.  But,  on  his  suggestion,  Hessus  and  Camerarius  were 
applied  to.  Sigismund  Gelenius  likewise,  a  learned  Bohemian,  then 
living  at  Basle,  was  invited  by  Melancthon  himself  to  become  one  of 


PHILIP  MELANCTHON.  169 

the  teachers.  lu  the  letter  of  invitation  Melancthon  tells  him  "that 
the  new  institution  was  designed  to  furnish  a  full  course  of  instruction 
from  the  elements  up  to  rhetoric.  Mathematics  too  was  to  receive 
attention."  Subsequently  Melancthon  was  urged  by  the  civic 
authorities  of  Nuremberg  to  take  part  in  the  inauguration  of  the 
gymnasium.  (His  letter  of  acceptance  was  dated  on  the  10th  of 
March,  1526,  and  he  went  to  Nuremberg  on  the  6th  of  May.)  He 
there  delivered  a  speech,  in  which  he  praised  the  Nurembergers  for 
the  spirit  they  displayed  in  providing  means  of  education  for  the 
young,  and  he  compared  their  city  to  Florence.  In  the  year  1826,  on 
the  third  centennial  anniversary  of  the  opening  of  the  gymnasium,  a 
statue  of  Melancthon  was  erected  in  front  of  the  buildinf. 

°  X 

And  as  by  the  Nurembergers,  so  from  many  other  quarters  was  \ 
Melancthon's  advice  solicited,  in  the  affairs  both  of  schools  and  uni- 
versities. But  the  event  of  his  life  that  was  attended  with  the  most 
important  consequences  upon  the  school-system  was  his  visitation,  in  i 
1527,  of  churches  and  schools,  undertaken  by  order  of  the  Elector, 
John  the  Constant,  and  through  the  influence  of  Luther.  The  field 
assigned  him  was  Thuringia,  and,  in  company  with  Myconius  and 
Justus  Jonas,  he  traveled  over  the  whole  of  it;  and,  in  1528,  likewise 
by  order  of  the  Elector,  he  published  his  "  Report,"  or  "  Book  of 
Visitation,"  a  work  of  great  significance  alike  to  church  and  to  schools. 
Through  its  means  an  evangelical  church-system  was  established  for 
the  first  time  independent  of  the  Pope,  and  asserting  its  own  authority 
both  in  the  matter  of  doctrine  and  of  government.  Soon  other  states 
followed  the  example  of  Saxony. 

From  the  "  Book  of  Visitation  "  we  extract  the  following 

SCHOOL-PLAN.* 

Preachers  also  should  exhort  the  people  of  their  charge  to  send  their  children 
to  school,  so  that  they  may  be  trained  up  to  teach  sound  doctrine  in  the  church, 
and  to  serve  the  state  in  a  wise  and  able  manner.  Some  imagine  that  it  is  enough 
for  a  teacher  to  understand  German.  But  this  is  a  misguided  fancy.  For  he, 
who  is  to  teach  others,  must  have  great  practice  and  special  aptitude ;  to  gain  this, 
he  must  have  studied  much,  and  from  his  youth  up.  For  St.  Paul  tells  us,  in  1 
Tim.,  3 :  2,  that  a  bishop  must  be  "apt  to  teach."  And  herein  he  would  have  us 
infer  that  bishops  must  possess  this  quality  in  greater  measure  than  laymen.  So 
also  he  commends  Timothy,  (1  Tim.,  4:  6,)  in  that  he  has  learned  from  his  youth 
up,  having  been  "  nourished  up  in  the  words  of  faith,  and  of  good  doctrine."  For 
this  is  no  small  art,  namely,  to  teach  and  direct  others  in  a  clear  and  correct 
manner,  and  it  is  impossible  that  unlearned  men  should  attain  to  it.  Nor  do  we 
need  able  and  skillful  persons  for  the  church  alone,  but  for  the  government  of  the 
world  too;  and  God  requires  it  at  our  hands.  Hence  parents  should  place  their 
children  at  school,  in  order  there  to  arm  and  equip  them  for  God's  service,  so  that 
God  can  use  them  for  the  good  of  others. 

But  in  our  day  there  are  many  abuses  in  children's  schools.  And  it  is  that 
these  abuses  may  be  corrected,  and  that  the  young  may  have  good  instruction, 
that  we  have  prepared  this  plan.  In  the  first  place,  the  teachers  must  be  careful 

*  This  plan  appears  likewise  in  Luther's  works. 


170  PHILIP  MELANCTIION. 

to  teach  the  children  Latin  only,  not  German,  nor  Greek,  nor  Hebrew,  as  some 
have  heretofore  done,  burdening  the  poor  children  with  such  a  multiplicity  of 
pursuits,  that  arc  not  only  unproductive,  but  positively  injurious.  Such  school- 
masters, xve  plainly  see,  do  not  think  of  the  improvement  of  the  children  at  all, 
but  undertake  so  many  languages, solely  to  increase  their  own  reputation.  In  the 
second  place,  teachers  should  not  burden  the  children  with  too  many  books,  but 
should  rather  avoid  a  needless  variety.  Thirdly,  it  is  indispensable  that  the 
children  be  classified  into  distinct  groups. 

THE  FIRST  GROUP. — The  first  group  should  consist  of  those  children  who  are 
•  learning  to  read.  With  these  the  following  method  is  to  be  adopted :  They  are 
first  to  be  taught  the  child's-manual,  containing  the  alphabet,  the  creed,  the  Lord's 
prayer,  and  other  prayers.  When  they  have  learned  this,  Donatus  and  Cato  may 
both  be  given  them ;  Donatus  for  a  reading-book,  and  Cato  they  may  explain 
after  the  following  manner :  the  schoolmaster  must  give  them  the  explanation 
of  a  verse  or  two,  and  then  in  a  few  hours  call  upon  them  to  repeat  what  he  has 
thus  said  ;  and  in  this  way  they  will  learn  a  great  number  of  Latin  words,  and 
lay  up  a  full  store  of  phrases  to  use  in  speech.  In  this  they  should  be  exercised 
until  they  can  read  well.  Neither  do  we  consider  it  time  lost,  if  the  feebler 
children,  who  are  not  especially  quick-witted,  should  read  Cato  and  Donatus  not 
once  only,  but  a  second  time.  With  this  they  should  be  taught  to  write,  and  be 
required  to  shew  their  writing  to  the  schoolmaster  every  day.  Another  mode 
of  enlarging  their  knowledge  of  Latin  words  is  to  give  them  every  afternoon  some 
words  to  commit  to  memory,  as  has  been  the  custom  in  schools  hitherto.  These 
children  must  likewise  be  kept  at  music,  and  be  made  to  sing  with  the  others,  as 
we  shall  show,  God  willing,  further  on. 

THE  SECOND  GROUP. — The  second  group  consists  of  children  who  have  learned 
V  to  read,  and  are  now  ready  to  go  into  grammar.  With  these  the  following  regu- 
lations should  be  observed  :  The  first  hour  after  noon  every  day  all  the  children, 
large  and  small,  should  be  practiced  in  music.  Then  the  schoolmaster  must 
interpret  to  the  second  group  the  fables  of  JEanp.  After  vespers,  he  should 
^explain  to  them  the  Paedology  of  Mosellanus ;  and,  when  this  is  finished,  he  should 
select  from  the  Colloquies  of  Erasmus  some  that  may  conduce  to  their  improvement 
and  discipline.  This  should  be  repeated  on  the  next  evening  also.  When  the 
children  are  about  to  go  home  for  the  night,  some  short  sentence  may  be  given 
them,  taken  perhaps  from  a  poet,  which  they  are  to  repeat  the  next  morning; 
such  as  "Amicus  certus  in  re  incerta  cernitur." — A  true  friend  becomes  manifest 
in  adversity.  Or  "Fortuna,  quern  tiimium  fovet,  sliiltnm  /oci<." — Fortune,  if 
she  fondles  a  man  too  much,  makes  him  a  fool.  Or  this  from  Ovid  :  "Vulgug 
amicitias  utilitate  probat." — The  rabble  value  friendships  by  the  profit  they  yield. 

In  the  morning  the  children  are  again  to  explain  Jfisop's  fables.  With  this  the 
teacher  should  decline  some  nouns  or  verbs,  many  or  few,  easy  or  difficult, 
according  to  the  progress  of  the  children,  and  then  ask  them  the  rules  and  the 
reasons  for  such  inflection.  And  at  the  same  time  when  they  shall  have  learned 
the  rules  of  construction,  they  should  be  required  to  construe,  (parse,)  as  it  is 
called  ;  this  is  a  very  useful  exercise,  and  yet  there  are  not  many  who  employ  it. 
After  the  children  have  thus  learned  ^Esop,  Terence  is  to  be  given  to  them  ;  and 
this  they  must  commit  to  memory,  for  they  will  now  be  older,  and  able  to  work 
harder.  Still  the  master  must  be  cautious,  lest  he  overtask  them.  Next  after 
Terence,  the  children  may  take  hold  of  such  of  the  comedies  of  Plautus  as  are 
harmless  in  their  tendency,  as  the  Anlitlurui.  the  Trinummtif,  the  Pseudolus,  etc. 

The  hour  before  mid-day  must  be  invariably  and  exclusively  devoted  to  instruc- 
tion in  grammar :  first  etymology,  then  syntax,  and  lastly  prosody.  And  when 
the  teacher  has  gone  thus  far  through  with  the  grammar,  hu  should  begin  it 
again,  and  so  on  continually,  that  the  children  may  understand  it  to  perfection. 
For  if  there  is  negligence  here,  there  is  neither  certainty  nor  stability  in  whatever 
is  learned  beside.  And  the  children  should  learn  by  heart  and  repeat  all  the 
rules,  so  that  they  may  be  driven  and  forced,  as  it  were,  to  learn  the  grammar 
well. 

If  such  labor  is  irksome  to  the  schoolmaster,  as  we  often  see,  then  we  should 
dismiss  him,  and  get  another  in  his  place, — one  who  will  not  shrink  from  the  duty 
of  keeping  his  pupils  constantly  in  the  grammar.  For  no  greater  injury  can  befall 
learning  and  the  arts,  than  for  youth  to  grow  up  in  ignorance  of  grammar. 


PHILIP  MEIANCTHOM.  1"71 

Tliis  course  should  be  repeated  daily,  by  the  week  together ;  nor  should  we  by 
any  means  give  children  a  different  book  to  study  each  day.  However,  one  day, 
for  instance,  Sunday  or  Wednesday,  should  be  set  apart,  in  which  the  children 
may  receive  Christian  instruction.  For  some  are  suffered  to  learn  nothing  in  the 
Holy  Scriptures ;  and  some  masters  there  are  who  teach  children  nothing  but  tho 
Scriptures;  both  of  which  extremes  must  be  avoided.  For  it  is  essential  that 
children  be  taught  the  rudiments  of  the  Christian  and  divine  life.  So  likewise 
there  are  many  reasons  why,  with  the  Scriptures,  other  books  too  should  be  laid 
before  them,  out  of  which  they  may  learn  to  read.  And  in  this  matter  we 
propose  the  following  method :  Let  the  schoolmaster  hear  the  whole  group, 
making  them,  one  after  the  other,  repeat  the  Lord's  prayer,  the  creed,  and  the  ten 
commandments.  But  if  the  group  is  too  large,  it  may  be  divided,  so  that  one 
week  one  part  may  recite,  and  the  remaining  part  the  next. 

After  one  recitation,  the  master  should  explain  in  a  simple  and  correct  manner 
the  Lord's  prayer,  after  the  next  the  creed,  and  at  another  time  the  ten  com- 
mandments. And  he  should  impress  upon  the  children  the  essentials,  such  as  the  , 
fear  of  God,  faith,  and  good  works.  He  must  not  touch  upon  polemics,  nor  must 
he  accustom  the  children  to  scoff  at  monks  or  any  other  persons,  as  many 
unskillful  teachers  use  to  do. 

With  this  the  schoolmaster  may  give  the  boys  some  plain  psalms  to  commit  to 
memory,  which  comprehend  the  sum  and  substance  of  the  Christian  life,  which 
inculcate  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  faith,  and  good  works.  As  the  112th  Psalm, 
"  Blessed  is  the  man  that  feareth  the  Lord ;"  the  34th,  "  I  will  bless  the  Lord  at 
all  times ;"  the  128th,  "  Blessed  is  every  one  that  feareth  the  Lord,  that  walketh 
in  his  ways;"  the  125th,  "They  that  trust  in  the  Lord  shall  be  as  Mount  Zion, 
which  can  not  be  removed,  but  abideth  forever;"  the  127th,  "Except  the  Lord 
build  the  house,  they  labor  in  vain  that  build  it;"  the  133d,  "Behold  how  good 
and  how  pleasant  it  is  for  brethren  to  dwell  together  in  unity !"  or  other  such 
plain  and  intelligible  psalms,  which  likewise  should  be  expounded  in  the  briefest 
and  most  correct  manner  possible,  so  that  the  children  may  know,  both  the 
substance  of  what  they  have  learned  and  where  -to  find  it. 

On  this  day  too  the  teacher  should  give  a  grammatical  exposition  of  Matthew ; 
and,  when  he  has  gone  through  with  it,  he  should  commence  it  anew.  But, 
when  the  boys  are  somewhat  more  advanced,  he  may  comment  upon  the  two 
epistles  of  Paul  to  Timothy,  or  the  1st  Epistle  of  John,  or  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon. 
But  teachers  must  not  undertake  any  other  books.  For  it  is  not  profitable  to 
burden  the  young  with  deep  and  difficult  books  as  some  do.  who,  to  add  to  their 
own  reputation,  read  Isaiah,  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  St.  John's  Gospel,  and 
others  of  a  like  nature. 

THE  Tumi)  GROUP. — Now,  when  these  children  have  been  well  trained  in 
grammar,  those  among  them  who  have  made  the  greatest  proficiency  should  be 
taken  out,  and  formed  into  the  third  group.  The  hour  after  mid-day  they,  together 
with  the  rest,  are  to  devote  to  music.  After  this  the  teacher  is  to  give  an  explana- 
tion of  Virgil.  When  he  has  finished  this,  he  may  take  up  Ovid's  Metamorphoses, 
and  in  the  latter  part  of  the  afternoon  Cicero's  "  Offices,"  or  "  Letters  to  Friends." 
In  the  morning  Virgil  may  be  reviewed,  and  the  teacher,  to  keep  up  practice  in 
the  grammar,  may  call  for  constructions  and  inflections,  and  point  out  the 
prominent  figures  of  speech. 

The  hour  before  mid-day,  grammar  should  still  be  kept  up,  that  the  scholars 
may  be  thoroughly  versed  therein.  And  when  they  are  perfectly  familiar  with  ety- 
mology and  syntax,  then  prosody  (metrica)  should  be  opened  to  them,  so  that 
they  can  thereby  become  accustomed  to  make  verses.  For  this  exercise  is  a  very 
great  help  toward  understanding  the  writings  of  others ;  and  it  likewise  gives  the 
boys  a  rich  fund  of  words,  and  renders  them  accomplished  many  ways.  In  course 
of  time,  after  they  have  been  sufficiently  practiced  in  the  grammar,  this  same  hour 
is  to  be  given  to  logic  and  rhetoric.  The  boys  in  the  second  and  third  groups  are 
to  be  required  every  week  to  write  compositions,  either  in  the  form  of  letters  or 
of  verses.  They  should  also  be  rigidly  confined  to  Latin  conversation,  and  to  this 
end  the  teachers  themselves  must,  as  far  as  possible,  speak  nothing  but  Latin  with 
the  boys ;  thus  they  will  acquire  the  practice  by  use,  and  the  more  rapidly  for  the 
incentives  held  out  to  them. 

Thus  much  for  schools.     We  have  here  the  yet  crude  beginnings 


172  PHILIP  MELANCTHON. 

of  a  high-school  system,  without  any  thorough  organization  or  well- 
regulated  activity.     These,  it  remained  for  Trotzendorf  and  Sturm  to 

develop. 

d.     Melancthon'a  Manuals. 

/  His  influence  upon  schools  was  very  widely  diffused  by  means  of 
his  manuals,  which  were  universally  introduced  into  use,  and  were 
perpetuated  through  many  editions.  He  wrote  a  Greek  and  a  Latin 
grammar,  two  manuals  of  logic,  one  of  rhetoric,  one  of  ethics,  and  one 
of  physics. 

These  manuals  are  characterized  by  great  clearness  of  expression : 
it  was  a  matter  of  great  moment  with  Melancthon,  by  means  of 
concise  and  clear  definitions  and  a  well-ordered  arrangement,  to  make 
himself  as  intelligible  as  possible.  Confused  sentiments,  and  obscure 
language,  whose  sense  we  vainly  perplex  ourselves  to  get  at,  these 
were  Melancthon's  abhorrence. 

The  Greek  Grammar. — An  edition  of  the  year  1542  lies  before 
me.*  In  the  preface  Melancthon  says  :  "  He  has  often  wished  that  his 
little  work  on  Greek  grammar  had  perished,  because  he  wrote  it 
while  yet  scarcely  out  of  boyhood,  for  the  use  of  the  boys  whom  he 
had  under  his  charge.  And  indeed  it  Avould  have  perished  had  not 
the  bookseller  constrained  him  to  repeat  the  foolish  action,  (dcnuo 
ineptire^  and  to  rebuild  the  old  ruins.  He  has  accordingly  critically 
revised  the  whole,  altering  it  and  improving  it."  The  grammar  is 
simple  and  clear,  but  it  does  not  include  syntax ;  it  ends  with  the 
paradigms  of  the  verbs  in  jw.f 

The  Latin  Grammar. — Melancthon  wrote  this  originally  for  his 
pupil,  Erasmus  Ebner,  of  Nuremberg.  Goldstein,  afterward  recorder 
of  the  town  of  Halle,  issued  it,  as  he  tells  us  himself  in  the  preface, 
against  Melancthon's  wish,  in  1525.  In  the  edition  of  1542  there  is 
a  letter  of  Melancthon  to  the  Frankfort  bookseller,  Egenolph.  "  In 
the  first  edition  of  my  grammar,"  he  writes,  "there  were  various 
omissions.  These  may  be  supplied ;  yet  there  should  not  be  too 
many  rules,  lest  their  number  prove  discouraging  to  the  learner." 
He  then  expresses  his  confidence  that  Micyllus,  whom  he  has  prevailed 
upon  to  prepare  an  improved  edition,  will,  in  virtue  of  his  learning 
and  good  judgment,  adopt  the  right  method.  Next,  he  launches  into 
a  panegyric  of  grammar,  especially  of  its  usefulness  to  the  theologian. 
"  How  important  it  is,"  he  says,  "  to  the  church,  that  boys  be 
thoroughly  disciplined  in  the  languages!  Inasmuch  as  the  purity  of 

"  Grammaticagraf.cn  Ph.  Mclancthonit  jam  novissime  recognifa  atque  multis  in  loci»  lo- 
ctijtletata.  Prancofurti ,  XMI. 

t  The  commentaries  on  syntax  lie  Bent  in  manuscript  lo  Count  Nuenar,  but  they  were  not 
printed. 


PHILIP  MELANCTHON.  173 

the  divine  teachings  can  not  be  maintained  without  learning,  and 
weighty  controversies  can  only  be  settled  by  a  determination  of  the 
meaning  of  words,  and  a  wide  range  of  well-chosen  expressions  is 
indispensable  to  a  correct  construction ;  therefore  what  will  a  teacher 
in  the  church  be,  if  he  does  not,  understand  grammar,  other  than  a 
silent  mask,  or  a  shameless  bawler  ?  He  who  does  not  understand 
the  mode  of  speech  of  God's  word  can  not  love  it  either.  Ignoti 
nulla  cupido  is  a  true  maxim.  But  how  can  he  be  a  good  teacher  in 
the  church  who  neither  loves  the  heavenly  doctrine,  nor  yet  under- 
stands it,  nor  is  able  to  explain  it  ?  Neglect  of  grammar  lias  recoiled 
upon  our  own  heads,  in  that  through  the  means  the  monks  have 
palmed  oft'  upon  the  church  and  the  schools  spurious  wares  for  genu- 
ine. Hence  princes  should  have  a  care  to  maintain  learning ;  we 
observe,  however,  that  a  very  few  do  it.  And  cities  too  should  strive 
to  uphold  and  protect  these  studies,  that  embellish  not  only  the 
church  but  the  whole  of  life."  In  conclusion  he  exhorts  youth  to 
a  diligent  study  of  grammar. 

This  letter  of  Melancthon's  is  dated  in  1540.  It  was  also  printed 
with  the  edition  of  the  grammar  which  Camerarius  brought  out  in 
1550.  To  the  second  part  of  this  grammar,  or  the  syntax,  there  is 
prefixed  a  preface  addressed  to  the  son  of  Justus  Jonas.  It  is  written 
against  those  who  think  to  become  philologists  merely  through  the 
perusal  of  the  classics,  without  grammatical  studies.  Such  persons  will 
never  be  rooted  and  grounded.  Their  false  view  proceeds  from  a 
repugnance  to  the  restraint  of  rules, — a  repugnance  that  by  and  by 
will  degenerate  into  a  dangerous  contempt  of  all  law  and  order. 

The  following  is  the  history  of  this  edition  of  Melancthon 'g 
grammar :  Camerarius  requested  Melancthon,  on  behalf  of  the  book- 
seller, Papst,  in  Leipzic,  that  he  would  authorize  the  latter  to  bring 
out  a  new  edition.  Melancthon  acceded  to  the  request  in  the  most 
friendly  manner,  and  signified  his  approval,  in  advance,  of  all  the 
emendations  and  additions  which  Camerarius  should  make.  In  his 
preface,  Camerarius  thus  speaks  of  the  additions:  "They  will  not 
merely  profit  the  scholar,  but  they  will  likewise  assist  the  teacher." 
The  opinion  that  Schenk,  who  lectured  on  Latin  grammar  at  Leip/.ic, 
expressed  of  this  work,  will  doubtless  appear  to  most  of  us  somewhat 
exaggerated.  "  This  little  book  has  now  attained  to  that  perfection 
that  there  appears  to  be  nothing  deficient  in  it,  nor  can  there  here- 
after be  any  thing  added  to  it ;  and  accordingly  it  will  ever  continue  to 
be,  as  it  now  is,  the  sum  of  all  perfection,  neither  to  be  altered  nor 
remodeled." 

The  distinguished  Ilefeld.  rector,  Michael  Neander,  did  not  assent 

No.  12.— [VoL.  IV.,  No.  3.]— 48. 


174  PHILIP  MELANCTHON. 

to  this  view,  as  far  as  it  referred  to  the  utility  of  Camerarius'  book  as 
a  school-grammar.  He  published  an  edition  himself,  with  this  title, 
namely,  "The  Latin  grammar  of  Ph.  Melancthon,  delivered  with 
brevity,  ease,  and  clearness,  in  the  compass  of  a  few  pages,  yet  in  such 
a  manner  as  not  only  to  give  Melancthon's  language,  but  his  method 
in  the  smaller  grammar  and  smaller  syntax,  that  first  and  oldest 
manual,  which  is  most  admirably  adapted  to  the  learner,  and  which 
more  than  any  other  has  been  used  in  all  our  German  schools."  He 
moreover  assures  us  on  the  title-page  that  boys  can  learn  every  thing  that 
is  necessary  to  the  understanding  of  Latin,  out  of  this  grammar,  in  a 
few  months.  In  the  preface,  Neander  explains  the  object  of  his  work 
more  distinctly.  He  says,  since  he  has  observed  that  boys  are 
burdened  by  a  multitude  of  rules  and  examples,  and  since  this  diffuse- 
ness  is  moreover  unsuitable  to  teachers,  therefore  he  has  made  this 
abridgment  of  Melancthon's  grammar.  It  is  so  concise  that  the 
scholar  should  be  required  to  learn  it  all  thoroughly ;  then  he  can 
read,  compare,  and  exercise  himself  in  Melancthon's  own  admirable 
grammars,  both  the  smaller  and  the  larger ;  nay,  he  may  then  read 
and  digest  the  remarks  and  illustrations  which  have  been  incorporated 
into  the  larger  grammar  of  Melancthon  by  a  very  learned  man,*  and 
which  swell  the  book  to  twice  or  three  times  its  original  size. 
Camerarius'  edition  of  Melancthon's  grammar  contains  507  pages, 
Neander's  but  130.  It  is  evident  that  both  Camerarius  and  Micyllus 
before  him  neglected  Melancthon's  warning  against  discouraging  the 
pupil  by  too  great  diffuseness.  While  they  designed  their  grammars 
not  for  scholars  alone,  but  also  for  teachers,  as  Camerarius  claims  in 
so  many  words  in  the  title  of  his  book,  and  thus  aimed  at  complete- 
ness and  perfection,  it  happened  that  their  labor  was  lost  as  far  as 
school-instruction  was  concerned.  Neander's  simplification,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  sure  to  meet  with  the  general  approval  of  school- 
teachers ;  for  they  must  needs  feel  ever  more  deeply  that  there  is  a 
heaven-wide  difference  between  a  grammar  for  beginners  and  one  for 
learned  philologists, — a  difference  as  great  as  that  between  the  cate- 
chism and  a  learned  and  profound  treatise  on  doctrinal  theology. 
Every  intermingling  of  these  distinct  and  different  objects  results  in 
hybrid  grammars,  which  are  too  advanced  for  the  learner  and  too 
simple  for  the  teacher.  It  is  evident  from  Neander's  preface  that 
Melancthon's  grammar  held  the  chief  place  in  the  schools  of  Germany 
in  the  last  half  of  the  16th  century.  Yet  the  precise  and  critical 
Strobel  enumerates,  between  the  years  1525  and  1727,  no  fewer  than 
fifty-one  editions,  more  or  less  altered  from  the  original.  But 

*  Camerariui. 


PHILIP  MELANCTHOJI.  j  75 

notwithstanding,  its  influence  can  be  traced  even  to  our  time.  For 
example,  that  very  useful  book,  the  larger  " grammutica  Marchica" 
strikingly  coincides  with  Melancthon's,  both  in  the  general  arrange- 
ment and  in  the  treatment  of  the  parts ;  and  the  phraseology  of  the 
two  is  often  alike,  in  definitions,  rules  of  syntax  and  the  like.  Again, 
Otto  Schulz,  in  the  preface  to  his  complete  Latin  grammar,  which 
appeared  in  1825,  says:  "In  respect  to  my  method,  I  have  designed 
to  follow  as  closely  as  possible  the  larger  Mark  grammar,  whose  main 
features  all  teachers  concur  in  approving."  A  history  of  grammars, 
from  Donatus  to  Zumpt  and  Schulz,  would  be  a  most  interesting  book. 
How  characteristic  even  are  the  various  definitions  of  the  word 
"grammar,"  which  have  been  given  in  different  periods !  Melancthon 
defines  it  thus :  "  Grammar  is  an  exact  method  of  speaking  and 
writing.''  The  Mark  grammar  of  1728,  in  essential  agreement  with 
this  definition,  says :  "Grammar  is  the  art  of  speaking  and  writing 
correctly."  Otto  Schulz,  on  the  other  hand,  has  it  thus :  "  Latin 
grammar  is  a  guide  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Latin  tongue ;  it  shows 
how  the  universal  laws  of  language  should  be  applied  in  the  special 
instance  of  Latin."  Lastly,  Kiihner  thus  defines  it :  "  Grammar  is  the 
guide  to  a  correct  understanding  of  a  language,  through  its  words  and 
forms  of  speech."  In  these  definitions  we  may  perceive  what  progress 
has  been  made  since  1728,  from  a  practical  treatment  of  the  ancient 
languages,  according  to  the  art  of  speaking  and  writing,  to  a  theoreti- 
cal, whose  aim  is  by  means  of  science  to  attain  to  a  perfect  under- 
standing of  the  same. 

But  let  us  return  to  Melancthon  and  his  manuals. 

The  Manual  of  Logic. — The  first  edition  of  this  work  appeared  in 
1520,  an  enlarged  and  improved  edition  in  1527,  a  third  in  1529; 
this  latter  is  dedicated  to  William  Reiffenstein.  The  book,  Melanc- 
thon says,  is  designed  to  assist  in  a  better  understanding  of  Aristotle. 
It  was  followed  by  a  second  treatise  upon  the  same  subject,  the 
"Erotemata  Dialeclices"  the  principal  portion  of  which  he  composed 
in  the  unfortunate  year  1547.  The  dedication,  addressed  to  John, 
son  of  Joachim  Camerarius,  bears  date,  September  1st,  1547  ;  by  the 
18th  of  October,  the  same  year,  three  thousand  copies  were  disposed  of. 

This  dedication  touches  upon  the  point  above  adverted  to  as  having 
been  discussed  in  the  preface  to  the  "Syntax,"  namely,  "Whether 
logic  is  indispensable  to  every  one,  inasmuch  as  we  find  its  absence 
atoned  for  in  many  instances  by  a  strong,  native  common  sense  ?" 
The  reply  is  that  it  is  a  necessary  art,  since  it  teaches  men  of  mod- 
erate capacities,  and  is  a  help  to  them,  while  on  the  other  hand  the 
more  gifted  are  controlled  by  it,  and  kept  within  bounds,  and  are  led 


176  PHILIP  MELANCTHON. 

to  seek  after  truth  and  to  prize  truth  alone.  Then  he  pronounces 
judgment  against  those  who  decry  logic.  "  Even  as  there  are  many 
men  of  unbridled  passions  who  hate  the  restraints  of  moral  law,  so 
there  are  those  who  can  not  abide  the  rules  of  art.  Dialectics,  as 
hitherto  taught  by  the  school-men,  had,  to  be  sure,  fallen  into 
contempt ;  however,  this  was  because  it  was  not  veritable  art,  but  only 
the  shadow  of  an  art,  and  entangled  men  amid  endless  labyrinthine 
mazes.  But,"  he  continues,  "I  present  here  a  true,  pure  and 
unsophisticated  logic,  just  as  we  have  received  it  from  Aristotle  and 
some  of  his  judicious  commentators."  He  then  proceeds  to  show  the 
necessity  of  logic  in  order  to  a  correct  statement  and  determination 
of  the  doctrines  of  the  church ;  its  abuse  by  heretical  teachers  ought 
not  to  deter  us  from  its  right  use.  He  urges  those,  who  have  the 
capacity,  to  read  Aristotle  himself,  and  that  in  the  Greek ;  but  adds, 
that  it  will  be  of  service  first  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  elements, 
in  order  to  understand  him  the  more  readily. 

Manual  of  Rhetoric. — The  first  edition  appeared  in  1619,  under  the 
title  "De  Rketorica  .Libri  tres. — Wittenberg,  lo.  Grunenberg."  The 
dedication  to  Bernard  Maurus  was  written  in  January,  1519;  and 
treats,  among  other  things,  of  the  relation  of  rhetoric  to  logic.  The 
later  edition  was  dedicated  in  the  year  1531  to  the  brothers  Reiffen- 
stein.  Says  Melancthon  in  this  dedication,  'whereas  he  had  been 
compelled  to  speak  against  corrupt  logicians,  the  case  was  far  different 
with  rhetoric.  Upon  rhetoric  no  one  had  written  but  eminent  men, 
as  for  instance  Cicero  and  Quintilian.  And  his  rhetoric  was  designed 
to  be  an  elementary  guide  to  the  understanding  of  their  writings.  In 
those  they  (the  brothers  Reiffenstein)  might  perceive  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  art  of  eloquence,  and  not  fall  into  the  delusion  that 
many  self-conceited  blockheads  indulge,  namely,  that  those  have 
reached  the  very  pitch  and  perfection  of  eloquence  who  have  learned 
how  to  indite  a  letter.  But  eloquence  is  rather  to  be  ranked  among 
the  highest  accomplishments,  and  involves  extensive  learning,  great 
talents,  long  practice,  and  a  keen  judgment.  Rhetoric  is  closely  allied 
to  logic,  and  one  can  not  be  comprehended  without  the  other.' 

Manual  of  Physios. — I  shall  speak  at  greater  length  of  this  book, 
when  I  come  to  describe  the  pre-Baconian  realism.*  Melancthon's 
pious  and  sensible  manner  of  contemplating  nature  will  be  clearly  set 
forth,  as  well  from  passages  in  this  manual  as  from  his  preface  to 
Saerobusto's  work  on  the  Sphere. 

Manual  of  Ethics. — 'As  early  as  the  year   1529,  he  issued  his 

*  Knowledge  oftkingi  aa  contra-distinguished  from  knowledge  of  icorrf*. 


PHILIP  MELAXCTHOK.  177 

commentary  on  the  ethics  of  Aristotle,  and  in  the  year  1538  his 
"Philosophiae  moralis  epitome." 

With  these  manuals  we  should  rank  one  upon  history,  namely,  the 
" Chronicon"  of  his  pupil  Cario,  which  Melancthon  improved  and 
enlarged  in  1532  in  the  German,  and  in  1538  rewrote  entire  and 
published  in  Latin. 

e.     Declamationeg. 

Melancthon's  universal  learning,  his  eminent  skill  as  a  teacher,  and 
his  practical  exercise  in  teaching,  for  well-nigh  half  a  century,  lead  us 
to  infer  the  existence  of  many  excellent  hints  to  instructors  in  his 
manuals.  Nor  are  we  disappointed.  We  find  in  these  manuals  an 
educational  wisdom  of  enduring  value  for  all  time.  Much,  it  is  true, 
betokens  the  16th  century.  In  Melancthon,  the  preceptor  of  Germany, 
(Praeceptor  Germaniae,)  both  the  ideal  and  the  modes  of  culture  that 
prevailed  among  his  contemporaries,  appear  as  it  were  personified 
before  our  eyes. 

Not  merely  in  his  manuals,  however,  but  in  other  works  of  his,  the 
orations  especially,  there  is  contained  a  treasure  of  educational  wisdom. 
Under  the  title  "Declamationes,"  we  have  a  collection  of  Melancthon's 
academical  orations,  delivered  some  by  himself  and  some  by  others.* 

In  these  orations  we  perceive  his  love  of  science,  and  are  made 
familiar  with  his  views  upon  mental  culture  and  upon  study  in 
general,  as  well  as  its  single  branches.  Repeatedly  does  he  express 
himself  on  these  topics, — above  all  on  the  relation  of  science  to  the 
church. 

1.     His  Love  of  Science. 

In  the  year  1535,  Melancthon  delivered  an  oration  on  love  of  truth. 
"  It  is  a  matter  of  inexpressible  moment,"  he  here  says,  "  that  a  man 
from  his  youth  up  should  cherish  a  burning  hatred  toward  all  sophis- 
try, especially  toward  that  which  wears  the  garb  of  wisdom."  Among 
the  abettors  of  this  latter  species  of  sophistry,  he  includes  both  Stoics 
and  Epicureans,  as  well  as  the  Anabaptists,  who  were  wholly  wrapped 
in  the  mists  and  delusions  of  this  false  wisdom  ;  and  adds  : — 

There  are  others  who  have  misapplied  their  talents,  not  seeking  to  bring  the 
trutli  to  light,  but  only  to  prove  or  to  disprove  in  perpetual  rotation  whatever  they 
have  happened  to  conjecture  possible.  And  this  legerdemain  they  have  taken  to 
be  the  true  element  of  genius.  Such  men  were  those  universal  doubters,  the 
academics  and  sophists  of  Plato's  time.  These  undisciplined,  lawless  spirits  were 
very  dangerous ;  whatever  pleased  their  fancy,  this  they  never  ceased  to  magnify, 
but  every  thing  disagreeable  to  them  they  rejected  as  of  no  account;  that  which 
looked  plausible  they  insisted  upon  as  true;  they  united  things  which  did  not 
oelong  together,  and  things  which  were  manifestly  related  to  each  other  they  put 

*  Strobel,  in  the  "  Literary  Miscellany,"  Nuremberg,  <781,  in  speaking  of  Melancthon's  ora- 
tions, says  that  the  most  eminent  of  Melancthon's  colleagues,  men  like  Major,  Reiuholt,  and 
Winshemius,  were  not  ashamed  to  deliver  orations  prepared  by  him. 


178  PHILIP  MELANCTHON. 

asunder ;  they  employed  clear  and  well-defined  terms  to  express  nothing,  and 
threw  around  sober  realities  an  air  of  irony.  Against  this  kind  of  sophistry  all 
well-meaning  persons  must  wage  an  implacable  warfare.  Plato  was  very  earnest 
to  exnort  men  in  their  speech  to  seek  not  the  applause  of  men  but  the  approbation 
of  God.  And  accordingly  we  ought  with  our  whole  soul  to  aim  at  this  one  point, 
namely,  to  find  the  truth,  and  to  set  it  forth  with  as  much  simplicity  and  clearness 
as  possible.  Men  who,  in  matters  of  science,  sport  with  truth,  are  blind  guides 
likewise  where  revelation  is  concerned.  Sophistry  has  by  means  of  its  false 
precepts  occasioned  religious  dissensions  and  religious  wars.  The  dispositions  of 
men  are  easily  warped,  and  it  needs  great  wisdom  to  keep  them  in  the  right  way  ; 
and  Christ  calls  down  the  severest  judgments  upon  those  by  whom  offenses  come. 

Studies.     The  Old  time  and  the  New.     Science  and  the  Church. 

In  the  oration,  which  Melancthon  delivered  in  1518,  at  his  induc- 
tion into  his  preceptorial  office,  he  marks  the  contrast  between  the 
old  and  barbarous  studies,  that  had  hitherto  been  in  vogue,  and  those 
excellent  and  new  objects  of  inquiry  that  were  beginning  to  receive 
attention.  "  The  advocates  of  the  old  method,"  he  says,  "  decry  the 
new.  '  The  study  of  the  restored  classical  literature,'  they  say,  '  with 
great  labor,  yields  but  small  profit.  Idle  men  have  betaken  them- 
selves to  Greek  in  order  to  make  a  vain  boast  of  their  knowledge ; 
the  Hebrew  promises  but  little  with  the  moderns ;  all  true  studies 
have  fallen  away,  and  philosophy  is  utterly  neglected.'  " 

Against  such  accusers  Melancthon  entered  the  lists,  first  attack- 
ing with  vigor  the  old  methods  of  study.  Those  scholastics  had 
planted  themselves  upon  Aristotle,  who  was  hard  to  understand  even 
for  the  Greeks,  but  had  become  in  the  scholastic  Latin  versions  abso- 
lutely unintelligible.  Better  things  fell  into  disrepute,  Greek  was 
forgotten,  a  jargon  of  useless  learning  forced  upon  the  mind,  and  the 
classics  were  thrown  aside  altogether.  He  himself  had  been  almost 
ruined  by  being  six  long  years  under  the  teachings  of  the  pseudo- 
Aristotelian  sophists,  men  who  bore  not  the  least  trace  of  resemblance 
to  Socrates.  For  this  one  had  said  "  that  one  thing  only  did  he  know, 
namely,  that  he  knew  nothing,  while  they  knew  every  thing,  save  this 
one,  namely,  that  they  did  not  know  any  thing." 

Then  he  goes  on  to  indicate  briefly  what  the  students  at  the  Wit- 
tenberg university  were  expected,  after  the  new  method,  to  take  hold 
of,  viz.,  Aristotle  as  he  is  in  the  original,  Quintilian  and  Pliny,  the 
mathematics,  poets,  orators,  historians,  and  a  sound  philosophy. 

These  were  studies  which  the  clergy  and  jurists  equally  needed ; 
and  the  former  in  addition  to  Greek  should  understand  Hebrew.  For 
with  the  downfall  of  these  studies  the  church  had  sunk  into  ruins, 
naving  become  marred  and  disfigured  by  ordinances  of  man's  device. 

Of  a  similar  purport  is  a  speech  which  Melancthon  delivered 
eighteen  years  later,  (in  1536.)  In  this  he  commends  not  merely 
the  study  of  the  languages,  but  also  of  philosophy  and  the  other  arts, 


PHILIP  MELANCTHON.  179 

since  they  all  serve  to  enrich  and  adorn  the  church.  Ignorance 
obscures  religion,  and  leads  to  frightful  divisions,  and  to  barbarism, — 
in  short  to  the  entire  destruction  of  all  social  order.  An  unenlightened 
theology  is  one  of  the  greatest  of  evils,  confounding  all  doctrines, 
having  no  clear  conception  of  vital  truths,  uniting  things  that  should 
be  divided,  and  tearing  asunder  things  that  are  joined  together.  It 
is  contradictory  and  inconsistent,  and  there  is  neither  beginning, 
progress,  nor  result  in  it.  Such  teachings  are  prolific  of  unnumbered 
errors  and  endless  disagreements,  because  in  the  general  confusion 
one  and  the  same  thing  is  understood  thus  by  one  rnan  and  quite 
differently  by  another.  And,  since  every  one  defends  his  own  view, 
there  arises  strife  and  discord.  Meanwhile  consciences  are  racked 
with  doubt,  and  doubt  not  resolved  ends  in  disbelief.  But  an  enlight- 
ened theology  should  not  rest  content  with  grammar  and  logic ;  it 
also  has  need  of  physics,  moral  philosophy,  and  history,  for  which 
latter  too  a  knowledge  of  the  mathematics,  for  their  bearing  on 
chronology,  is  indispensable. 

And  with  great  justice  does  Melancthon  remark  in  this  speech : 
"  Learning  is  at  this  day  of  the  utmost  consequence  to  the  church, 
because  ignorant  priests  are  growing  ever  bolder  and  more  careless 
in  their  office.  Learned  men,  who  have  accustomed  themselves  to 
thorough  investigation  in  every  thing  they  undertake,  know  but  too 
well  how  liable  they  are  to  fall  into  error,  and  thus  diligence  itself 
teaches  them  modesty.  But  what  great  disasters  ever  befall  the 
church,  from  the  recklessness  of  ignorance,  this,  the  present  condition 
of  things  will  teach  us." 

The  theme,  "  Learning  is  a  blessing  to  the  church  and  ignorance  its 
curse,"  was  frequently  taken  up  by  Melancthon.  So,  in  the  already 
cited  preface  to  his  Latin  Grammar,  and  again  in  the  introduction  to 
a  treatise  on  the  art  of  poetry,  "Cuidam  libcllo  de  arte  poetica." 
"  Hand  in  hand  with  diligent  study,"  he  here  says,  "  we  ever  find 
modesty  and  a  prayerful  spirit."  A  disciple  of  Schwenkfeld  had 
written  a  book  against  him  and  Paul  Eber,  in  which  he  attacked 
the  liberal  arts,  and  undertook  to  prove  that  the  church  is  not  built 
up  and  established  by  means  of  reading,  hearing,  and  reflecting  upon 
the  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  but  that  a  certain  enthusiasm  first  over- 
masters the  spirit,  and  reading  the  Scriptures  and  meditation  comes 
afterward.  "  Thus."  he  adds,  "  these  fanatics  invert  the  order  indi- 
cated by  Paul,  namely, '  how  shall  they  believe  who  have  not  heard  ?'  " 

In  the  oration  entitled  "Encomium  eloquentiac"  he  takes  a  survey 
of  the  studies  essential  to  a  complete  education.  Here  he  again 
censures  the  unintelligible  style  of  Scotus  and  the  school-men.  Picus, 


180  PHILIP  MELANCTHON. 

lie  thinks,  was  but  in  jest  when  he  took  up  the  gauntlet  for  them, 
and  maintained  the  proposition  that  it  mattered  not  whether  a  man 
spoke  with  elegance  or  not,  provided  only  that  he  expressed  his 
thoughts  clearly.  The  earlier  theological  bunglers  were  of  a  piece,  as 
well  in  style  as  in  sentiments, — barbarians  in  both.  He  then  advo- 
cates the  reading  of  the  ancient  poets,  historians,  and  orators,  and  at 
the  same  time  a  diligent  practice  in  style,  both  in  prose  and  poetry.  In 
the  close  he  recurs  again  to  the  importance  of  a  knowledge  of  the 
languages  to  the  theologian  to  assist  him  in  understanding  the 
Scriptures.  A  godless  spirit  goes  hand  in  hand  with  ignorance.  The 
classical  studies  had  again  dawned  upon  the  world  in  order  that 
theology,  which  had  become  corrupt,  might  again  be  purified.  The 
deeper  meaning  of  the  word,  it  is  true,  is  imparted  to  us  by  the  Holy 
Spirit ;  but  we  must  first  come  to  a  knowledge  of  the  language,  for  it 
is  in  this  that  the  divine  mysteries  are  embodied.  He  then  gives  an 
example  of  the  mistakes  which  continually  occur,  where  the  knowledge 
of  language  is  inadequate  to  convey  the  true  meaning  of  the  words. 
One  of  their  masters  of  arts  rendered  the  words  "Melchisedec  rex 
Salem  panem  et  vinum  obtulit"  thus :  Melchisedec  set  before 
(Abraham)  salt,  bread,  and  wine ;  and  he  then  proceeded  at  great 
length  to  remark  upon  the  nature  of  salt. 

From  his  oration  upon  the  study  of  Hebrew  it  would  appear  that 
the  Wittenberg  university  ranked  the  original  language  of  the  Old 
Testament  among  the  chief  objects  of  attention.  The  opinion  of 
Politian  that  this  was  an  unpolished  language,  and  that  it  formed  a 
hindrance  both  to  the  study  of  the  classics  and  the  attainment  of 
Latin  eloquence, — this  opinion  was  there  opposed  with  the  utmost 
earnestness.  In  this  connection,  Melancthon's  preface  to  Terence, 
written  in  1525,  is  worthy  of  note.  "  There  is  scarcely  any  book,"  he 
says,  "  which  is  more  worthy  of  daily  perusal  than  this  poet.  In 
point  of  fitness  of  expression  he  surpasses  perhaps  every  other  author. 
Chrysostom  took  such  pleasure  in  Aristophanes  that  he  laid  him  under 
his  pillow  at  night ;  and  without  doubt  he  perused  this  poet  with 
such  assiduity,  in  order  by  the  means  to  perfect  himself  in  eloquence. 
How  much  more  highly,"  he  continues,  "  is  Terence  to  be  esteemed, 
whose  plays  are  both  free  from  obscenity,  and  likewise,  if  I  mistake 
not,  models  of  rhetoric.  I  therefore  advise  all  teachers  urgently  to 
commend  this  author  to  the  study  of  youth.  For  he  appears  to  me 
to  present  a  theory  of  human  life  that  far  surpasses  that  set  forth  in 
most  philosophical  works.  And  no  other  author  teaches  a  purer 
diction,  none  other  accustoms  boys  so  well  to  those  forms  of  speech 
in  which  they  need  to  be  drilled  for  future  use." 


PHILIP  MEI.ANCTHON. 


181 


vi.     REVIEW  OP  MELANCTHO.N'S  LIFE  FROM  1518  TO  1560. 

Agreeably  to  the  scope  of  this  work,  I  have  kept  in  view  the  edu- 
cational labors  of  Melancthon,  and  have  accordingly  dwelt  but  little 
upon  the  part  he  played  in  the  reformation  of  the  church.  This  too 
was  the  less  called  for,  inasmuch  as  so  many  histories  of  the  Reforma- 
tion and  recent  biographies  have  rendered  us  familiar  with  his 
efficiency  in  this  field.  Repeated  expressions  in  his  letters  prove  that 
he  was  drawn  into  the  wide  arena  of  the  Reformation  almost  against 
his  will,  and,  amid  the  dust  of  the  conflict,  that  he  often  yearned  to 
devote  himself  wholly  to  philology  and  philosophy.  Even  his  theo- 
logical lectures  were  undertaken  contrary  to  the  dictates  of  his  own 
inclination,  and  only  in  compliance  with  the  desire  of  Luther. 
"Thou  knowest^"  he  wrote  to  Spalatin,  "the  circumstance  that 
occasioned  me  to  give  a  theological  course.  I  first  began  it  in  order, 
as  Baccalaureus  ad  biblia,  to  conform  to  established  usage,  nor  had  I 
then  the  most  distant  presentiment  of  the  turn  that  matters  were 
destined  to  take.  My  exegesis  was  not  finished  when  Dr.  Martin 
went  to  Worms ;  and,  so  long  as  he  continued  absent,  it  was  not 
possible  for  me  to  give  up  these  lectures.  Thus  it  has  come  to  pass 
that  I  have  dangled  from  that  cliff  for  more  than  two  years.  I  yes- 
terday finished  John's  gospel,  and  this  appears  to  me  to  be  an  appropri- 
ate time  to  make  a  change  in  respect  to  the  lectures.  I  can  not  hesi- 
tate to  follow  whither  thou  leadest,  even  to  become  a  keeper  of  cattle. 
Nevertheless,  I  could  wish  in  this  one  respect  to  be  free."  Note- 
worthy too  is  the  fact  that  he  did  not  take  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Theology,  while  Luther,  in  virtue  of  his  theological  doctorate,  felt 
constrained  in  his  conscience  to  go  into  the  lists  against  emperor  and 
Pope ;  nor  did  Melancthon  ever  preach,  notwithstanding  that  Luther 
frequently  urged  him  to  do  so, — "Nolentem  trahunt  fata  ;"  and, 
whether  he  would  or  not,  he  was  forced  to  remain  his  life  long  in  the 
field  as  a  soldier  of  Christ,  and  ever  to  fight  in  the  fore-front  of  the 
battle,  while  he  yearned  forever  after  a  life  of  literary  retirement  and  quiet. 
Luther,  so  long  as  he  lived,  hurried  Melancthon  along  with  him  ;  and, 
when  he  died,  it  was  too  late  for  Melancthon  to  withdraw,  for  the 
powerful  current  and  commotion  of  the  reorganizing  church  was 
bearing  him  resistlessly  on.  Whatsover  opinion  we  may  any  of  us 
have  formed  of  those  doctrinal  controversies,  yet  we  can  not  but  feel 
a  deep  sympathy  for  Melancthon  when  we  read  of  the  unhappy  feuds 
in  which  the  excellent  man  was  involved  in  the  closing  years  of  his 
life,  and  what  rudeness  and  indignity  he  suffered  at  the  hands  of  his 
adversaries. 

Let  us  now  turn  back  again  for  a  few  moments  to  his  younger 


182  PHILIP  MELANCTHON. 

days.  In  1520  he  married  Catherine,  daughter  of  Herr  Krapp, 
Mayor  of  Wittenberg.  Camerarius  said  of  her:  "She  was  pious, 
very  affectionate  toward  her  husband,  careful  and  diligent  in  matters 
pertaining  to  the  household,  and  kind  and  benevolent  to  all." 
She  bore  her  husband  two  sons  and  two  daughters.  Anna,  the  eldest 
of  these  children,  who  was  her  father's  idol,  was  married  in  1536  to 
George  Sabinus,  a  man  of  learning  indeed,  but  of  a  restless,  ambitious 
spirit;  she  died  in  1547.  The  second  child  was  a  son  named  Philip, 
whose  talents  were  quite  inferior.  He  was  born  in  1525,  and  died  in 
1603.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  secretary  of  the  consistory. 
George,  the  second  son,  did  not  survive  quite  two  years;  Magdalena, 
the  second  daughter,  was  married  in  1550  to  the  physician  Casper 
Peucer,  who  afterward  suffered  many  years'  imprisonment  on  account 
of  his  clandestine  adherence  to  Calvinism.  Through  her  grief  at 
this  calamity  she  died  in  the  year  1576. 

Of  Melancthon's  domestic  life,  Camerarius,  who  was  an  intimate 
friend  .of  his,  tells  us  much  that  is  worthy  of  our  admiration  ;  as  that 
he  loved  his  children  most  dearly,  was  unstinted  in  his  charity  toward 
the  needy,  and  kindly  and  cheerful,  true  and  single-minded  in  his  in- 
tercourse with  his  friends.  Almost  too  thoughtless  with  respect  to 
the  goods  of  this  life,  he  amassed  nothing  to  bequeath  to  his  family. 
We  might  hence  conclude  that  he  was  perpetually  serene  and  happy 
in  his  disposition ;  but  his  life  and  many  of  his  letters  undeceive  us 
in  this  respect.  He  suffered  from  bodily  afflictions ;  sleeplessness  in 
his  earlier  years,  and  later  the  sharp  pains  of  the  gravel.  He  was 
also  weighed  down  by  many  family  troubles ;  the  death  of  two  of  his 
children,  and  of  his  wife,  and,  in  addition  to  all,  the  perverse  behavior 
of  his  son-in-law,  Sabinus.  Yet  all  this,  as  his  letters  evince,  receded 
into  the  back-ground,  compared  with  the  overshadowing  unrest  which 
grew  out  of  his  relations  to  the  church.  A  conscientious  man  will 
pass  sleepless  nights,  if  his  soul  is  weighed  down  with  anxiety  for  the 
welfare  of  a  few  children  or  pupils.  Is  it  then  to  be  wondered  at  if 
Melancthon, — with  his  so  tender  conscience,  at  the  Diet  of  Augsburg, 
for  instance,  where  his  words  were  to  decide  the  temporal  and  eternal 
welfare  of  countless  souls  among  those  who  were  then  living,  as  well 
as  of  those  who  should  come  after  him, — is  it  to  be  wondered  at  if 
he  there  was  overwhelmed,  like  Moses  and  Jeremiah,  by  the  fearful 
responsibilities  which  devolved  upon  him  ?  To  this  too  was  afterward 
added  a  deeper  sorrow,  namely,  to  be  forsaken  by  his  own  familiar 
friends,  and  to  be  most  bitterly  persecuted. 

We  may  behold  depicted  before  us,  as  it  were,  the  trials  which  he 
was  called  to  endure,  if  we  compare  the  admirable  likeness,  engraved 


PHILIP  MELANCTHON.  183 

upon  copper  by  Albert  Durer,  of  Melnncthon,  the  young  man  of 
twenty-nine,  with  that  portrait  of  Melancthon,  the  gray-haired  old 
man,  which  Luke  Cranach  has  bequeathed  to  us.  The  one  is  a  fair 
and  a  very  striking  head,  with  a  high  forehead,  and  eyes  out  of  which 
the  liveliest  expression  of  kindness  and  grace  beams  toward  you.  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  countenance  of  the  old  man  is  deeply  scored  with 
the  furrows  of  many  sorrowful  years,  toiled  through  amid  heavy  trials, 
and  the  ceaseless  and  bitter  whirl  of  controversy. 

Melancthon  was  at  Heidelberg  in  1557,  when  Camerarius  brought 
him  the  news  of  the  death  of  his  wife.  Without  betraying  the  least 
token  of  sorrow,  although  every  one  felt  that  his  heart  was  sore  and 
sad  almost  to  bursting,  he  only  said,  "  I  shall  soon  follow  her." 

The  depth  of  his  grief  may  be  estimated,  however,  from  a  letter 
which  he  wrote  two  years  after  the  death  of  his  wife,  and  one  year 
before  the  final  summons  came  to  him  also.  "Passionate  and  sor- 
rowful yearning  for  a  deceased  wife  is  not  effaced  in  the  old  man  as  it 
may  be  with  those  who  are  younger.  When  day  by  day  I  gaze  upon 
my  grandchildren,  I  recall  not  without  a  sigh  their  grandmother,  and 
thus  at  the  sight  of  the  bereaved  little  ones  my  sorrow  is  renewed. 
She  cared  for  the  whole  family,  she  cherished  the  infants,  she  nursed 
the  sick  ;  by  her  consoling  words  she  lessened  my  griefs ;  she  taught 
the  children  to  pray.  And  so  it  is  that  I  miss  her  everywhere.  I 
bethink  me  how  almost  daily  she  repeated  these  words  of  the  psalm, 
'  Forsake  me  not  in  my  old  age ;'  and  thus  I  also  continually  pray." 

After  the  departure  of  his  wife  Melancthon  repeatedly  spoke  of  his 
own  approaching  death.  The  increasing  violence  which  marked  the 
theological  controversies  of  the  day  embittered  his  life  more  and  more. 
He  himself  came  in  danger  thereby  of  banishment.  "  If  they  drive 
me  out,"  he  wrote  to  Hardenberg,  "  I  have  made  up  my  mind  to  go 
to  Palestine,  and  there  in  the  seclusion  of  the  cloister  of  Hieronymus, 
at  the  call  of  the  Son  of  God,  to  record  my  unclouded  testimony  to 
the  doctrine,  and  dying  to  commend  my  soul  to  God." 

In  a  subsequent  letter  he  wrote :  "  My  troubles  and  sorrows  are 
waxing  greater,  but  the  far  journey  to  the  church  in  heaven  will  soon 
liberate  me  from  them  all." 

The  19th  of  April,  1560,  was  the  day  of  his  death.  When  he  was 
dying  he  found  consolation  from  passages  in  the  Bible,  this  especially, 
"As  many  as  received  him,  to  these  gave  he  power  to  become  sons 
of  God."  Then  he  repeated  in  an  undertone  these  words  from  the 
last  prayer  of  Christ,  "  that  they  may  all  be  one,  even  as  we  are  one." 
Attacked  and  maligned  in  his  closing  years,  and  tired  of  the  unholy 
war,  the  old  man  felt  a  longing  desire  for  an  assured  and  peaceful 


184  PHILIP  MEI.ANCTHON. 

rest,  and  for  a  union  with  his  Lord  and  Master,  whom  with  truest 
love  he  had  served  all  his  days.  Paul  Eber  and  other  godly  men 
kneeled  around  his  death-bed.  To  Peucer's  question  "  whether  he 
desired  any  thing,"  he  replied  "  nothing  but  heaven ;  let  me  rest  and 
pray.  My  time  has  almost  come."  In  the  evening,  before  seven 
o'clock,  he  passed  away  to  his  heavenly  rest,  on  the  21st  of  April. 
He  was  buried  in  the  Wittenberg  castle  church,  by  the  side  of  Luther. 


01  me  i.aun  grammar. 

The  first,  brought  out  under  the  auspices  of  Goldstein,  is  of  the  year  1525.  The  fourth,  ac- 
cording to  Strobe),  is  that  of  1529.  as  follows :  "  Gram.  lat.  P.  Melancthonis  ab  authore  nuper 
et  aucta  et  recognita.  Norembergae  apud  I.  Pelreium,  1529." 


lime. 

This  letter  was  afterward  repeatedly  reprinted  in  various  editions  of  the  grammar,  and 
likewise  of  the  Declamations  of  Melancthon,  and  always  under  the  date  of  1540.  It  is  some- 
what singular  that  the  letter  of  1540  should  nut  have  appeared  until  1542,  and  moreover  that 
it  should  have  appeared  first  in  the  edition  ofPetreius,  while  it  is  addressed  to  the  bookseller 


pirated  by 


piraieu  oy  retreius. 

After  Miry  I  Ins.  Camerarius,  aided  by  Bechiusand  Schengius,  undertook  the  work  of  editing 
Mela  net  lion's  book. 


dales. — Lipsiae,  Id.  April.  1552. 

While  preparing  the  first  edition  of  my  history.  I  had  only  a  copy  of  Camerarius  before  me, 
but  none  of  Micyllus.    And  the  expressions  used  by  (Camerarius  in  reference  tu  his  addition!! 


»  it." 

But  the  rector  Schoenborn.  of  Breslau,  after  comparing  the  grammar  of  Micyllus  with  that 
of  Camerarius,  remarked,  as  the  result  of  his  comparison,  that  the  latter  agreed  word  for 
wonl  with  the  former,  save  that  passages  from  the  old  grammarians  referred  to  by  Micyllus 
or  Melancthon  were  given  in  full, — quoted  for  the  use  of  teachers. 

I  have  since  compared  Camerarius'  book  with  the  editions  of  1542  and  1546  of  Miryllns, 
and  have  thereby  been  able  to  confirm  this  remark  of  Schoenborn  :  hut  as  regards  another 


which  Melancthon  in  this  letter  to  Egenolph  bestows  upon  the  enlargement  of  the  grammar, 
shews  conclusively  that  he  was  not  dissatisfied  with  the  editor,  though  he  deprecates  at  the 
KIIM.  time  any  future  increase  in  it." 

Had  Melanclhon  really  the  completed  grammar  of  Micyllus  before  him,  and  if  so.  wonld  he 
have  prais-ed  the  work,  but  said  nothing  in  commendation  of  the  workman!  In  that  letter  he 
says  t hat  he  requested  Micyllus  to  undertake  the  grammar;  then  he  continues,  "though  I 
myself  had  sufficient  time,  yl  I  would  prefer  the  criticism  of  Micyllus  to  my  own.'1  And 
further:  "I  am  rejoiced  that  Micyllus  has  undertaken  this  task."  Much,  he  implies,  had 
been  omitted  in  the  first  edition.  •'Although,"  he  says,  "  it  is  desirable  to  add  murh,  still  ;i 
certain  limit  should  be  observed  in  the  selection  of  examples,  lest  the  young  be  intimidated  by 
their  extent.  But  I  intrust  this  whole  matter  to  the  judgment  and  the  faithfulness  of  Micyllus, 
nii'l  mny  God  accept  his  earnest  and  devout  labors. 

Thew  passages  appear  to  me  rather  to  prove  that  Mioyllug  was  yet  engaged  upon  the 
grammar,  when  Melancthon  wrote  to  Egenolph  Perhaps  he  feared  lest  Micyllus.  carried 
nway  by  his  love  of  learning,  should  overstep  I  he  limits  of  a  school-grammar,  and  accordingly 
wrote  mil  letter  to  serve  indirectly  as  a  caution  to  him. 


VALENTINE  FRIEDLAND  TROTZENDORF. 

I  Translated  for  the  Arrfcrican  Journal  of  Education,  from  the  German  of  Karl  von  Raumer. 


VALENTINE  TROTZENDORF  was  the  son  of  a  farmer,  Bernard  Fried- 
l.ind  by  name,  who  lived  in  the  village  of  Trotzendorf,  near  Gorlitz. 
He  assumed  the  surname  Trotzendorf,  in  remembrance  of  the  place 
of  his  birth. 

Born  in  1490,  he  was  seven  years  younger  than  Luther,  and 
seven  older  than  Melancthon.  The  monks  induced  his  father  to 
send  him  in  1506  to  the  school  at  Gorlitz;  but  he  soon  took  him 
away,  to  help  him  at  his  work  in  the  field.  His  mother,  who  greatly 
desired  to  see  him  a  priest  or  a  monk,  persuaded  the  village  pastor  to 
instruct  him  in  writing  and  reading.  And  after  two  years'  time  he 
went  back  to  the  Gorlitz  school.  At  his  departure,  his  mother  ex- 
horted him  to  be  true  to  the  duties  of  the  school ;  and  in  after  life  he 
considered  himself  bound  by  this  exhortation,  as  if  it  were  his  mother's 
vow,  to  assume  the  office  of  teacher. 

When  in  1513  Trotzendorf 's  father  died  of  the  plague,  he  sold  his 
paternal  inheritance  and  moved  to  Leipzic,  where,  during  two  years  he 
perfected  himself  in  Latin  under  Peter  Mosellanus,  and  learned  Greek 
from  Richard  Crocus.  In  1516  he  became  a  teacher  in  the  Gorlitz 
school ;  here  his  fellow  teachers  as  well  as  the  scholars  learned  from 
him,  and  even  the  Rector  took  lessons  in  Greek  from  him. 

Luther's  appearance  induced  him,  in  1518  to  surrender  his  post  as 
teacher,  and  to  go  to  Wittenburg,  where  he  remained  for  five  years. 
Here  he  took  lessons  in  Hebrew  from  a  converted  Jew,  named  Adrian. 
And  he  here  formed  a  most  intimate  acquaintance  with  Melancthon, 
for  whom  throughout  his  life  he  continued  to  testify  the  greatest 
respect. 

In  the  year  1523,  Helmrich,  a  university  friend  of  Trotzendorf 's, 
was  chosen  Rector  of  the  Goldberg  school,  and  through  his  influence 
Trotzendorf  was  invited  to  become  his  colleague.  And  when,  in  the 
following  year,  Helrarich  obtained  another  post,  Trotzendorf  was 
made  Rector  in  his  stead.  Affairs  of  church — the  reformatory  dis- 
cussion of  Dr.  J.  Hess  at  Breslau,  in  which  Trotzendorf  took  an 
active  part,  and  Schwenkfeld's  evil  influence  in  Liegnitz,  against  which 
he  made  a  vigorous  defense — would  appear  at  that  time  to  have 
stood  in  the  way  of  an  active  prosecution  of  his  legitimate  calling. 


186  VALENTINE  FR1EDI.AND  TROTZENDORP. 

In  the  year  1527  he  was  called  to  Liegnitz  to  a  Professorship  In  a 
new  university,  which  institution  was  then  rather  an  unformed  project 
than  a  perfect  organization ;  but  he  left  the  place  in  1529  and  re- 
turned to  Wittenburg.  And  now  in  a  short  time  the  Goldberg 
school  was  completely  broken  up  ;  but,  at  the  pressing  solicitation  of 
Helmrich,  who  had  risen  to  be  Mayor  of  Goldberg,  Trotzendorf,  in  1531, 
resumed  the  post  of  Rector  there,  which  office  he  filled  with  honor 
and  dignity  for  five  and  twenty  years.  His  school  soon  acquired  an 
extraordinary  renown.  Scholars  poured  in  upon  him,  not  merely 
from  Silesia,  but  from  Austria,  Styria,  Carinthia,  Hungary  and 
Poland :  to  have  had  him  for  a  teacher,  was  the  best  of  recom- 
mendations. 

Trotzendorf  adopted  quite  a  peculiar  organization.  His  school  was 
divided  into  six  classes,  and  each  class  into  tribes.  The  scholars  too,  he 
associated  in  the  government  with  himself,  by  appointing  some  to  be 
Oeconomi,  others  Ephori,  and  others  again,  Quaestors.  TheOecono- 
mi  were  to  oversee  the  household  arrangements,  as,  for  example,  that 
all  should  rise  in  the  morning  or  retire  at  night  at  the  set  time,  that 
the  rooms,  clothes,  etc.,  should  be  kept  in  good  order,  etc.  It  was  the 
duty  of  the  Ephori  to  see  that  order  was  observed  at  the  table. 
Finally,  each  tribe  had  its  Quaestor,  and  all  these  Quaestors  were 
made  subject  to  one  supreme  Quaestor.  Those  were  chosen  weekly, 
this  one  monthly;  on  laying  down  their  office  they  delivered  Latin 
orations.  The  Quaestors  were  expected  to  secure  a  punctual  attend- 
ance on  lessons,  to  report  the  indolent,  to  give  out  subjects  for  the 
Latin  debates  customary  during  the  half-hour  after  meal  time. 

Trotzendorf  moreover  established  a  school  magistracy.  This  con- 
sisted of  a  consul  chosen  monthly  by  himself,  twelve  senators  and  two 
censors.  Had  a  scholar  committed  any  fault,  he  was  obliged  to  justify 
himself  before  this  Senate,  and  in  order  to  do  it  the  better,  he  was 
allowed  eight  days  in  which  to  prepare  his  plea.  At  the  trial  Trot- 
Zendojf  presided  as  perpetual  dictator.  If  the  accused  party  cleared 
himself  from  the  charge,  he  was  acquitted,  especially  when  he  de- 
livered a  well  framed  plea;  but  if  his  speech  was  good  for  nothing  in 
point  of  style,  he  was  condemned  even  for  a  trivial  misdemeanor. 
And  Trotzendorf  repeated  the  decree  of  the  Senate  in  such  cases  with 
great  solemnity,  and  insisted  strongly  on  its  fulfillment. 

These  singular  regulations  had  the  good  effect  of  accustoming  the 
boys  early  in  life  to  have  respect  to  the  civil  government.  A  similar 
tendency  may  be  observed  in  the  laws  which  Trotzendorf  established 
in  his  school.  In  the  introduction  to  these  laws,  he  says :  "  Those 
men  will  rule  conformably  to  the  laws,  who,  when  boys  learn  to  obey 


VALENTINE  FRIEDLAND  TOOTZENDORF.  J87 

the  laws."     These  school-laws  are  characteristic  of  the  man.     lie 
first  lays  down  these  five  principles : 

1.  Tros  Tyriusque  miki  nullo  discrimine  agetur.      Here,  where 
scholars  are  assembled  from  all  countries,   all  must  be   governed 
equally  and  alike.  • 

2.  Faclus  tribulus  servo,  legem,  was   a  Lacedaemonian  proverb. 
And  here  too  must  those  favored  by  fortune  as  well  as  the  base-born, 
so  long  as  they  are  scholars,  conform  to  the  laws.     The  pupil  is  no 
longer  the  nobleman. 

3.  According  to  the  degree  of  their  demerit,-the  scholars  are  to  be 
punished  with  the  rod,  the  lyre,*  or  imprisonment.     Those  who, 
either  on  account  of  noble  descent,  or  years,  shrink  from  the  disgrace 
of  these  punishments,  must  either  do  right  and  thus  not  come  under 
sentence,  or  leave  our  school,  and  seek  freedom  to  do  as  they  please 
elsewhere.     Fines  are  never  to  be  imposed  in  any  case,  since  they 
affect  parents  rather  than  children. 

4.  Every  new  comer,  before  being  enrolled  among   the  scholars, 
must  first  promise  to  obey  the  laws  of  the  school. 

5.  The  members  of  our  school  must  be  members  likewise  of  our 
faith  and  our  church. 

The  first  chapter  of  the  school-laws  treats  of  piety.  "The  fear  of 
God  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom  " — this  is  the  opening  sentence.  A 
clear  knowledge  of  Christian  doctrine  is  required,  together  with  prayer, 
church-going,  confession,  taking  the  communion,  diligence  and  obe- 
dience ;  while  swearing,  cursing,  foul  language,  the  practice  of  magic, 
with  every  superstition,  are  forbidden. 

In  regard  to  instruction,  Trotzendorf's  school  agreed  in  the  main 
with  other  schools  of  that  period.  It  was  based  upon  the  customary 
trivium,  grammar,  logic  and  rhetoric. 

In  Trotzendorf's  German  School  Regulations  of  1548,  it  is  laid 
down  as  the  aim  of  his  school  "  to  prepare  boys  to  enter  upon 
the  study  of  the  higher  faculties,  as  theology,  medicine,  philosophy, 
and  jurisprudence."  To  accomplish  this  aim,  "  in  the  first  place, 
grammar,  inasmuch  as  it  is  the  mother  and  nurse  of  all  other  arts, 
must  be  pursued  with  the  most  thorough-going  diligence.  There- 
with should  be  combined  useful  readings  from  good  authors,  such  as 
Terence  or  Plautus,  and  Cicero,  the  epistles  and  offices  chiefly.  Thus 
boys,  being  guided  into  the  Latin  tongue  both  by  rule  and  by  exam- 
ple, will  learn  to  speak  Latin  and  to  write  it  with  equal  propriety. 

•  The  lyre,  !yra  orjidicula,  was  made  of  wood  in  the  shape  of  a  violin,  and  furnished  with 
string?.  Trillers  were  disgraced  by  being  made  to  stand  with  this  about  their  ueck,  and  their 
hand*  passed  through  it  and  fastened. 


188  VALENTINE  FRIEDLAND  TROTZENDORF. 

Next  should  come  reading  from  the  poets,  as  Virgil,  and  some  books 
of  Ovid,  so  that  the  bojrs  may  comprehend  metre,  and  learn  to  con- 
struct verses."  "  Every  week  there  should  be  a  common  exercise  in 
writing  letters  in  Latin,  and  every  week,  likewise,  a  common  theme 
should  be  versified  by  the  whole  school."  The  Latin  school-code  pro- 
vides that  the  scholars,  in  these  exercises,  "should  use  no  phrase  be- 
fore ascertaining  in  what  author  it  occurs,  and  whether  it  is  sufficiently 
elegant  and  appropriate;1'  also  that  "they  should  never  use  the 
mother  tongue;  but -with  teachers,  fellow-scholars  or  other  learned 
persons,  speak  in  Latin  alone."  In  a  poetical  eulogium  on  the  Gold- 
berg school,  cited  by  Piuzger,  we  are  told  that  "  none  were  permitted 
to  speak  German  there,  so  that  the  boys  came  gradually  to  regard 
their  mother  tongue  as  a  foreign  language."  Still  stronger  expres- 
sions occur  in  a  eulogium  on  Trotzendorf :  "  He  had  so  thoroughly 
infused  the  Roman  tongue  into  all  the  neighborhood,  that  it  was 
deemed  a  disgrace  to  utter  even  a  word  of  German  ;  and.  could  you 
have  heard  the  Latin  accents  that  poured  from  the  tongues  even  of 
plough-boys  and  dairy- maids, you  would  have  thought  'surely  Gold- 
berg is  within  the  borders  of  Latium.'  "* 

To  speak  and  to  write  Latin  was  the  universal  ideal  of  that  era, 
and  hence,  among  the  authors  to  be  read,  Terence  and  Plautus  were 
deemed  the  most  important.  In  addition  to  Latin,  Greek  grammar 
and  readings  from  Greek  authors  were  prescribed.  Logic  and  rhet- 
oric were  likewise  classed  among  regular  studies,  as  we  learn  from  the 
German  School  Plan  above  cited.  "  Trotzendorf  exercised  his  schol- 
ars in  the  art  of  speaking,  and  that  of  thinking  likewise.  Logic  was 
never  intermitted  by  him,  and  he  prepared  his  scholars  for  excellence 
in  rhetoric,  by  a  frequent  study  of  the  speeches  in  Livy,  and  those  of 
Cicero."  Music  and  arithmetic  are  likewise  named  in  the  School 
Plan,  though  without  being  enlarged  upon.  Lectures  were  read,  on 
the  Sphere  of  Sacro  Bosco,  by  a  "  Sphaerista"  and  on  the  principles 
of  moral  and  natural  philosophy,  by  a  "  Magister."  Religious  in- 
struction was  given  by  Trotzendorf  himself,  with  faithfulness  and  so- 
lemnity, and  he  read  with  his  scholars  the  epistles  of  Paul,  as  well  as 
portions  of  the  Old  Testament  in  the  original. 

The  instruction  of  the  upper  classes  he  at  first  took  entirely  upon 
himself,  nor  did  he  employ  assistant  teachers  until  many  years  had 
elapsed ;  but  the  lower  classes  he  committed  to  the  charge  of  older 
scholars. 

*  Atque  ita  Rnmanam  linguam  transfudit  in  nmnei, 

Turpe  ut  haberetur,  Teutonico  ore  loqui. 

Audisaes  famulus  famulasque  I.alina  sonare, 

Goldbergam  in  l,;iiic>  crederei  esfc  n'tnm. 


VALENTINE  FR1EDLAND  TROTZENDORP.  189 

And  here  we  can  not  fail  to  be  struck  with  the  quite  peculiar  char- 
acter of  Trotzendorfs  educational  system.  Schools,  in  general,  will 
be  found  to  consist  of  two  sharply  defined  and  distinct  bodies, — teach- 
ers on  the  one  hand,  and  pupils  on  the  other.  The  teachers  are 
learned,  the  pupils  ignorant ;  the  former  impart  knowledge,  the  latter 
receive  it ;  those  dictate  and  these  obey.  This  sharp  division,  Trot- 
zendorf  rendered  impossible,  both  in  discipline  and  instruction.  In 
instruction,  for  while  he  himself  taught  the  older  scholars  in  the  high- 
er classes,  he  appointed  these  same  scholars  teachers  of  the  lower 
classes,  that  they,  too,  might  learn  by  teaching.  This  reminds  us  of 
the  monitorial  system  of  the  present  day,  and  perhaps  Trotzendorf, 
like  Lancaster,  was  first  led  to  adopt  this  plan  from  the  impossibility 
of  giving  his  personal  attention  to  a  large  number.  He  found  the 
need  of  scholars  to  aid  him,  both  in  oversight  and  instruction,  as  the 
resources  of  the  school  were  too  slender  to  admit  of  his  hiring  an  ad- 
equate body  of  sub-teachers.* 

But  if  we  look  more  closely  into  this  plan,  it  will  appear  not  mere- 
ly to  have  been  adopted  from  the  necessities  of  the  case,  but,  at  the 
same  time  to  have  been  the  organic  outgrowth  of  a  principle.  Trot- 
zendorf's  school  appears  to  have  been  a  republic,  where  all  the  schol- 
ars, noble  and  obscure,  were  alike  and  unconditionally  subject  to  the 
laws  :  he  himself  was  Dictator  in  perpetuo  over  this  republic.  And 
his  authority  was  rendered  secure  and  universally  effective  by  the  fact 
that  he  delegated  to  the  scholars  themselves,  though  ever  under  his 
supreme  direction,  a  share  in  the  government,  and  made  them  more- 
over responsible  for  law  and  order.  He  thus  rendered  impossible 
that  absolute  hostility  which  is  so  often  cherished  by  a  firmly  united 
band  of  scholars  toward  a  too  often  divided  corps  of  teachers.  The 
many  scholars,  who,  as  teachers,  ephori,  oeconomi,  quaestors,  senators, 
censors  and  consuls,  assisted  in  the  government,  formed  an  intermedi- 
ate body  between  the  teachers  and  the  scholars,  and  by  their  mutual 
relations  to  each  disarmed  that  hostility,  and  paralyzed  its  power. 

Whatever  judgment  we  may  pass  upon  Trotzendorfs  regulations, 
still  we  are  warranted,  from  what  we  know  of  his  character,  in  con- 
cluding, that  he  would  not  permit  those  regulations  to  degenerate  into 
a  mere  round  of  lifeless  observances.  He  was  a  genuine  dictator, 
and,  as  Melancthon  says  of  him,  born  to  the  government  of  a  school, 
as  truly  as  was  the  elder  Scipio  Africanus  to  the  command  of  an 

•About  the  year  1&47,  at  the  death  of  Frederick  II.,  Duke  of  Liegnilz,  there  were  but  six 
teachers  employed,  quite  an  inadequate  number  for  the  size  of  the  school.  Trotzendorf  was 
wont  to  say : — "  If  he  should  muster  all  his  scholars  together,  he  could  present  the  emperor 
with  quite  a  respectable  army  to  fight  the  Turks."  Still,  strange  to  say,  we  have  no  mor« 
precise  information  on  the  subject. 


190  VALENTINE  FRIEDLAND  TROTZENDORF. 

army.  Yea,  he  was  more  than  a  dictator,  since  by  the  exercise  of  a 
Christian  faith,  and  a  warm  and  active  love,  he  secured  the  affections 
of  his  pupils. 

With  his  views  of  study  we  are  not  disposed  to  quarrel,  for.  though 
he  aimed  to  make  Goldberg  a  second  Latium,  he  did  no  more  than 
his  contemporaries  were  continually  doing  around  him.  Neither  do 
we  censure  him  for  his  sentiments  respecting  physical  education,  al- 
though we  can  not  entirely  agree  with  him  therein.  It  is  stated  of 
him  that  he  did  not  insist  upon  exercise,  but  simply  permitted  it. 
And  yet  he  would  look  on  while  the  boys  were  wrestling  or  running, 
praising  the  active  and  skillful,  and  rebuking  the  indolent  and  awk- 
ward. However,  one  of  the  laws  of  the  school  forbade  the  boys  to 
bathe  in  cold  water  in  the  summer  time,  and  to  go  upon  the  ice,  or 
to  throw  snow-balls  in  the  winter.  Surely  such  a  law  as  this  would 
have  been  disregarded  in  ancient  Rome,  and  in  ancient  Germany  too  ! 

In  the  closing  years  of  his  life,  the  worthy  old  man  experienced 
many  misfortunes.  In  1552  there  was  a  great  famine  in  Goldberg, 
and  in  1553  the  place  was  swept  by  a  pestilence.  During  this  period 
he  taught  the  few  scholars  who  remained  with  him,  in  the  upper  gal- 
lery of  the  church,  as  he  thought  the  air  purer  at  that  elevation.  Al- 
ready earlier,  in  1549,  a  crushing  sorrow  had  cast  its  dark  shadow 
across  his  path.  Three  of  his  pupils,  Karl  Promnitz,  Jonas  Talkwitz, 
and  Wolfgang  Keppel,  were  making  merry  over  their  wine  in  the 
Goldberg  wine-cellar,  when  a  drunken  watchman  staggered  in  upon 
them,  and,  without  saying  a  word,  took  a  full  cup  off  from  the  table, 
and  drank  it  down.  Enraged  at  his  impudence,  Promnitz  hurled  an 
empty  glass  at  him,  and,  without  designing  it,  wounded  him  in  the 
head.  The  watchman  accused  them  before  the  court,  and  thereupon 
the  three  young  men  were  imprisoned,  and  their  case  carried  before 
Frederick  III.,  Duke  of  Liegnitz.  He  summoned  them  to  Liegnitz, 
and  without  listening  to  their  defense,  or  entering  into  any  examina- 
tion of  the  case,  condemned  them  to  death.  Promnitz  alone,  at  the 
intercession  of  the  Bishop  of  Breslau,  who  was  his  cousin,  was  par- 
doned, but  the  two  others,  who  had  committed  no  crime  at  all,  were 
beheaded  upon  the  Monday  next  following  the  feast  of  the  Three 
Martyr  Kings. 

In  1554,  the  year  after  the  pestilence,  a  great  conflagration  laid  a 
large  part  of  Goldberg  in  ashes,  and  Trotzendorfs  school  house 
among  the  rest.  He  then  went  with  his  scholars  to  Liegnitz,  and 
while  there  took  measures  to  rebuild  his  school  upon  the  old  site. 
But  he  was  never  permitted  to  return  thither.  On  the  20th  of  April, 
1556,  he  was  expounding  the  23d  Psalm,  and  as  he  came  to  the 


VALENTINE  FRIEDLAND  TROTZENDORF.  1QJ 

words,  "  Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death,  I  will  fear  no  evil :  for  thou  art  with  me ;  thy  rod  and  thy 
staff,  they  comfort  me ;"  he  was  suddenly  seized  with  apoplexy.  He 
sank  back,  gazed  up  to  heaven,  and  spake  these  words,  the  last  he 
ever  uttered  ;* — "  My  friends,  now  am  I  called  away  to  another  school." 
He  lingered  speechless  for  five  days,  but  retained  his  consciousness  to 
the  last.  He  died  on  the  25th  of  April,  at  the  age  of  66,  and  was 
buried  on  the  29th,  in  the  church  of  St.  John.  His  remains  were 
followed  to  the  tomb  by  high  and  low ;  men  of  princely  rank  uniting 
with  peasants  in  paying  respect  to  his  memory.  Abraham  Bock 
erected  his  monument.  But  it  was  destroyed  in  1699,  when,  by 
order  of  the  Emperor  Leopold,  the  church  of  St.  John  was  given  to 
the  Jesuits. 

Trotzendorf  died  unmarried.  With  a  small  income,  and  a  benevo- 
lent disposition,  he  always  remained  poor.  The  few  writings  which 
we  have  from  his  pen,  were  first  issued  after  his  decease,  and  by  some 
of  his  grateful  pupils.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  same : 

1.  Catachesis  scholae  Goltpergensis  scripta  a  Valentino  Trocedor- 
fio  cum  praefacione  Phil.  Melancth.     Vitebergae,  1561. 

The  preface  is  dated,  1558,  two  years  after  Trotzendorf 's  death. 

2.  Precationes  V.  Trocedorfii    recitatae    in    schola    Goltbergensi, 
Lipsiae,  1581. 

3.  Rosarium  scholae  Trocedorfii.     Viteb.  1568. 

4.  Method!  doctrinae  catacheticae.     Gorlic,  1570. 

*Dr.  Stevens,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Public  High  School  of  Edinburg," 
makes  the  following  record  of  the  last  illness  and  death  of  Dr.  Adam,  for  forty 
years  Rector  of  that  institution. 

"On  the  13th  of  December,  1809,  Dr.  Adam  was  seized,  in  the  High  School, 
with  an  apoplectic  affection.  He  lingered  five  days  under  the  disease.  Amidst 
the  wanderings  of  mind  that  accompanied  it,  he  was  continually  reverting  to  the 
business  of  the  class,  and  addressing  the  pupils ;  and  in  the  last  hour  of  his  life, 
as  he  fancied  himself  examining  on  the  lesson  of  the  day,  he  stopped  short,  and 
said:  "But  it  grows  dark,  boys,  you  may  go,"  and  almost  immediately  ex 
pired."— ED. 

No.  13,— [Vol.  V.  No.  I,)— 8. 


I.     LIFE  AND  EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  OF  JOHN  STURM. 

FROM  THE  GERMAN*  OP  KARL  VON  RATJMER.* 


JOHN  STURM,  or  Sturmius,  as  his  name  was  latinized,  one  of  the 
best  classical  scholars  and  school  teachers  of  his  time,  was  born  at 
Schleiden,  in  the  Eiffel,  near  Cologne,  in  1507.  His  father  was  stew- 
ard to  Count  Manderscheid,  with  whose  sons  the  young  John  was 
educated  until  his  fourteenth  year,  when  he  went  to  the  school  of  the 
Hieronymiansf  at  Liege,  and  thence,  in  1524,  to  the  University  of 
Louvain,  where  he  spent  three  years  in  studying,  and  two  more  in 
teaching.  Of  his  parents  and  early  teachers  he  ever  spoke  with  grati- 
tude and  veneration,  and  his  mother  he  characterizes  as  a  "superior 
woman."  Among  his  fellow-students  was  Sleidanus,  the  historian,  and 
Andreas  Bersalius,  the  anatomist. 

In  connection  with  Rudiger  Rescius,  the  professor  of  Greek  at 
Louvain,  Sturm  established  a  printing  press,  from  which  Homer  and 
other  Greek  and  Roman  classics  were  issued.  With  copies  of  these 
books  for  sale,  and  for  use  by  students,  he  removed  to  Paris,  in  1529, 
where  he  studied  medicine,  read  public  lectures  on  logic,  and  the 
Greek  and  Roman  classics,  was  married,  and  had  private  scholars  from 
Germany,  England,  and  Italy.  Here  he  established  a  high  reputation 
as  a  scholar  and  teacher,  and  corresponded  with  Erasmus,  Melancthon, 
Bucer,  and  others.  Such  was  his  reputation  as  a  classical  scholar  and 
teacher  that,  when  the  magistrates  of  the  city  of  StrasburgJ  decided 

•*Geeckichteder  Pddagitgik.  The  biographical  portion  of  Von  Raumer's  chapter  is  abridge.!, 
and  that  portion  which  treats  of  the  theological  controversies  of  the  times,  and  particularly 
of  the  differences  between  the  German,  and  the  Swiss,  and  French  reformers,  with  the  for- 
mer of  whom  Sturm  sympathized,  and  to  some  extent  cooperated,  is  altogether  omitted. 
Sturm  was  avowedly  a  Lutheran,  and  the  Calvinists  charged  him  with  absenting  himself  from 
the  communion  table  and  from  church  for  twenty  years. 

,  tThe  flieronymians  were  a  regular  order  of  canons,  or  clergy,  employed  in  teaching, 
founded  by  Gerhard  Grovte,  in  1373.  They  wore  a  white  dress,  with  black  scapula,  and 
were  most  numerous  and  efficient  in  the  Netherlands,  where  they  originated.  They  were 
also  known  as  Hieronymites,  Hermits  of  St.  Hieronymus,  Collatiaa  Brothers,  Gregorians,  or 
Brethren  of  Good  Will.  The  instruction  in  their  schools  was  partly  elementary  and  partly 
classical.  Their  scholars  learned  to  copy  MSS.,  to  read  and  write,  were  diligently  drilled  in 
speaking  Latin,  and  in  the  study  of  the  Scriptures,  the  Fathers,  and  a  few  of  the  classics, 
especially  Ucero.  See  Rauntfr,  Hist,  of  Ped.,  Vol.  1.  p.  64:  Cramer,  Hist,  of  Ed.  in  the 
Ntthtrlands,  p.  260,  et  seq.  It  was  at  Liege,  from  the  Hieronymiaos,  that  Sturm  received  the 
educational  principle  which  he  afterward  embodied  in  his  own  school  at  Strasburg,  "  Pietas 
sapiens  et  eloquens  est  finis  studiorum." 

'  A  theological  school  was  proposed  in  1C01.  but  not  established  till  1531.    In  lo'-M.  a  number 

M 


194  STURM'S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION. 

to  establish  a  gymnasium,  he  was  earnestly  solicited  to  organize  and 
conduct  it  as  Rector.  He  accordingly,  in  1537,  removed  to  that  city 
where  he  labored  for  forty-five  years  as  a  teacher,  and,  by  his  example, 
correspondence  and  publications,  was  greatly  influential  in  introducing 
a  better  organization  and  methods  of  instruction  into  the  schools  of 
Europe.  His  plan  of  organizing  a  gymnasium  or  classical  school  was 
drawn  up  in  1538,  and  published  under  the  title  of  "  The  best  mode 
of  opening  institutions  of  learning"  The  development  of  this  plan 
was  exhibited  in  Letters  which  he  addressed  to  the  teachers  of  the 
various  classes  of  his  Gymnasium,  in  1565,  and  in  an  account  of  the 
examination  of  the  school,  published  in  1578. 

On  the  7th  of  December,  1581,  by  a  decree  of  the  city  council, 
Sturm  was  deposed  from  the  Rectorate,  "  on  account  of  his  advanced 
age,  and  for  other  reasons,"  viz. :  publishing  a  pamphlet,  in  which  he 
opposed  the  dominant  religious  majority  in  some  of  the  theological 
disputes  of  the  day.  He  was  soon  after  attacked  with  blindness, 
and,  worn  out  by  the  labors  of  a  toilsome  life,  and  weakened  by  age, 
and  pinched  by  poverty  incurred  by  his  generosity  to  those  who  fled  to 
him  from  persecution,  he  died  in  1589,  in  the  eighty-second  year  of 
his  age,  and  was  buried  in  the  church-yard  of  St.  Gallus,  in  Strasburg. 

Sturm  was  a  man  of  medium  size,  dark  and  ruddy  complexion, 
firm  features,  long  beard,  clear  and  well-modulated  voice,  honorable 
presence,  and  a  somewhat  slow  gait.  He  was  amiable  and  dignified, 
in  conversation  earnest  and  courteous,  in  action  decided  and  prompt, 
and  industrious  both  in  his  public  and  private  relations.  He  was  ever 
keeping  pace  with  those  about  him,  learning  Hebrew,  for  instance,  in 
his  fifty-ninth  year,  and  inspiring  his  teachers  with  his  own  enthusiasm. 
He  enjoyed  the  respect  of  the  emperors  Charles  V.,  Ferdinand  I.,  and 
Maximilian  II.,  as  well  as  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  of  England.  His  fame 
as  a  teacher  and  educator  was  European,  and  his  school  was  a  Normal 
School  of  classical  instruction.  His  pupils  were  among  the  "men  of 
mark  "  throughout  Germany.  At  one  time  there  were  two  hundred 
noblemen,  twenty-four  counts  and  barons,  and  three  princes  under  his 
instruction  ;  and,  besides  organizing  directly  many  classical  schools,  his 
pupils  rose  to  be  head-masters  of  many  more,  and  his  principles  were 
embodied  in  the  School  Code  of  Wurtemberg  in  1559,  and  in  that 
of  Saxony  in  1580,  and  in  the  educational  system  of  the  Jesuits. 

of  elementary  schools  were  instituted,  which  were  placed  under  the  direction  of  school  in- 
tprc'an,  of  whom  the  preacher,  James  Sturm,  was  one,  and  through  whose  influence  John 
S1  MI-HI  was  induced  to  remove  to  St raslm rir.  The  gymnasium  organi/ed  in  1537  was  endowed 
with  t'if  privileges  of  a  College,  in  I5C7,  hy  Emperor  Maximilian  II.,  and  John  Sturm  was 
appointed  itt  Rector  in  perpttuo. 


STURM'S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION.  JQ5 

STURM'S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION. 

Whoever  clearly  conceives  a  distinct  object  of  pursuit,  and  brings 
perseverance,  intelligence  and  tact  to  bear  upon  its  attainment,  will 
ba  sure,  at  least,  to  do  something  worthy  of  note ;  and  especially  so, 
when,  at  the  same  time,  he  falls  in  with  the  tendency  and  the  senti- 
ments of  the  age  in  which  he  lives.  This  is,  above  all,  true  of  school 
reformers.  If  they  know  not  what  they  would  have,  if  they  have 
no  definite  aim  in  view,  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  speak  with  any  pro- 
priety of  the  methods  which  they  may  have  taken  to  reach  their  aim. 
Their  course  is  wavering  and  uncertain,  and  they  inspire  distrust 
instead  of  confidence.  But  Sturm  was  no  wavering,  undecided,  pur- 
poseless man.  With  firm  step  he  advanced  toward  the  realization  of 
a  definitely  conceived  ideal ;  an  ideal,  too,  which,  in  greater  or  less 
distinctness,  floated  before  the  minds  of  most  of  his  contemporaries, 
and  which  was  regarded  by  them  as  the  highest  aim  of  mental  cul- 
ture. Hence,  he  enjoyed  a  widely  extended  and  an  unquestioning 
confidence.  This,  his  ideal,  Sturm  has  defined  for  us  in  numerous 
passages ;  and  it  is  our  first  duty  to  examine  it,  if  we  wish  to  judge  of 
his  method. 

"  The  end  to  be  accomplished  by  teaching,"  says  he,  "  is  three-fold  ; 
embracing  piety,  knowledge  and  the  art  of  speaking.''  In  another 
place,  he  expresses  himself  thus ;  "A  wise  and  persuasive  piety  should 
be  the  aim  of  our  studies.  But,  were  all  pious,  then  the  student 
should  be  distinguished  from  him  who  is  unlettered,  by  scientific  cul- 
ture and  by  eloquence,  (ratione  et  oratione.)  Hence,  knowledge,  and 
purity  and  elegance  of  diction,  should  become  the  aim  of  scholarship, 
and  toward  its  attainment  both  teachers  and  pupils  should  sedulously 
bend  their  every  effort."  What  description  of  knowledge,  and  what 
species  of  eloquence  Sturm  had  in  view,  we  shall  now  proceed  to 
inquire. 

The  boy  should  be  sent  to  school, — so  he  insists, — in  his  sixth  or 
seventh  year.  His  school  education  proper  should  occupy  nine  years, 
or  until  he  is  sixteen ;  it  should  then  be  succeeded  by  a  more  inde- 
pendent style  of  culture.  Lectures  should  be  substituted  for  recita- 
tion, and  that  for  five  years,  or  until  he  is  in  his  twenty -first  year. 

The  Gymnasium  included  nine  classes,  corresponding  with  the  nine 
years  that  the  pupil  was  to  spend  there.  Seven  of  these  years  Sturm 
assigned  to  a  thorough  mastery  of  pure,  idiomatic  Latin ;  the  two 
that  remained  were  devoted  to  the  acquisition  of  an  elegant  style ; 
and  to  learn  to  speak  with  the  utmost  readiness  and  propriety,  was 
the  problem  of  the  five  collegiate  years.  During  the  first  seven  years 


196  STURM'S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION. 

of  the  child's  life,  he  was  to  be  left  in  the  care  of  his  mother.  Every 
year  the  scholars  in  the  lower  classes  were  to  be  promoted,  each  into 
the  next  higher  class,  and  premiums  were  to  be  awarded  to  the  two 
best  scholars  in  each  class. 

Thus,  Sturm  expressed  himself,  in  1537,  in  the  "Plan,"  on  which 
he  organized  his  school,  in  which  he  gives  a  full  sketch  of  the  course 
of  study  to  be  pursued  by  each  class.  And,  the  arrangement,  thus 
previously  indicated,  was  essentially  the  same  after  the  lapse  of  twenty- 
seven  years,  save  that  the  Gymnasium  then  embraced  ten  classes, 
instead  of  nine.  This  appears  from  the  "Classic  Letters"  which,  in 
1565,  Sturm  wrote  to  the  teachers  of  the  various  classes.  Forty 
years  after  the  foundation  of  the  Gymnasium,  in  1578,  a  general  ex- 
amination took  place,  the  particulars  of  which  were  recorded  with  the 
faithful  minuteness  of  a  protocol.  And  this,  again,  as  well  as  the 
"Classic  Letters,"  harmonizes,  in  the  main,  with  Sturm's  original  plan 
of  instruction.  And,  in  all  this,  the  observation  forces  itself  upon  us 
that,  as  he  proposed  to  himself  a  well-marked  and  distinct  aim  at  the 
outset  of  his  career,  so  he  advanced  toward  that  aim  through  all 
those  long  years  with  an  iron  will  and  a  steady  step. 

I  will  now  give  Sturm's  course  of  instruction  in  detail,  on  the 
authority  chiefly  of  the  report  above  mentioned  of  the  examination 
of  the  school,  and  of  the  "Classic  Letters."  We  will  commence, 
following  the  order  of  the  "  Letters,"  with  the  exercises  of  the  tenth 
or  lowest  class,  and  so  proceed  to  the  first. 

TENTH  CLASS. — To  Frisius,  the  teacher  of  this  class,  Sturm  writes, 
"  That  he  is  to  lay  the  foundation ;  to  teach  tl  e  children  the  form 
and  the  correct  pronunciation  of  the  letters  of  the  alphabet,  and,  after 
that,  reading;  which  will  be  better  expedited  by  learning  Latin  de- 
clensions and  conjugations  than  by  the  use  of  the  catechism.  The 
German  catechism  must  be  committed  to  memory,  for  the  Latin 
would  bo  a  mere  matter  of  rote.  The  love  of  the  children  will  re- 
ward Win  for  his  pains ;  as  he  himself  (Sturm)  can  testify  from  his 
own  grateful  recollections  of  his  earliest  teachers.  At  the  examination, 
(in  1578,)  the  first  scholar  in  the  ninth  class  put  the  following  ques- 
tions to  the  first  scholar  in  the  tenth. 

Q.  What  have  you  learned  in  the  tenth  class  ? 

Jj.  Ijetten,  Spelling,  reading  and  writing,  all  tic  wradigms  of  nouni  and  verbs,  and  the  German 
catechism  likewise. 

Q.  Read  me  something  from  the  AVnnixr/  of  our  Rector. 

Jl.  .In  tu  non  c»  l.uciu*  lacing  stiiitiorum  mrvrtim,  qui  modo  a  me  tfort  discesterat  1 

Q.  What  is  the  meaning  of  socitts  1 

Jl.  A  companion. 

Q.  Decline  nodus. 

Jl.  Social,  tocii,  tocio,  etc. 

<}.  What  i«  th*  meaning  otditfdal 


STURM'S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION.  jgf 

A .  \  go  away. 

Q.  Conjugate  diseedo. 

A.  Diseedo,  diicedere,  etc. 

Q.  To  what  conjugation  does  diseedo  belong  1 

.1.  That  I  have  not  learned. 

NINTH  CLASS. — To  Schirner,  the  teacher  of  this  class,  Sturm  writes, 
"  That  he  is  to  ground  the  scholar  more  thoroughly  in  declining  and 
conjugating,  adding  all  the  anomalous  and  irregular  forms.  Then, 
too,  he  must  see  that  the  scholars  learn  a  great  number  of  Latin 
words,  particularly  the  appellations  of  common  and  familiar  objects. 
Of  such  words,  he  must  every  day  give  a  few  to  one  scholar,  a  few  to 
another,  and  so  on,  to  commit  to  memory ;  only  taking  care  not  to 
select  words  at  random,  but  in  their  natural  groups,  as  organic  sys- 
tems, each  formed  upon  a  distinct  and  independent  idea.  Thus,  too, 
each  boy,  by  listening  to  the  words  which  the  others  repeat,  will  him- 
self the  more  readily  fasten  them  in  his  own  mind. 

This  method  of  enriching  the  memory  with  words,  Sturm  says,  he 
should  have  introduced  twenty-seven  years  before,  had  it  been  appre- 
ciated. How  was  it  that  Roman  youths,  at  so  early  an  age,  learned 
to  express  themselves  with  ease  and  propriety  ?  They  prattled  in 
Latin  on  their  mother's  breast ;  the  nurses,  in  whose  care  they  were 
placed,  talked  to  them  in  infantile  dialect  in  broken  Latin;  and  this, 
as  they  grew  older,  was  gradually  corrected.  And  then  the  children 
were  continually  learning  new  words  from  the  household  servants, 
who  played  with  them,  not  simply  to  amuse  them,  but  likewise  to 
exercise  them  in  speaking  Latin.  To  this  we  must  add  their  daily 
intercourse  with  their  companions,  in  which  the  older  boys  derived  an 
ever  increasing  knowledge,  both  of  words  and  things.  All  this  the 
youth  of  the  present  day  lack  entirely,  as  neither  parents,  domestics, 
nor  comrades  speak  Latin.  "  This  evil,"  continues  Sturm,  "  must  be 
removed  by  the  diligent  efforts  of  the  teacher,  and  in  the  way  which 
I  have  indicated."  In  another  place  he  repeats  the  same  complaint. 
"  Cicero,"  he  says,  "  was  but  twenty  years  old  when  he  delivered  his 
speeches  in  behalf  of  P.  Quintius  and  Sextius  Roscius;  but,  in  these 
latter  days,  where  is  the  man,  of  fourscore  even,  who  could  bequeath 
to  the  world  such  masterpieces  of  eloquence  ?  And  yet,  there  are 
books  enough,  and  there  is  intellect  enough.  What,  then,  do  we 
need  further !  I  reply,  the  Latin  language,  and  a  correct  method  of 
teaching.  Both  these  we  must  have,  before  we  can  arrive  at  the 
summit  of  eloquence."  In  conclusion,  Sturm  implores  Schirner  not 
to  undervalue,  for  a  moment,  his  labors  with  the  elementary  class ; 
but,  to  stand  up  as  a  champion  against  those  gladiators  of  barbarism 
who  from  indolence  have  corrupted,  or  from  envy  have  withstood, 
the  purity  of  the  Latin  tongue. 


103  STURM'S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION. 

At  the  examination,  the  first  in  the  eighth  class  asked  the  first  in 
the  ninth,  as  follows. 

Q.  To  what  conjugation  does  discedo  belong  7 

.1.  To  the  third,  because  it  makes  e  short  before  re  in  the  infinitive. 

Q.  To  what  class  does  discedo  belong  7 

.-I.  It  is  a  neuter  verb. 

Q.  What  is  a  neuter  verb  7 

-1.  A  neuter  verb  is,  &.c. 

Q.  Decline  the  imperative  of  diseedo. 

A.  DiKcede,  discedito,  etc. 

Q.  What  else  have  you  learned  in  the  ninth  class? 

.4.  Besides  the  German  catechism,  I  have  committed  to  memory  the  Second  Onomasticon,  and 
translated  the  AVam.vri  of  our  Rector  into  German. 

Q.  Translate  the  dialogue  that  has  just  been  rehearsed. 

A.  An  tit  nan  es  Lucius,  Are  you  not  Lucius ;  socius  studiorum  meoriim,  my  school-fellow  ; 
gut,  who  ;  disccsseras,  went ;  a  me,  from  me  ;  modo,  just  now  ;  e  foro,  at  the  market  place. 

Q.  To  which  of  the  parts  of  speech  does  modo  belong  | 

.•}.  I  do  not  know  ;  for  the  indeclinables  are  not  taught  in  my  class. 

EIGHTH  CLASS. — To  Matthias  Huebner,  teacher  of  this  class,  Sturm 
writes,  "That  it  must  be  his  especial  care  that  the  boys  forget  noth- 
ing they  have  learned  in  the  lower  classes.  And  what  they  have 
there  learned  he  can  best  ascertain  by  consulting  their  prescribed 
school-books,  which  in  all  the  classes  are  most  faithfully  conformed  to. 

The  boys,  who  have  been  promoted  from  the  ninth  into  the  eighth 
class,  must  be  able  to  inflect  all  the  nouns  and  verbs.  This  they  will 
have  learned  more  by  practice  than  in  a  scientific  manner,  just  as  the 
Roman  and  Greek  boys  were  exercised  in  language  before  the  gram- 
marians gave  them  the  reasons  why  they  ought  to  speak  as  they  did. 
Moreover,  the  boys  in  the  next  lower  class  had  learned  by  heart  many 
short  sayings  and  sentences ;  but,  since  in  these  no  very  wide  range 
of  words  occurred,  they  were  enjoined  to  compile  dictionaries,  and  to 
enter  therein  all  the  common  and  necessary  words  under  distinct  heads, 
such  heads  for  instance  as  the  following,  the  whole  and  its  parts, 
friendship  and  enmity,  cause  and  effect,  etc.  These  dictionaries  must 
now,  in  the  eighth  class,  be  increased  and  enlarged ;  if  the  boys  have 
before  fixed  in  their  minds  the  definition  of  epistola,  they  will  now 
learn  what  is  meant  by  the  phrase  epistolam  reddere,  etc.  As  the 
boys  in  the  lower  classes  have  learned  by  practice  how  to  decline  and 
conjugate,  so  now  they  must  be  thoroughly  grounded  in  all  the  eight 
parts  of  speech,  and  each  declension  and  conjugation  must  be  fully 
and  distinctly  characterized,  and  illustrated  by  examples  drawn  from 
that  which  they  have  already  learned. 

Besides  this,  they  are  to  read  the  select  letters  of  Cicero  with  con- 
stant reference  to  the  grammatical  construction  of  the  language ;  and, 
in  such  reading,  different  letters  are  to  be  assigned  to  the  different 
decuriae* 

•  The  classes  were  subdivided  into  decuriae,  or  tens ;  the  fir.t  in  each  ten  was  called  the  decurion. 


STURM'S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION.  199 

During  the  last  months  of  their  school-year,  the  boys  of  this  class  are 
to  commence  a  series  of  exercises  in  style,  which  will  take  the  place  of 
their  previous  oral  practice  in  the  formation  of  new,  or  the  alteration  of 
given  Latin  phrases. 

At  the  examination,  the  first  scholar  in  the  seventh  class  put  to  the 
first  scholar  in  the  eighth  class  the  following  questions,  beginning  as 
before  with  the  last  of  the  preceding  series. 

Q.  Tell  me,  to  which  of  the  parts  of  speech  modo  belongs. 

A.  It  is  an  adverb  of  time. 

Q.  What  is  an  adverb  1 

.*}.  It  is  an  indeclinable  part  of  speech,  &c. 

Q.  How  many  indeclinable  parts  of  speech  are  there  1 

A.  Four,  &c.,  &.c. 

Q.  What  else  have  you  learned  in  your  class  7 

A.  Besides  a  fuller  etymology,  we  have  read  the  first  book  of  the  select  letters  of  Cicero,  the 
fourth  dialogue  in  the  Neanisci,  the  last  part  of  the  Second  Onomaslicon,  and  the  German 
Catechism. 

Q.  Read  a  letter  from  Cicero. 

A.  Cicero  JUius  Tironi  S.  P.  D.  Etsi  justa  et  idonea  usus  es  ezcusatione  intermissionis, 
etc.,  etc. 

Q.  Translate  what  you  have  read. 

.-?.   F.tsi  u.tus  es,  although  you  have  offered ;  ezcusatione  justa,  a  just  apology,  etc. 

Q.  To  what  part  of  speech  do  you  refer  idonea  ? 

A.  It  is  an  adjective  ;  in  the  ablative  case,  and  singular  number. 

Q.  How  do  you  form  its  comparative  ? 

A.  By  prefixing  magi*  ;  magis  idoneug. 

Q.  By  what  rule  do  we  say  uti  ezcusatione  1 

A.  Syntax  is  not  taught  in  my  class. 

SEVENTH  CLASS. — Sturm  writes  to  Lingelsheim,  the  teacher  of 
this  class,  "  It  must  be  his  care  that  the  scholars  do  not  lose  any 
thing  of  that  which  they  have  learned  in  the  three  preceding  classes ; 
and  then  that  they  should  add  to  what  they  have  already  learned ; — 
in  the  first  place,  Latin  syntax.  This  must  contain  but  few  rules, 
must  be  clear,  and  set  forth  by  examples,  and  that  chiefly  from  Cicero. 
In  the  daily  reading  of  Cicero's  letters,  the  rules  of  syntax,  through 
constant  use,  must  be  more  and  more  impressed  OH  the  memory. 
Pliny  says  that  we  must  read  much,  but  not  many  things ;  in  this 
class,  however,  many  things  must  be  read,  in  order  to  arrive  at  much. 

Subjects  must  be  assigned  to  the  scholars  for  their  exercises  in  style ; 
but,  in  the  treatment  of  such  subjects,  conciseness  must  be  aimed  at. 
The  teacher  should  render  assistance  in  this  matter,  either  orally  or 
by  writing,  (on  the  blackboard,)  constructing  sentences  beforehand,  as 
music-teachers  sing  first  what  they  wish  their  pupils  to  learn.  The 
subjects  are  to  be  drawn  from  what  the  scholars  have  learned  in  this 
or  the  previous  classes,  so  that  the  exercise  in  style  shall  involve  a 
repetition,  and  thus  refresh  the  memory.  And,  for  such  an  exercise 
on  Sundays,  the  German  Catechism  is  to  be  translated.  This  transla- 
tion must  be  made  in  classical  Latin,  such  words  alone  excepted  as 


200  STURM'S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION. 

have  been  authorized  by  the  church,  as  Trinitas,  sacramentum,  bap- 
tismus,  etc.  The  scholars  in  this  class  should,  by  no  means,  use  any 
other  catechism  than  that  which  they  have  had  before  in  the  lower 
classes. 

At  the  examination,  the  first  in  the  sixth  class,  asked  the  first  in 
the  seventh : 

Q.  By  what  rule  do  we  say  idunea  vti  excusatione  J     .-:<  /• : 

A.   Utor,  fruor,  fuitffor,  etc. 

Q.  Excusatione  idonea  1 

.•/.  Adjectives,  pronouns  and  participles,  etc. 

Q.  Excutatione  intermissionis? 

Jl.  One  substantive  governs  another,  etc. 

Q.  What  else  do  you  learn  in  your  class  ? 

Jl.  We  rend  two  dialogues  in  the  Neanisci  of  our  Rector,  the  second  book  of  the  select  letters 
of  Cicero,  the  "  Precepts  "  of  Cato,  the  catechism,  and  the  "  Sunday  Sermon*  ;•"  and,  in  the  first 
book  of  music,  we  learn  the  scale  and  intervals.  Also,  in  my  class,  exercises  in  style  are 
commenced. 

Q.  Read  a  sentence  from  Cato. 

Jl.  Disce  nl  it]  a  id,  nam  quit-in  subito  fortuna  recedit. 
.Irs  remanet  vitamque  hominis  non  deserit  unquam. 

Q.  Translate  this  distich. 

Jl.  Disce  ali quid,  learn  something  ;  nam,  for  ;  cum  fortuna  recedit,  when  fortune  fails,  et«, 

Q.  Visce  aliquid;  what  is  the  rule  for  this  construction? 

A.  A  verb  signifying  actively,  etc. 

Q.  For  cum  subito  recedit  7 

Jl.  Adverbs  qualify  verbs,  etc. 

Q.  Read  something  in  Greek. 

-•/.  I  have  not  read  any  Greek  in  my  class. 

SIXTH  CLASS. — To  Malleolus,  the  teacher  of  this  class,  Sturm  writes, 
"  That,  from  the  examination  of  the  scholars  of  the  seventh  class  for 
their  promotion,  he  has  learned  their  progress.  He  is  to  consider 
that  to  keep  what  has  been  acquired  is  no  less  an  art  than  the  first 
acquisition  of  it.  The  longer  letters  of  Cicero  may  now  be  translated 
into  German,  and  in  such  an  order  that  different  letters  shall  be 
assigned  to  different  decuriae.  And,  in  a  similar  manner,  he  is  to 
proceed  with  poetical  selections.  The  first  decurion,  for  example,  may 
repeat  the  "  Veni  redemptor  gentium'1'1  of  Bishop  Ambrose ;  the  second, 
Martial's  epigram,  "Vitam  quae  faciunt  beatiorem;"  the  third,  the 
ode  of  Horace,  commencing  with  "Rectius  vives,  Licini,  neque  altum" 
for  tlie  teacher  to  translate  and  explain.  Then  each  of  the  three  may 
require  a  similar  translation  and  explanation  of  the  other  scholars. 
In  the  writing  exercises,  pains  is  to  be  taken  to  arrive  at  a  greater 
elega^c  of  style. 

Saturdays  and  Sundays  are  to  be  devoted  to  the  translation  of  the 
catechism,  and  to  the  reading  of  some  letters  of  Hieronymus. 

Greek,  moreover,  is  to  be  commenced  in  this  class. 

At  the  examination,  the  first  in  the  fifth  class  asked  the  first  in  the 
sixth  as  follows: 

Q.  Read  a  fable  from  the  Greek  of 


STURM  S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION.  201 

.1.  "KXa^oj  xai  \iwv. 

"E\tKJ>os  Kvvriyovs  <j>tvyowra,  etc. 

Q.  Decline  tAa^oj. 

.4.  'O  KO.I  »j  i\aipos,  etc. 

Q.  What  is  Qcvfovoa  ? 

jj.  A  participle,  from^itiyto;  future,  0€t>fo>. 

Q.  What  have  you  read  in  Latin  ? 

.<?.  The  lust  two  books  of  the  select  letters  of  Cicero,  the  Andria  of  Terence,  the  first  book  of 
poetry,  the  Syntaxis  Fifurata,  the  shorter  Latin  catechism  of  Luther,  and  the  Sunday  Sermons. 
In  music,  we  have  attended  to  the  science  of  time. 

Q.  Read  something  from  the  fifth  book  of  the  Tristia  of  Ovid. 

.'].  lAttora  gnat  conchas,  quot  amoena  rogaria  flare* 
Quotve  soporiferum  grana  papaver  /label,  etc. 

Q.  f.ittiira.etf.     What  kind  of  construction  is  this? 

.1.  It  is  a  zeugma ;  for  the  verb  agrees  in  number  with  the  nearest  nominative,  etc. 

Q.  How  does  zeugma  differ  from  syllepsis  1 

Jt.  In  syllepsis,  the  adjective  or  verb  agrees  with  the  most  important  word ;  but,  in  zeugma,  with 
the  nearest. 

Q.   Conchas  ;  what  is  the  quantity  of  its  first  syllable  1 

Jl.  The  quantity  of  syllables  is  not  taught  in  the  sixth  class. 

FIFTH  CLASS. — Sturm  writes  to  Bitner,  the  teacher  of  this  class, 
that  the  boys  come  to  him  well  versed  in  grammar,  provided  with  a 
store  of  Latin  words  for  every-day  objects,  the  German  appellations 
for  which  had  become  familiar  to  them  beforehand.  But  now,  in  the 
fifth  class,  objects  entirely  unknown  to  the  boys,  and  words,  designat- 
ing such  objects,  also  equally  unknown  to  them,  are  to  be  brought 
forward.  Since  they  have  as  yet  heard  nothing  relative  to  the  art  of 
poetry,  they  are  now  to  be  made  acquainted  with  metre,  with  the 
quantity  of  syllables,  and  with  the  varieties  of  feet  and  of  verses,  and 
metrical  examples  are  to  be  given  to  them.  And  further,  they  must 
learn  mythology ;  and,  in  addition  to  Cicero's  Cato  and  Laelius,  must 
read  the  Eclogues  of  Virgil.  Instruction  in  Greek  is  to  be  continued. 
The  boys  are  to  learn  the  Greek  words  for  virtues  and  vices,  for  man- 
ners, practices  and  customs,  etc.,  and  also  to  complete  their  encyclo- 
paedias of  Latin  words. 

Style,  too,  is  to  be  more  thoroughly  cultivated.  And,  toward  the 
close  of  the  school-year,  they  must  practice  the  art  of  making  verses ; 
not,  however,  by  composing  poems  upon  given  subjects,  so  much  as  by 
restoring  the  meter  to  stanzas  that  have  been  disarranged  for  the  pur- 
pose. In  this  there  is  no  occasion  either  for  invention  or  for  a  choice 
of  words ;  they  are  simply  to  put  the  words  given  them  in  their 
proper  places. 

It  will  be  a  good  exercise  to  give  the  scholars  some  example  of  elo- 
quence to  translate  into  German,  and  then  to  make  them  reproduce  it, 
extempore,  in  Latin  again ;  for,  in  such  case,  the  Roman  orator  him- 
self, instead  of  the  teacher,  will  act  the  part  of  prompter.  Saturdays 
and  Sundays  one  of  the  shorter  Pauline  epistles  is  to  be  interpreted. 

At  the  examination,  the  first  in  the  fourth  class  repeated  the 


202  STURM'S  SYSTKM  OF  INSTRUCTION. 

question  which  the  first  in  the  sixth  class  could  not  answer;  but  directed 
it,  as  well  as  the  succeeding  questions,  to  the  first  in  the  fifth. 

Q.  What  is  the  quantity  of  the  first  syllable  of  the  word  conchas  1 

Ji.  It  is  long,  liy  position.     Position  is,  etc. 

Q.  What  is  the  quantity  of  the  last  syllable  of  littora  1 

A,  It  is  short,  by  the  rule,  etc. 

Q.  What  sort  of  n  foot  is  littora  1 

.1.  A  dactyle:  because  the  first  syllable  is  long,  the  last  two  short. 

Q.  How  many  kinds  of  feet  are  there  7 

-•/.  Three  ;  those  of  two,  three  and  four  syllables,  respectively. 

Q.  Whnt  do  we  construct  out  of  such  feet  7 

J).  A  poem  or  verse. 

Q.  What  is  a  verse  ? 

.  /.  A  metrical  whole  constructed  of  separate  feet. 

Q.  What  have  you  read  besides  in  Latin  ? 

A.  Some  of  Cicero's  letters  to  his  friends,  the  first  and  second  Eclogues  of  Virgil,  the  second 
took  of  poetry,  and  the  shorter  Latin  catechism  of  Luther. 

Q.  Whut  have  you  read  in  Greek  1 

.1.  The  second  part  of  the  "  Instruction  in  the  Greek  tongue,"  and  the  Sunday  Sermons. 

Q.  What  is  the  perfect  tense  of  (f>evy<ii  ? 

JI.  «i(t>tv\a. 

Q.  Why  do  you  not  say  <j>itj>tv\a,  as  \i\t\a  from  \tyti>  1 

.1.  Because,  when  the  verb  begins  with  a  rough  mute,  the  reduplication  takes  the  corresponding 
smooth. 

Q.  What  is  the  Second  Aorist  of  <j>cvyw  ? 

.H.  t<f>vyov,  formed  from  the  imperfect,  stycvyov,  by  rejecting  the  first  vowel  of  the  diphthong. 

Q.  Conjugate  itrrij/n. 

Jt.  itrrir/it,  etc. 

Q.  Conjugate  the  anomalous  verb  \or\pi. 

Ji.  The  anomalous  verbs  and  the  Attic  tenses,  the  teacher  of  the  fifth  class  has  not  explained. 

FOURTH  CLASS. — To  Laurence  Engler,  the  teacher  of  this  class, 
Sturm  writes,  "That  he  receives  the  boys  from  the  fifth  class  well 
grounded  in  Latin  and  Greek  grammar,  provided  with  a  good  store 
of  choice  words,  and  familiar  with  illustrations  drawn  from  poets,  and 
with  a  greater  number  still  from  orators.  With  all  this  in  view,  he 
must  now  see  to  it  that  the  boys  exert  themselves  to  their  utmost  in 
listening,  in  interpreting,  and  in  rehearsing  from  memory ;  but  he 
must  be  careful,  at  the  same  time,  not  to  task  them  beyond  their 
powers.  The  sixth  oration  against  Verres,  which  includes  nearly  all 
kinds  of  narration,  must  be  read ;  further,  the  epistles  and  satires  of 
Horace ;  and,  in  Greek,  together  with  the  grammar,  the  "  Book  of 
Examples."  That  which  has  been  learned,  in  the  preceding  classes, 
must  be  repeatedly  recalled  into  the  memory.  Diligent  practice  must 
be  bestowed  on  style ;  and,  on  Saturdays  and  Sundays,  the  shorter 
Pauline  epistles  are  to  be  read  by  the  boys,  who  are  to  explain  them 
as  they  read,  but  in  the  plain  manner  of  paraphrase  alone. 

At  the  examination,  the  first  of  the  third  class  asked  the  first  of  the 
fourth  as  follows : 

Q.  Conjugate  UTIJ/K. 

Ji.  iffni",  r<7ij$,  etc. 

(,'.  How  is  it  in  the  middle  voice  ? 

Ji.  laafiat,  and  by  epcnthesif,  Horapai,  from  whence  comei  inicrajiai,  \  know. 


STURM'S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION.  203 

Q.  What  have  you  interpreted  in  Greek? 

.'/.  .iEsop's  fnbles,  and,  on  Sundays,  the  first  epistle  to  Timothy. 

Q.  Repeat  a  Greek  sentence  to  me. 

Ji.  Tuv  vidiv  ol  ni&lv  iirtaTa^evui,  ov  utfivroi  eiatv,  orav  airoij  ol  yovttf  ooraij  tytvtmt, 
which  means,  etc. 

Q.  In  what  mood  and  tense  is  dyayuaiv  ? 

A.  In  the  second  aorist,  subjunctive,  from  ayu  ;  whose  second  aorist  is  rjyov,  or,  by  Attic  epen- 
thesis,  fjyayov. 

Q.  How  many  metaplasms  occur  in  dyayoMTtv  1 

.-i.  Two ;  epenthesis  and  paragoge. 

Q.  What  is  paragoge  ? 

A.  The  addition  of  a  letter  or  a  syllable  to  the  end  of  a  word,  as  TOVTOVI  for  TOVTUV,  or  lauda- 
rier  for  laudari. 

Q.  What  Latin  have  you  studied  ? 

A.  The  Eclogues  of  Virgil,  some  odes  of  Horace,  the  second  book  of  Cicero*s  "  Letters  to 
Friends,"  and  his  speech  in  behalf  of  Marcus  Marcellus;  also,  a  part  of  the  Delphi  of  Terence. 

Q.  Repeat  something  out  of  Horace. 

J).  Integer  vitae  scelerisque  purus 

Jfon  eget  Mauri  jaculis  neque  area,  • 

Jtoe  venenatis  gravida  sagiltig 
Fusee  pharetra. 

Q.  To  what  species  of  verse  does  this  ode  belong  ? 

Ji.  It  is  called  dicolon  tetrastrophon  ;  dicolon,  because  two  kinds  of  verse  unite  in  its  formation, 
namely,  the  Sapphic,  of  five  feet,  in  the  first  three  lines,  and  the  Adonic,  of  two  feet  in  the  last 
line  :  and  tetrastrophon,  because  the  ode  recurs,  after  every  fourth  line,  to  the  same  kind  of  verse 
with  which  it  commenced. 

Q.  What  figure  is  exemplified  in  egetl 

A.  A  zeugma  of  speech. 

Q.  How  does  this  differ  from  a  zeugma  of  construction  ? 

Ji.  It  is  a  zeugma  of  speech  when  the  meaning  of  a  verb  or  an  adjective  is  applicable  to  every 
thing  to  which  it  is  referred  ;  as,  in  this  sentence  from  Horace,  lAnquenda  tellus  et  damns  et  p'ac- 
ens  iirnr.  But,  if  such  meaning  is  not  applicable  to  every  thing,  then  a  zeugma  of  syntax  or  con- 
struction is  witnessed  ;  as,  for  example,  in  the  following: 

Visendus  ater  flumine  languido 
Cocytus  errans  et  Danai  genus 
Infame,  damnatusque  longi 
Sisyphus  JEolides  laboris. 

Q.  Have  you  attended,  also,  to  tropes  ? 

JJ.  No  ;  our  teacher  has  not  told  us  any  thing  of  them. 

THIRD  CLASS. — To  Boschius,  the  teacher  of  this  class,  Sturm  writes, 
"That  he  should  not  only  give  to  the  boys  a  firm  hold  on  what  they 
have  already  learned,  but  should  extend  the  range  of  their  studies ; 
should  open  to  them  the  graces  of  rhetoric,  such  as  tropes,  figures, 
etc.,  illustrating  all  by  examples.  The  treatise  of  Herennius  on  rhe- 
toric must  be  laid  before  them,  and,  with  it,  the  speech  for  Cluentius 
must  be  read ;  and,  in  Greek,  the  best  efforts  of  Demosthenes  must 
be  studied,  besides  the  first  book  of  the  Iliad,  or  that  of  the  Odyssey. 

On  Sundays,  the  Pauline  epistles  are  to  be  read  in  the  five  upper 
classes,  and,  either  entirely  or  in  part,  committed  to  memory.  Style 
exercises  are  a  matter  of  course ;  for  style  must  be  always  incessantly 
practiced  and  improved.  Selections  from  orations  in  Greek  must  be 
translated  by  the  boys  into  Latin,  or  from  orations  in  Latin  into  Greek. 
The  historians  and  poets,  too,  may  be  turned  to  account  in  a  similar 
manner;  the  odes  of  Pindar  and  Horace  changed  into  a  different 

No.  10.— [VOL.  IV.,  No.  1.]— 12. 


204  STURM'S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION. 

meter,  many  poems  composed,  many  letters  written,  and  other  like 
tasks  constantly  undertaken. 

The  comedies  of  Terence  and  Plautus  are,  likewise,  to  be  acted ; 
and,  in  this  matter,  the  boys  are  to  be  encouraged  to  rival  the  classes 
above  them.  All  the  plays  of  these  two  poets  are  to  be  acted  by  the 
four  highest  classes;  twenty  decuriae  can  accomplish  this  within  six 
months.  He,  Sturm,  had  himself,  three  years  before  the  revolt  of  the 
peasants,  acted  at  Liege  the  part  of  Geta  in  the  Phormio  of  Terence, 
and,  although  he  had  had  no  one  to  direct  his  practice,  he  yet 
derived  great  benefit  from  it. 

At  the  examination,  the  first  in  the  third  class,  a  certain  Baron  von 
Sonneck,  was  catechised  by  the  first  in  the  second  class,  as  follows  : 

Q.  Since,  O.  noble  Baron,  I  understand  that  you  are  acquainted  with  figures,  allow  me  to  ask 
you  wlutt  a  figure  is  ? 

.  /.  A  figure,  (in  Greek  cr,xi)/«i,)  it  an  ornament  of  speech,  substituted  for  a.  plainer  and  more 
direct  mode  of  conveying  thought. 

Q.  What  else  have  you  learned  in  the  third  class  7 

,1.  I  have  read  the  Menippus  of  Lucian,  and  the  two  Epistles  of  Paul  to  the  Thefsaloniant. 

V-  What  have  you  read  in  Latin  ? 

.•J.  The  third  book  of  Cicero's  Letters  to  his  Friends,  his  speech  post  rcditum,  and  the  greater 
part  of  the  sixth  book  of  the  ./Eneid. 

Q.  Repeat  some  prominent  passage  from  Luc-inn's  dialogue,  the  Menipput. 

.•1.  Menippus  says  to  I'hilonides,  concerning  the  punishment  of  the  proud  in  Hades:  ftvaArrct  & 
'PaSdftavOof  rfiv  v\iyoxp6vioi>  d\a$oi>tiav  TWV  dvOptoirw,  Sri  fifi  t/it/ii/ijvro  01/ijroi  TC  SVTCS 
aiiToi  KOI  Ovqrdjv  dyaOtav  rervxiK^TCf. 

Q.  What  is  the  rule  for  the  construction,  rervxi^res  r<3v  dyadtav  ? 

Jl.  Participles  are  followed  by  the  same  cases  as  their  verbs;  but,  verbs  signifying  "to  obtain  or 
to  miss"  govern  the  genitive  in  Greek;  wherefore,  rvxfin  governs  the  genitive. 

Q.  Give  me  a  verse  from  Virgil. 

Jl.  JEneas  thus  prays  to  Apollo:  "Phoebe,  graves  Trojae  semper  miserate  labores." 

Q.  Can  you  show  that  these  verses  of  the  poet  are  constructed  after  the  rules  of  art  ?     • 

.•/.  The  critics  of  poetry  lay  down  seventeen  demands,  (accidentia,)  which  must  lie  conformed 
to  in  every  verse.  That  Virgil  has  conformed  to  all  these  in  the  above  verses,  I  will  now  attempt 
to  shew.  The  measure  is  dactylic,  as  befits  epic  verse  ;  the  feet,  (the  dactyle  and  the  spondee,) 
which  are  appropriate  to  this  measure,  being  employed.  In  the  scansion,  the  caesura,  etc.,  the 
passage  harmonizes  with  all  the  rules  of  the  art. 

Q.  "  You  observe,"  continues  the  questioner,  "  that  the  noble  Lord  understands  all  these  sub- 
jects, but  I  wish  to  know  one  thing  further  ;  is  the  phrase  'Phoebe  da  Latio  considere  Teucros'  a 
logically  accurate  proposition  ?  " 

Jl.  To  this  point,  with  reference  to  the  rules  of  logic,  it  is  your  part  to  respond. 

SECOND  CLASS. — To  Renard,  the  teacher  of  this  class,  Sturm  writes, 
that  he  himself  is  not  to  give  a  literal  interpretation  of  the  Greek 
poets  and  orators,  but  rather  to  assign  that  labor  to  the  scholars ;  but 
he  may,  nevertheless,  direct  their  attention  to  the  relation  which  exists 
between  oratorical  and  poetical  usage,  and  may  require  them  to  copy 
striking  passages  from  the  classics  in  their  commonplace-books. 

And  the  like  course  is  to  be  taken  with  Latin  authors,  and  a  com- 
parison is  to  be  instituted  between  these  and  the  Greek. 

Logic,  the  instrument  of  wisdom,  must  be  laid  before  the  scholars, 
the  analytical  or  introductory  part  first,  and  afterward  the  synthetical 
or  syllogistic ;  and  rhetoric,  too,  must  ever  accompany  logic,  for  which 


STURM'S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION.  205 

study  the  "Institutes  of  Herennius"  maybe  taken  as  a  text-book. 
The  teacher  may  read,  with  reference  to  rhetorif,  the  Olynthiac  and 
Philippic  orations  of  Demosthenes,  and  also  some  of  Cicero's.  What  ora- 
tions of  Cicero  shall  he  read  ?  Either  he  may  decide  himself,  or  he  may 
allow  the  boys  to  choose ;  for  these  should  be  often  permitted  to  use 
their  own  judgment.  Daily  exercises  in  style  are  indispensable,  and  a 
higher  point  must  be  reached  therein  than  in  the  previous  classes.* 
The  scholars  may  also  write  short  dissertations,  and  deliver  them 
either  memoriter  or  from  their  notes. 

On  Sundays,  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  is  to  be  read,  learned 
by  heart,  and  recited  by  all.  The  scholars  of  this  class  must  act  the 
comedies  of  Terence  and  Plautus  to  greater  perfection  than  those 
below  them  can  do ;  and,  later  in  their  course,  they  may  represent  a 
play  of  Aristophanes,  Euripides,  or  Sophocles,  which  the  teacher  has 
first  expounded  to  them ;  and,  if  they  should  wish  to  take  up  any 
others  afterward,  they  may  do  so  at  their  pleasure,  as  those  who  are 
self-instructed. 

At  the  examination,  the  first  in  the  first  class  put  to  the  first  in  the 
second  the  same  question  which  the  first  in  the  third  had  left, 
unanswered. 

Q.  Resolve  me  this  question  in  dialectics,  is  '« Phoebe,  da  Latio  ctmxidere  Teucros"  a  completed 
or  logicnlly  accurate  proposition  7 

A.  It  is  not,  and  I  thus  prove  why  it  is  not.  A  completed  proposition  is  a  perfect  sentence,  in 
which  the  noun  is  united  to  the  verb,  and  wliich  enunciates  either  a  truth  or  a  falsity.  But,  this 
phrnse  embodies  neither  that  which  is  true  nor  that  which  is  false.  Therefore,  I  conclude  that  it 
is  not  a  completed  proposition. 

<J.  From  what  part  of  logic,  and  for  what  reason,  do  you  so  conclude? 

A.  From  the  part  that  relates  to  definition ;  upon  the  rules  of  which  part  I  take  my  stand,  and 
thence  urgue  again.  If  a  sentence  does  not  conform  to  some  one  logical  definition,  Hint  which  is 
conveyed  by  this  definition  is  not  applicable  ti>  such  sentence.  But  the  phrase  in  question  does  not 
conform  to  the  definition  of  a  completed  proposition.  Therefore,  the  term  "completed  proposition  " 
is  not  applicable  to  this  phrase. 

Q.  But  here  is  another  rule  of  dialectics :  From  pure  negations  no  conclusion  can  follow.  Your 
propositions  are  pure  negations;  therefore,  your  conclusion  is  a  nan  sequitur. 

A.  I  deny  the  minor  of  your  argument:  for  my  second  proposition  is  an  indirect  affirmation. 
Hence,  my  syllogism,  since  it  is  stated  in  the  terms  of  the  figure  called  Ferio.  remains  impregnable. 

Q.  Allow  me  to  n»k  you  whether  you  would  call  your  syllogism  demonstrative,  argumentative, 
or  sophistical.  . 

Jt.  To  judge  by  its  purport,  I  would  call  it  demonstrative.  But,  if  you  were  to  require  more  of 
me,  as  that  I  should  answer  with  respect  to  the  science  of  demonstration  or  to  sophistical  argu- 
ments, I  could  not  satisfy  you ;  for  the  precepts  of  these  are  not  taught  in  the  second  class. 

Upon  this  the  questioner  proceeds  as  follows : 

Q.  What  have  you  read  in  rhetoric! 

A,  The  first  and  second  dialogue*  of  Dr.  Sturm  upon  Cicero's  divisions  of  the  oration,  in  which 
is  discussed  the  five-fold  problem  of  the  orator ;  namely,  invention,  disposition,  expression,  action 
and  memory. 

Q.  Does  not  judgment  belong  here,  too  1 

.1.  Orators  chiss  judgment  uuder  the  lie-ill  of  invention ;  for,  invention  supposes  a  selection  of 
the  best  arguments,  and  certainly  we  must  discriminate  and  judge  when  making  such  selection. 

*  It  is  incredible,  Sturm  adds  in  this  place,  how  much  one  can  accomplish  by  effort,  by  imitation, 
by  emulation,  and  by  the  belief  that  all  obstacles  yield  to  art  and  industry. 


206  STURM'S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION. 

Q.  What  other  authors  have  you  read  1 

Jt.  The  second  Philippic  <A'  Demosthenes,  and  Cicero's  pleas  in  behalf  of  Roscius  Ainerinus  and 
Cnius  Rubirius,  besides  the  first  book  of  the  Iliad. 

Q.  Why  the  name  Iliad  ? 

Jl.  Because  it  is  a  narration  of  events  and  exploits,  of  which  Ilium  or  Troy  was  the  theatre. 

Q.  What  species  of  argument  (status)  is  employed  in  the  plea  for  B-'jirius? 

%J.  I  have  heard  it  called  the  conjectural  argument;  *  but  I  am  no  n.ore  familiar  with  the  nature 
of  arguments  than  with  that  of  the  various  eubdivisions  of  the  oration. 

FIRST  CLASS. — To  Goelius,  the  teacher  of  the  first  class,  Sturm 
writes,  that  he  is  to  carry  logic  and  rhetoric  to  a  further  extent,  though 
not  to  their  perfection,  after  the  manner  of  the  Aristotelians  and  the 
Greek  rhetoricians ;  for  this  should  be  deferred  until  the  boys  have 
left  the  gymnasium,  and  then  should  be  achieved  by  means  of  a 
shorter  method  composed  by  himself,  (Sturm,)  a  method  which, 
though  not  following  Aristotle  throughout,  yet  contains  all  the  di- 
visions and  subdivisions  (genera  et  partes)  which  are  to  be  found  in 
Aristotle,  Hermogenes,  and  Cicero.  The  rules  of  logic  and  rhetoric 
are  to  be  applied,  by  way  of  illustration,  to  Demosthenes  and  Cicero. 
And,  to  the  same  end,  too,  what  remains  of  Virgil,  and  some  portion 
of  Homer,  should  be  read ;  for,  these  poets,  Homer  especially,  have 
conduced  greatly  to  the  perfection  of  oratory.f 

Thucydides  and  Sallust  are  to  be  translated  in  writing  by  the 
scholars  themselves,  some  having  these  passages,  and  others  those, 
assigned  to  them ;  not  all  taking  the  same. 

In  this  class,  too,  the  dramatic  representations  are  to  be  more  fre- 
quent, and  not  a  week  is  to  elapse  without  its  play. 

Of  the  scholars,  Sturm  desires  a  thoroughly  cultivated  facility  in 
writing  and  in  declamation  :  all  that  they  produce,  whether  in  prose 
or  in  poetry,  must  be  artistic. 

The  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  are  to  be  expounded  by  the  scholars,  and 
prominent  passages  of  the  same,  after  the  manner  of  the  rhetoricians, 
are  to  be  amplified. 

At  the  examination,  one  member  of  the  first  class  asked  another, 
as  follows : 

Q.  Tell  me  what  you  have  read  in  the  first  class  ? 

./J.  In  the  logic  of  Dr.  Sturm,  I  have  learned  the  precepts  of  demonstrative  and  sophistical  jyllo- 
gitms ;  in  rhetoric,  the  last  two  dialogues  upon  Cicero's  divisions  of  the  oration,  and  his  three 
books  •' De  Officiis  ;  "  besides  the  Phoenissae  of  Euripides ;  out  of  Demosthenes,  Philip's  letter, 
and  Demosthenes'  reply  to  the  same ;  the  latter  part  of  the  catechism  of  Chytraeus ;  and,  on 
Sundays,  St  Paul's  epistle  to  the  Gulutians. 

Q.  What  is  a  demonstrative  syllogism  ? 

jj.  It  it  a  conclusion  drawn  from  necessary  truths,  and  of  special  use  in  extending  the  area  of 
knowledge.  For,  thus  says  Aristotle,  ''  Demonstration  is  the  syllogism  of  science,  predicated  upon 
necwsary  propositions,"  as  for  instance  : 

*The  conjectural  argument,  (utatut  coxjecturalif,)  or  the  "Jin  tit"  of  Quintilian,  consist* 
wholly  and  solely  of  an  attempt  to  establish  or  to  set  aside  the  trut>>  of  the  charges  alledged. 

t  "  I  am  convinced  that  the  rules  of  each  S|iccie*  of  oratory,  as  well  as  the  ornaments  of  each,  can 
b«  shewn  to  exist  in  Homer ;  to  that,  if  the  art  of  eloquence  were  extinct,  it  could  be  fully  restored 
from  this  rich  fountain." — S't..rm. 


STURM'S  SYSTEM  OP  INSTRUCTION.  207 

Every  cause  is  antecedent  to  its  effect ; 

The  rising  of  the  sun  is  the  cause  of  day ; 

Therefore,  the  rising  of  the  sun  is  antecedent  to  the  day. 

Q.  Of  what  nature  is  this  demonstration  1 

A.  It  is  a  perfect  demonstration,  and  is  culled  by  Aristotle  rSv  it  on,  (of  the  Why.)  It  consist* 
of  true  propositions,  primary,  not  secondary ;  the  more  prominent,  the  antecedent,  and  those  which 
are  the  causes  of  the  conclusion,  and  which  furnish  us  with  demonstrative  science. 

Q.  Is  there  any  other  species  of  demonstration  ? 

j9.  There  is;  namely,  the  imperfect  demonstration,  which  is  called  ro9  on,  (of  the  Because;) 
when  the  conclusion  does  not  flow  from  primary  or  direct,  but  from  intermediate  propositions,  of 
from  effects,  or  secondary  and  remote  causes,  as  if  I  should  say, 

Wherever  it  is  dny,  there  the  sun  has  arisen  ; 

But,  it  is  day  with  us; 

Therefore,  with  us  the  sun  has  arisen. 

This  is  the  domonstration  a  posteriori.  For  the  cause  is  demonstrated  from  its  effect.  The  day 
is  not  the  cause  of  the  sun's  appearance ;  but,  the  rising  of  the  sun  is  the  necessary  and  efficient 
cause  of  the  day. 

Q.  Since,  then,  you  assert  that  the  rising  of  the  sun  is  the  cause  of  day,  what  would  you  say  if 
I  should  prove  to  you  that  it  is  not  yet  day  with  us? 

.4.  I  would  like  to  hear  whether  you  can  truly  demonstrate  what  you  thus  advance. 

Q.  Is  not  the  state  of  things  at  Frankfort  different  from  that  which  obtains  here  at  Strasburg? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  Is  it  not  day  now  at  Frankfort  ? 

./.  So  I  imagine. 

Q.  Then  it  is  nut  day  with  us  at  Strasburg. 

Jl.  I  deny  your  consequence.  For  you  have  stated  a  fallacy  in  the  form  of  the  seventh  species 
of  the  ignoralie  elencki.  Your  terms  do  not  both  refer  to  the  same  thing,  (frpdj  owrd,)  but  each 
to  a  different  point,  (irpdf  uXXo.)  The  mnjor  of  your  argument  possesses  nothing  in  common  with 
the  minor;  therefore,  your  conclusion  is  a  non  sequitur. 

Q.  Then,  you  have  studied  sophistics,  if  I  may  judge  by  your  rejoinder. 

A.  Yes  ;  I  have  learned  the  rules  of  that  art  as  they  have  been  delivered  to  us  by  our  illustrious 
rector,  Dr.  Sturm,  from  the  sophistical  problems  of  Aristotle. 

Hereupon  the  respondent  exposed  the  fallacy  of  the  two  following 
sophisms, 

(1.)  He  who  is  well  versed  in  sophistical  reasoning  seeks  to  deceive  others  by  his  conclusions. 
You  say  that  you  are  well  versed  in  sophistical  reasoning;  you,  therefore,  seek  to  deceive  me. 

(2.)  He  who  has  five  fingers  on  one  of  his  hands,  also  has  three,  and  two,  and  has  five,  likewise. 
But,  he  who  has  three,  two,  and  five,  has  ten.  Whoever,  therefore,  has  five  fingers  on  one  of  hit 
hands,  has  ten  on  the  same  hand. 

In  rhetoric  there  was  no  examination,  but  the  questioning  proceeded 
as  follows : 

Q.  What  have  you  learned  in  your  class,  of  mathematics? 

Jl.  To  that  which  we  learned  in  the  second  class  we  have  added  astronomy,  and  some  problemi 
from  tlte  first  hook  of  Euclid. 

Q.  In  what  manner  do  astronomers  measure  the  primary  movement  (primum  ntotum)  of  the 
heavens  ? 

Q.  By  means  of  ten  circles ;  namely,  the  horizon,  the  meridian,  the  equator,  the  zodiac,  2  co- 
lures,  2  tropics,  and  2  \xj\nr  circles. 

Q.  Are  these  circles  visible  ? 

Jl.  No;  they  are  imaginary,  and  conceived  to  result  from  the  movements  of  certain  celestial 
points  and  lines. 

Q.  What  is  the  name  of  the  first  circle? 

A.  The  Greeks  called  it  lipiguv,  (horizon,)  from  bplgcaSat,  to  limit;  and  the  Romans,  jtnitor. 

Q.  How  is  it  situated,  with  respect  to  the  axis  of  the  earth  ? 

Jl.  When  it  passes  through  tlie  poles  it  is  in  n  right  position ;  but,  when  one  pole  is  above  it, 
while  th«  other  is  below  it,  it  is  oblique.  Whence,  the  one  sphere  is  called  right,  the  other 
•6/ifKc.* 

•As  this  definition  is  not  sufficiently  clear,  I  will  <juote  the  more  intelligible  words  of  John 


208  STURM'S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION. 

Q.  What  purpose  does  the  horizon  nerve  7 

.  /.  To  divide  the  celestial  sphere  into  an  upper  and  a  lower  half,  and  thereby  mark  out  those 
periods  of  its  primary  motion  which  determine  day  and  night.  When  the  sun  is  in  the  upper 
hemisphere,  it  is  day ;  when  in  the  lower,  night,  The  stars,  at  their  rising,  come  up  above  the 
horizon  ;  at  their  setting,  they  sink  below  it. 

Q.  Which  is  the  second  circle  1 

J1.  The  meridian.    This  pawet  through  the  zenith  and  the  poles. 

Q.  For  what  does  it  serve  7 

.1-  For  the  determination  of  latitude.  The  celestial  sphere  it  divides  into  an  eastern  and  a  west- 
ern half.  It  likewise  halves  the  arc  of  day,  and  the  arc  of  night,  so  that  when  the  sun  crosses  this 
circle  in  the  upjicr  hemisphere,  it  is  mid  day  ;  when  it  crosses  it  in  the  lower,  it  is  midnight.  It 
also  divides  the  day  into  forenoon  and  afternoon. 

Q.  Which  is  the  third  circlet 

.1.  The  equator ;  so  called  from  its  equalling  day  and  night.*  It  runs  from  east  to  west,  and  is, 
•t  all  points,  equi-distant  from  the  poles. 

Q.  For  what  does  the  equator  serve  7 

./*.  From  it  we  reckon  longitude.  The  celestial  sphere  it  divides  into  a  northern  and  a  southern 
half.  The  primary  motion  of  the  heavens  it  measures  off  into  periods  by  twenty-four  arcs,  which, 
in  the  order  of  their  ascension,  mark  the  course  of  the  twenty-four  hours. 

Q.  Which  is  the  fourth  circlet 

.'/.  The  zodiac;  called  by  I'tolemy  the  oblique  circle;  described  by  the  revolutions  of  the  sun 
and  the  other  planets. 

Q.  Whence  conies  the  name  7 

.  /.  From  the  animals  which  the  ancients  represented  in  its  belt. 

Q.  What  are  they  7 

A.  Aries,  etc. 

Q.  Which  of  these  are  opposite,  the  one  to  the  other  7 

.'/.  Aries  to  l.il-rn.  Taurus  to  Scorpio,  Gemini  to  Sagittarius,  Cancer  to  Capricornus,  Leo  to 
Aquarius,  and  Virgo  to  Pisces. 

Q.  To  \vlmi  use  n  the  zodiac  applied? 

,-/.  We  determine  both  longitude  and  latitude  by  it;  and  it  is  the  pathway  of  the  planets,  whose 
revolutions  measure  times  and  seasons.  The  sun  travels  over  its  course  in  a  year,  which  is  not  far 
from  the  space  of  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days  and  six  hours ;  and  the  moon  runs  completely 
round  it  In  a  month,  or  twenty-seven  days  and  eight  hours,  etc.  In  conclusion,  the  examiner 
s|H>ke  as  follows :  •'  Not  to  detain  the  audience  longer,  I  feel  satisfied  Unit  you  are  fiimiliar  with  all 
other  things  which  have  been  given  to  your  class  to  study,  and  I,  therefore,  willingly  accord  to  you 
the  palm  of  victory." 

The  foregoing  description  will  serve  to  denote  the  character  of  the 
Strasburg  Gymnasium.  We  will  now  consider  the  College,  with 
which  it  was  connected. 

(To  be  continued.) 

Sacrobusto,  whose  treatise  "on  the  Sphere"  Sturm  employed  as  a  text-book.  "There  are  two 
horizons ;  the  right  and  the  oblique.  Those  have  a  right  horizon  and  a  right  sphere  whose  zenith 
is  in  the  equinoctial ;  because  their  horizon  is  a  circle  passing  through  the  poles,  cutting  the  equi- 
noctial at  right  spherical  angles ;  whence,  their  horizon  is  called  fight,  and  their  sphere  right. 
Those  have  an  oblique  horizon  with  whom  the  pole  is  situated  above  their  horizon  ;  and,  because 
their  horizon  intersects  the  equinoctial  at  oblique  angles,  their  horizon  is  called  oblique,  and  their 
sphere  oblique. 

*  We  find  this  more  intelligibly  expressed  in  Sacrobusto,  as  follows:  "It  is  called  the  equinoctial 
because,  when  the  sun  crosses  it,  as  it  does  twice  in  the  year,  the  days  and  nights  are  equal  over 
the  whole  world  ;  whence,  it  is  called  the  cyiiatvr  of  the  day  and  the  night. 


II.    LIFE  AND  EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  OF  JOHN  STURM. 

FROM   THE   GERMAN   OF   KARL  TON"   RAUMER. 
(Continued  from  No.  10.,  page  182.) 


As  EARLY  as  the  year  1537  Sturm,  in  his  treatise  "On  the  correct 
mode  of  opening  literary  institutions"  had  designated  courses  of 
"  Public  and  Free  Lectures,"  which  graduates  from  the  first  class  of 
the  gymnasium  should  attend  upon  during  their  five  collegiate  years. 
He  also  lays  down  therein  the  main  branches  thus  to  be  taught,  which 
are  theology,  jurisprudence,  and  medicine.  Beside  these,  he  enumer- 
ates five  other  departments  of  learning,  (which  we  now  associate  in  a 
distinct  group,  and  assign  to  philosophical  faculties,)  namely,  mathe- 
matics, history,  logic  with  rhetoric,  grammar,  and  reading  of  the  poets. 
And  he  requires  a  more  extended  course  of  private  study  to  be  pursued  by 
students  at  the  college  than  had  been  provided  for  at  the  gymnasium. 

Lecturers  as  well  as  teachers  are  provided  for,  likewise,  in  his  plan 
for  a  school  organization  at  Lauingen.  After  he  has  here  character- 
ized the  duties  of  the  various  classes,  he  continues,  "  In  these  classes 
the  boys  must  be  kept  under  the  discipline  of  the  rod,  nor  should 
they  learn  according  to  their  own  choice,  but  after  the  good  pleasure 
of  the  teacher.  But,  when  they  leave  the  classes,  then  they  go  as 
their  inclination  prompts  them,  some  to  theologians,  for  the  sake  of 
religion,  some  to  naturalists,"  etc.  It  appears  from  the  second  book 
of  Sturm's  "  Classic  Letters,"  that  even  prior  to  the  year  1565  many 
learned  men  were  giving  public  lectures  in  Strasburg,  while,  at  the  same 
time,  he  was  zealously  engaged,  by  means  of  correspondence  with  many 
others,  in  efforts  to  increase  the  number  of  lecturers.  But,  it  was  not 
until  1567  that  the  Emperor  Maximilian  II.  accorded  permission  to 
the  Strasburgers  to  found  a  college,  which,  long  afterward,  (in  1621,) 
was  invested  by  Ferdinand  II.  with  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  a 
university. 

In  the  year  1569,  the  Strasburg  magistracy  empowered  Sturm  to 
organize  the  college,  whereupon  he  composed  his  "  Collegiate  Letters," 
which  were  addressed  to  the  various  instructors  in  the  new  institution. 

What  was  the  actual  course  of  instruction  therein  will  best  appear 
from  the  subjoined  schedule  of  lectures  for  the  summer  term  of  the 
jear  1578,  which  I  quote  in  the  original  Latin. 

No.  11.— [VOL.  IV.,  No.  2.]— 26.  N 


210  STURM'S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION. 

Dtfignatio  Lectionum  publicarum  pro  hoc  aestivo  semcstri,  in  academia  Jirgentoratcnsi ; 
Jnno  1578. 

J.  Sturmius,  Rector,  docebit  dialog.  Cic.  de  Senectute. 

Melehior  Junior,  Decanus,  libros  III.,  Cic.  de  Oral,  et  orationem  Cic.  Philippicum  secundara. 

TIIEOLOGI. — D  JUarbachiits  perget  in  explicatione  Psalmorum. 

]>.  .lull.  Pappus  explicabit  Danielem  prophetam  et  acta  Apostolorum. 

M.  JVYc.  Floras  epist.  Paul!  ad  Gaiatns. 

Er.  JVarbachius  Lie.  perget  in  lib.  Judicum. 

JURECONSULTI. — D.  Laur.  Tuppius  perget  in  Pandectis. 

J).  Obert.  Giphanius  interpret,  libb.  IV.  Inslitutionem  Justin. 

D.  Georg.  Obrcc/ttus  perget  in  lib.  II.  Codicis. 

MEDICI  KT  PBYSICI. — D.  Jlndr.  Planerus  leget  parvam  artein  Galeni.  Deinde  parva  naturalia 
Aristotelis. 

E.  l.ud.  ffawenrcuterus  perget  in  compendio  Physices. 
HISTORICUS. — J).  JUirri.  Beutcrus  explic.  C.  Taciturn. 

ETUICCS. — Jl/.  Tcoph.  Golius  perget  in  libris  Ethicis  Aristotelis  ad  Nicomaclium. 

ORQANICUS. — J\I.  L.  Hawenreuterus  perget  in  Analyt.  prioribus  Aristotelis. 

MATHEMATICUS. — Jl/.  Conr.  Dasypodius  docebit  sex  libros  priores  Euclidis,  item  Theorias  Solis 
et  I, mine  et  doctrinam  addet  Eclipsium. 

LINGUARUM  PROFESSORES. — M.  Henning.  Oldendorpius  docebit  Grammaticara  Iieliracam 
Clenardi  et  ndjunget  aliquot  Psalmorum  Davidis  explicationem. 

Jlf.  J.  fVilveshemius,  graecanicae  linguae  Professor,  interpretabitur  ''Epya  *aJ  fipipa;  Hesiodi. 

DISPUTATIONES  ET  DECLAMATiONES  PcBLiCAE. — Singulis  mensibus  singulae  attributae  sunt 
disputationes  et  decltimationes.  quae  publice  a  Professoribus  haberi  debent  suo  ordine,  praeter 
exercitationes  illas,  quae  privatim  suscipiuntur  cum  Studiosis  et  honorum  Candidatis. 

The  Strasburg  college  created  Baccalaureates  and  Masters  of  Phi- 
losophy, as  we  learn  from  the  lists  of  Melchior  Junius,  of  degrees 
conferred  in  the  years  1574  and  1578.  But,  Doctorates  in  theology, 
law,  and  medicine,  it  did  not  create  ;  for  this  only  universities  could  do. 

If  then,  as  we  see,  the  Strasburg  college  was  neither  a  gymnasium 
nor  a  university,  what,  in  reality,  was  it?  Manifestly  an  unfortunate 
compound  of  both;  a  sort  of  philosophical  faculty  that  laid  claim  to 
an  isolated,  independent  existence,  almost  entirely  ignoring  the  three 
other  faculties.  But,  a  philosophical  faculty  can  not  thrive  unless  it 
is  a  branch  of  a  full-grown  university,  and  unless,  co-existing  with 
the  three  other  faculties,  each  sufficiently  well  represented  in  itself,  it 
receives  life  froro  them,  and,  in  turn,  imparts  it  to  them.  Those 
faculties,  divorced  from  the  philosophical,  but  too  readily  degenerate 
into  mere  instrumentalities  for  gaining  a  livelihood,  while  the  philo- 
sophical, when  standing  alone  and  paying  no  attention  to  the  urgent 
demands  of  life  and  to  the  future  calling  of  the  student,  is  devoid 
both  of  purpose  and  aim.  Such  a  dubious  position  exerts  a  perni- 
cious influence  on  the  character  of  the  pupils  of  the  college.  School- 
boys they  should  not  be,  students  they  fain  would  be ;  but,  they  are 
neither  one  thing  nor  the  other.  For  philosophical  lectures,  which 
tend  to  refresh,  strengthen,  and  improve  the  student  in  his  own 
special  department,  appear  to  the  scholars  of  the  college  but  a  mere 
wearisome  continuation  of  their  school  studies,  that  they  had  hoped 
were  at  an  end.  And  if,  moreover,  the  instructors  in  logic,  philology, 
rhetoric,  etc.,  are  altogether  of  that  kind,  that  their  discourses  differ 


STURM'S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION.  211 

in  no  respect  from  those  which  their  hearers  have  before  listened  to  in 
the  gymnasium,  then  truly  is  such  hearing  fatiguing,  and  painful  even 
to  the  most  attentive.  Sturm  felt  a  deep  interest  in  his  Strasburg 
college,  and  used  every  means  in  his  power  to  impress  upon  it  the 
stamp  of  a  university.  From  many  of  his  "Classic"  and  "Collegiate  " 
letters  we  see  how  he  invited  jurists,  physicians,  etc.,  to  Strasburg,  to 
deliver  lectures  upon  law,  medicine,  natural  philosophy,  and  other 
branches  of  learning.  But,  it  is  impossible  thus  to  improvise  a  uni- 
versity, by  persuading  men,  who  are  already  filling  other  and  widely 
different  offices  it  may  be,  to  become  professors  likewise.  For,  the 
appropriate  duties  of  the  professor  call  for  the  undivided  energies  of 
the  whole  man. 

That  the  lectures  of  theologians,  jurists,  and  physicians  in  the 
Strasburg  college  were  entirely  unsuited  to  impart  to  the  youth,  within 
the  Quinquennium  from  his  sixteenth  to  his  twenty-first  year,  an  ade- 
quate preparation  for  his  future 'calling,  as  Sturm  originally  designed 
that  it  should  do,  a  single  glance  at  the  schedule  of  the  college 
lectures  inserted  above  will  abundantly  convince  us.  The  theologians, 
for  example,  read  only  upon  Old  and  New  Testament  exegesis,  while 
one  solitary  physician  confines  his  labors  to  the  "lesser  art  of  Galen,'' 
and  "Aristotle's  minor  philosophy ! "  And  Sturm  himself,  with  all 
his  partiality  for  the  college,  most  keenly  felt  its  deficiencies.  He 
laments,  among  other  things,  the  lack  of  discipline  that  prevailed  there, 
as  well  as  the  neglect  of  the  prescribed  lectures,  and  the.  want  of  respect 
for  the  instructors.  On  this  point,  his  letters  to  Erythraeus,  teacher  of 
rhetoric,  is  especially  noteworthy.  He  has  observed,  he  writes,  that  it 
is  a  difficult  task  to  deliver  lectures  in  their  college  upon  poets,  histo- 
rians, and  orators,  and  he  has  also  been  astonished  that  such  lectures 
have  often  been  wholly  unattended.  The  reason  which  he  assigns  for 
this  state  of  things  is  this,  "  the  scholars  had  already,  at  the  gymna- 
sium, become  familiar  with  the  principal  classic  poets,  historians,  and 
orators,  and,  accordingly,  if,  in  the  college  lectures,  they  heard 
nothing  new,  they  would  either  go  away  altogether,  or  would  else 
betake  themselves  to  others,  whether  jurists,  physicians,  or  mathema- 
ticians, who  could  teach  them  something  that  they  did  not  know 
before.  And  these  laid  before  the  scholars  subjects  that  possessed 
the  freshness  of  novelty ;  but  the  teachers  of  grammar  and  rhetoric, 
on  the  other  hand,  only  such  as  they  had  already  learned  at  school ; 
and,  if  these  teachers  could  not  be  persuaded  to  undertake  a  better 
method,  then  the  whole  affair  would  fall  through." 

But,  enough  of  the  Strasburg  college  :  it,  however,  did  not  remain 
in  its  original  form  ;  but,  as  has  been  stated,  emerged  from  its  chrysa- 
lis condition,  in  the  year  1621,  a  full-fledged  university. 


212  STURM'S  SYSTEM  OP  INSTRUCTION. 

We  turn  now  to  examine  Sturm's  educational  method  critically 
and  to  note  its  operation  in  the  Strasburg  gymnasium. 

His  ideal  of  culture  we  have  already  spoken  of  as  embracing  the  three- 
fold attainment  of  piety,  knowledge,  and  eloquence.  How  clearly  he 
knew  what  he  wished,  how  clearly  he  recognized  the  means  that  were 
best  adapted  to  procure  him  what  he  wished,  and  also  with  what  decision, 
,  circumspection,  and  admirable  perseverance  he  labored  to  achieve  his 
aim,  all  this  appears  from  what  I  have  already  communicated,  both  from 
his  own  lips  and  from  the  authority  of  others.  There  was  no  discord- 
ant  element  in  him ;  he  was  a  whole  man,  a  man  of  character,  in 
whom  a  strong  will  and  a  wise  activity  were  united  in  perfect  equi- 
\  poise.  And,  on  this  account,  it  is  no  marvel  that,  as  I  have  before 
mentioned,  he  was  appreciated  among  his  contemporaries,  and  enjoyed 
their  utmost  confidence^  Even  in  the  year  1578  the  Strasburg  school 
numbered  many  thousand  scholars,  among  whom  were  two  hundred 
noblemen,  twenty-four  counts  and  barons,  and  three  princes.  Not 
alone  from  Germany,  but  also  from  the  remotest  countries,  from 
Portugal,  and  Poland,  Denmark,  France,  and  England,  youths  were 
sent  to  Sturm.  But  his  educational  efficiency  was  not  limited  to  the 
Strasburg  gymnasium ;  he  exerted,  far  and  wide,  by  his  counsel,  his 
example,  and  through  his  pupils,  a  vast  influence,  as  a  second  "  Pre- 
ceptor of  Germany."  He  himself  organized  schools  at  Lauingen  on 
the  Danube,  Trasbach  on  the  Moselle,  and  at  Hornbach,  in  the 
Bipontinate ;  his  pupil,  Schenk,  planned  the  Augsburg,  a  second  pupil, 
Crusius,  the  Meminger  gymnasium. 

The  school-code  of  Duke  Christopher,  of  Wirtemberg,  of  the  year 
1559,  as  well  as  that  of  the  Elector,  Augustus  I.,  of  Saxony,  of  the 
year  1580,  would  certainly  seem  to  have  felt  the  influence  of  Sturm's 
system.  The  grammar  of  the  lower  classes,  the  logic  and  the  rhetoric 
of  the  upper,  Cicero  in  the  ascendant,  Terence  and  Plautus  acted  by 
the  scholars,  the  rudiments  of  astronomy  in  the  highest  class,  and 
arithmetic  here  much  neglected,  while,  in  the  lower  classes,  it  receives 
no  attention  at  all,  music,  decurions  for  monitors, — all  these  arrange- 
ments would  appear  to  have  been  borrowed  from  Sturm,  and  so  much 
the  more  as  they  are  not  to  be  found,  at  least,  in  the  Saxon  code  of 
1538.  Even  the  school  regulations  of  the  Jesuits  are,  as  we  shall 
find,  in  many  points  of  view,  quite  similar  to  Sturm's,  and  he  himself 
was  surprised  at  their  correspondence.  And,  hand  in  hand  with 
Sturm's  method,  his  school-books  also  penetrated  throughout  the 
whole  of  Germany. 

In  his  letters  to  the  teachers  of  the  Strasburg  gymnasium,  Sturm 
appears  the  experienced  teacher  and  the  accomplished  rector  j  clearly, 


STURM'S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION.  2 1 3 

and  in  few  words,  marking  out  for  all  the  teachers  under  him  their 
own  particular  and  appropriate  duties ;  and,  in  his  advice,  how  best 
to  undertake  and  to  discharge  those  duties,  he  approves  himself  the 
sage  and  practiced  counselor.  For,  with  the  kindest  expressions,  he 
cheers  and  strengthens  them  in  their  path  of  labor,  and  repeatedly 
calls  their  attention  to  the  fact  that  they  all  have  one  common  cause, 
since  the  teachers  of  the  upper  classes  can  do  nothing  unless  those  of 
the  lower  classes  use  care  in  laying  the  foundation ;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  that  the  latter  will  have  been  faithful  to  no  purpose  if  the 
former  are  not  as  conscientious  in  building  upon  the  foundation  when 
laid.  And  he  most  earnestly  insists  that  they  must  all  instruct  after 
one  and  the  same  method,  and  must  keep  the  same  end  in  view,  if 
they  would  see  the  work  prosper  in  their  hands.  Thus  he  shows 
himself  to  be  a  pattern  rector,  and  the  center  and  heart  of  the  school. 
Yet,  he  is  never  overbearing,  but  is  a  dictator  who  scarce  ever  appears 
to  command  or  to  censure,  content  with  requesting  and  encouraging. 
Moreover,  by  constant  application,  he  is  keeping  pace  with  those  about 
him  ;  learning  Hebrew,  for  instance,  when  in  his  fifty-ninth  year. 

Now,  that  I  have  given  full  credit  to  the  praiseworthy  efforts  and 
achievements  of  Sturm,  I  must  also  pay  homage  to  truth,  and  exhibit 
the  reverse  and  unfavorable  side  of  his  educational  activity.  I  have 
praised  him,  in  that  he  clearly  conceived  his  plan,  and  then,  fixing  his 
steady  gaze  upon  the  object  before  him,  worked  vigorously  and  skil-  / 
fully  to  accomplish  it 

But,  shall  I  bestow  unqualified  praise  upon  Sturm's  ideal  ?  On  a 
nearer  view,  I  can  not  do  it.  The  Christian  element  of  his  educational 
system  alone  deserves  entire  recognition.  But,  the  other  two  ele- 
ments, namely,  knowledge  and  eloquence,  or  rather  Sturm's  concep- 
tion of  the  kind  of  knowledge  and  of  eloquence  to  be  inculcated  at 
school ;  this  conception,  judged  not  alone  by  our  present  standard, 
but  considered  in  itself  and  under  any  circumstances,  is,  in  many 
points,  deserving  of  censure.  Shall  I  be  asked  "  How  can  this  be  ? 
To  furnish  the  pupil  with  a  rich  store  of  scientific  knowledge,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  to  cultivate  in  him  that  readiness  of  expression  which 
will  enable  him  to  utter,  either  orally  or  by  writing,  whatever  thoughts 
or  fancies  he  may  thus  have  accumulated ;  do  not  these  two  objects, 
even  at  the  present  day,  constitute  together  the  highest  aim  of  edu- 
cation ?  ''  They  do,  indeed ;  but,  let  us  consider  more  closely  what 
kind  of  knowledge  and  what  species  of  eloquence  Sturm  had  in  view, 
and  then  we  shall  be  in  a  better  position  to  see  whether  we  agree  with 
him  throughout  or  not.  And,  first,  as  to  the  knowledge.  The 
thoroughness  with  which  both  Greek  and  Latin  grammar  were  taught 


214  STURM'S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION. 

in  Sturm's  school,  our  teachers  now  a-days  will  approve,  although  it 
may  be  that  occasionally  their  standard  of  thoroughness  does  not 
precisely  coincide  with  that  of  the  old  rector,  which  demanded,  for 
instance,  that  the  second  aorist  should  be  formed  from  the  imperfect, 
or  that  a  future  form,  "  <ps;;|w  "  should  be  recognized,  and  the  like. 
But,  could  they  approve  of  the  classics  selected,  and  the  order  in 
which  they  were  read  at  the  Strasburg  gymnasium  ?  Hardly ;  else  it 
would  not  be  that,  in  our  gymnasiums  now,  far  different  classical 
authors  are  read ;  or,  where  the  same  are  taken  up,  that  it  is  in  an- 
other order  and  another  spirit.  We  can  overlook  the  fact  that 
Cornelius  Nepos.  who  is  studied  in  most  schools  at  the  present  day, 
was  rejected ;  but,  so  was  Livy,  and  so  was  Tacitus.  And,  of  the 
most  important  of  the  classics,  only  a  small  portion  was  read ;  I  need 
only  mention  Homer.  Such  fragments  surely  can  never  lead  to  a 
spiritual  appreciation  of  the  genius  and  the  character  of  authors. 
But,  how  all  this  has  become  changed  in  the  progress  of  time,  we 
shall  discuss  elsewhere. 

On  a  first  glance,  we  might  be  led  to  believe  that  Sturm  was 
devoted  not  merely  to  the  knowledge  of  words,  but  to  that  of  things 
also ;  but,  if  we  examine  the  matter  more  closely,  we  shall  alter  our 
opinion.  In  fact,  the  scholars  of  the  lower  classes  acquired  Latin 
words  for  every  possible  object  that  was  about  them  in  life,  whether 
in  the  kitchen  or  cellar,  the  garden  or  stable,  the  school-room  or 
church.  And  they  were  thus  taught  almost  according  to  the  manner 
of  Comenius  in  the  "  Orbis  pictus,"  only  that  they  learned  the  world 
in  the  original  instead  of  in  pictures.  But,  with  what  view  were 
boys  taught  these  Latin  names  ?  Was  it  that  they  might  obtain  a 
knowledge  of  things  likewise  ?  Certainly  not.  They  were  only 
placed  thereby  in  a  condition  to  express  themselves  in  Latin  upon 
common  and  familiar  topics,  just  as  a  German  who  designs  to  travel 
in  Italy  will  furnish  himself  beforehand  with  a  stock  of  every-day 
words  and  phrases. 

But,  some  one  will  say,  "  Sturm  also  demands  that  boys  should 
project  a  sort  of  encyclopaedia,  in  which  they  should  enter  the  names 
of  various  objects  under  certain  pre-arranged  heads;  as,  for  example, 
under  the  head  of  'birds'  the  ostrich  and  the  wry-neck;  or,  under 
the  head  of  '  mammalia,'  the  lion  and  the  elephant.  And,  is  not  this 
to  be  regarded  as  a  knowledge  of  things  ?  "  I  think  not.  I  think 
that  it  is  at  best  only  a  method  of  fixing  names  in  the  mind,  which, 
however,  are  the  shadows  of  things  to  come ;  for,  it  is  very  unlikely 
that  those  boys  who  placed  the  ostrich  and  the  wry-neck  under  the 
head  of  "  birds  "  had  ever  seen  either  the  one  or  the  other.  Comenius, 


STURM'S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION.  215 

by  means  of  his  pictorial  representations,  here  affords  a  far  better 
knowledge  of  the  actual  world. 

If  we  now  compare  the  course  of  study  in  a  modern  gymnasium 
with  that  in  Sturm's  school,  we  shall  perceive  at  once  that  there  are 
many  subjects  of  instruction  not  provided  for  in  the  latter.  But, 
many  will  say,  "This  is  the  advantage  of  the  Sturmian  method,  that 
it  restricts  itself  to  a  very  few  branches,  while  we,  on  the  other  hand, 
teach  almost  every  thing.  The  greater  surface  the  less  the  depth," 
etc. 

All  such  persons  I  now  ask  to  suspend  their  judgment  until  they 
have  accompanied  me  in  a  critical  survey  of  Sturm's  system  of  teach- 
ing. Boys  were  received  into  the  gymnasium  in  their  sixth  year,  and 
yet  I  find  not  one  word  of  any  special  instruction  in  reading  and 
writing  German  correctly.  I  would  not  ask  for  that  instruction  in  the 
German  grammar,  which  is  now  so  popular,  but  only  for  an  elementary  ' 
drilling  in  German,  which  is  indispensable.  When  and  where  they 
receive  this,  it  certainly  does  not  appear;  nor  have  we  any  more  light 
on  the  question  whether  the  older  boys  wrote  German  compositions, 
except  what  we  derive  from  the  fact  that  they  made  translations  of  the 
Latin  classics  into  German. 

And,  as  it  was  with  elementary  instruction  in  German,  so,  likewise, 
in  his  original  plan,  Sturm  has  not  a  syllable  of  any  instruction  in 
arithmetic  for  the  first  eight  classes.  And,  when  he  comes  to  treat 
of  the  upper  classes,  he  dismisses  the  subject  thus  briefly:  "Arithme- 
tic must  be  introduced,  Mela  examined,  Proclus  laid  before  the 
scholar,  and  the  elements  of  astrology  taught."  And  yet,  in  the  letters 
to  the  teachers  of  the  ten  classes,  I  find  not  a  word  said  of  arithme- 
tic ;  nor,  from  the  two  letters  to  Conrad  Dasypodius,  is  any  thing 
decisive  to  be  gathered  on  this  point.  The  second  of  these  last 
mentioned  letters,  written  in  the  year  1569,  thirty-one  years  after  the 
establishment  of  the  gymnasium,  speaks  of  instruction  in  mathematics, 
yet  in  a  way  from  which  we  infer  that  it  had  not  been  long  introduced. 
Later,  in  the  course  of  instruction  dating  in  1578,  as  well  as  by  the 
examination  held  during  the  same  year,  we  see  that  arithmetic  was 
taught  in  the  second  class,  and  a  few  problems  from  the  first  book  of 
Euclid,  together  with  the  elements  of  astronomy,  in  the  highest. 
Also,  in  the  school-plan  projected  by  Sturm  for  the  gymnasium  at 
Lauingen,  mathematics  is  not  placed  among  the  school  studies,  but 
rather  classed  among  those  branches  which  are  to  be  learned  after- 
ward, through  attendance  on  college  lectures. 

All  things  now  considered,  there  appears  to  have  been  at  least  a 
gross  neglect  of  mathematical  instruction.  If  the  scholar  has 


216  STURM'S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION. 

learned  in  the  second  class  but  the  rudiments  of  arithmetic,  and  in  the 
highest  only  a  few  problems  in  Euclid,  how  can  he  comprehend  even 
the  few  first  elements  of  astronomy,  taught  also  in  the  same  highest 
class  ?  To  judge  by  the  astronomical  examination  communicated 
herewith,  the  knowledge  that  was  imparted  of  the  science  would  seem 
to  have  been  almost  entirely  limited  to  the  exhibition  and  the 
explanation  of  an  armillary  sphere;  as  the  teacher,  in  the  year  1578, 
made  no  allusion  to  the  Copernican  system  which  had  appeared  in 
1543,  but  taught  the  doctrine  of  the  annual  revolution  of  the  sun 
around  the  earth.  On  the  other  hand,  as  we  have  seen,  Sturm  assigns 
to  astrology  a  place  among  the  subjects  of  study. 

Never  will  our  present  teachers  of  elementary  schools,  to  say 
nothing  of  gymnasiums,  look  with  favor  upon  such  a  neglect  of  mathe- 
matics, even  though  they  may  advocate  the  very  simplest  methods  of 
instruction.  And,  so  much  the  less,  as  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that 
very  many  scholars  did  not  take  the  full  course,  but  only  passed 
through  the  lowest  classes  in  this  Strasburg  gymnasium,  and,  conse- 
quently, could  learn  nothing  at  all  of  arithmetic.  For,  as  we  have 
before  shown,  this  branch  during  the  first  years  after  the  establish- 
ment of  the  gymnasium  probably  received  no  attention  at  all,  and, 
when  introduced  later,  was  assigned  to  the  second  and  highest  classes 
only. 

Likewise,  in  regard  to  geography,  we  have  no  reason  to  conclude 
that  it  was  studied.  For  the  above  cited  expression  of  Sturm,  ''Mela 
is  to  be  examined,"  was  scarcely  called  for,  if  Mela  was  really  read  in 
the  gymnasium.  But,  even  Mela,  meagre  as  he  is,  received  no  atten- 
tion there,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  schedule  and  the  examination 
of  1578.  Nor  among  the  college  lectures  either,  was  any  place 
assigned  to  geography. 

And  history,  too,  was  quite  as  much  neglected;  even  in  the  col- 
lege, Beuter,  whose  name  appears  on  the  catalogue  as  historical 
lecturer,  confines  himself  to  the  interpretation  of  Tacitus. 

Of  natural  history  and  natural  philosophy  there  was  not  a  single 
line  taught  in  the  gymnasium. 

Since,  then,  all  instruction  in  the  German  language,  mathematics, 
geography,  history,  natural  history,  and  natural  philosophy,  was 
entirely  omitted,  to  which  we  may  add  instruction  in  Hebrew,  in  the 
modern  languages,  French  especially,  and  perhaps  also  in  drawing, 
we  must  conclude  that  nearly  all  the  time  and  energies  of  the  scholar 
were  concentrated  upon  the  acquisition  of  Greek  and  Latin. 

Was  now  the  knowledge  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  which  Sturm's 
scholars  possessed,  any  the  greater,  on  this  account,  than  that  mastered 


STURM'S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION.  21 7 

by  the  scholars  of  onr  gymnasium  ?  or,  we  should  rather  inquire,  was 
their  readiness,  both  in  speaking  and  in  writing  Latin,  greater,  and 
did  they  apply  the  whole  force  that  was  in  them  principally  to  acquire 
these  two  facilities  ? 

The  reply  to  the  first  question  should  be  favorable  to  the  scholars  of 
the  present  day :  the  reply  to  the  second,  perhaps,  to  Sturm's  scholars. 

And  truly  it  would  have  been  a  wonder  if  Sturm's  scholars  had 
not  learned  to  speak  and  write  Latin,  since  he  himself  looked  upon 
the  art  of  writing  and  reading  in  classical  Ciceronian  Latin  as  the 
noblest  aim  of  culture ;  and  he  deemed  no  sacrifice  too  dear  so  that 
he  might  reach  it.  The  first  sacrifice,  (which  we  have  already  alluded 
to,)  was  an  entire  neglect  of  our  mother  tongue,  and  even  an  absolute 
alienation  from  it.  We  have  seen  from  Sturm's  letter  to  Schirner, 
the  teacher  of  the  ninth  class,  that  he  considered  the  Roman  children 
highly  privileged,  in  that,  from  their  infancy  up,  they  spoke  Latin 
themselves  and  heard  nothing  but  Latin  spoken  by  others;  whereas, 
with  German  children,  the  case  was  far  different.  This  evil,  he  said, 
must  be  removed  by  the  diligence  of  the  teacher,  and  through  the 
application  of  his  (Sturm's)  system.  There  was  only  need  of  a  cor- 
rect method,  (and  that  because  Latin  was  not  our  mother  tongue,)  to 
insure  the  production,  at  the  present  day,  of  speeches  which  should 
compare  favorably  with  those  of  Cicero.  Every  effort  must  be  put 
forth  in  order  to  restore  again  the  long  lost  skill  of  the  Greeks  and 
Romans  in  teaching,  haranguing,  disputing,  and  writing.  The  first 
point,  therefore,  upon  which  Sturm,  as  well  as  most  of  his  contempo- 
raries, both  literary  men  and  teachers,  insisted,  was  the  completest 
removal  possible  of  the  German  mother  tongue,  that  so  the  Latin 
might  wholly  occupy  its  place.  To  teachers  and  to  scholars  alike,  all 
conversation  in  German  was  forbidden ;  and  games  were  only  allowed 
on  the  condition  that  Latin  alone  should  be  spoken  therein.  Had  the 
old  Romans  still  ruled  over  Alsace  in  Sturm's  time,  they  could  have 
adopted  no  more  effectual  measures  to  denationalize  its  inhabitants,  to 
make  them  forget  their  country,  and  to  change  them  wholly  into 
Romans. 

Sturm  indirectly  boasts  of  this  exclusion  of  the  German  language 
from  his  gymnasium.  "He  has  introduced  a  mine  of  choice  Latin 
..words  and  of  familiar  Latin  phrases,  and  has  called  up  Plautus, 
Terence,  and  Cicero  from  the  shades,  to  speak  Latin  with  the 
boys." 

Plautus  and  Terence  he  here  mentions  in  preference,  on  account 
of  the  representations  of  their  plays  by  the  scholars ;  which  repre- 
sentations, as  we  have  seen,  he  strongly  recommended  to  the  teachers 


218  STURM'S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION. 

of  the  three  upper  classes.  In  this  connection,  his  letter  to  Golius,  the 
teacher  of  the  highest  class,  deserves  our  special  attention.  "  I  could 
wish,"  said  he,  "  that  the  actors  of  comedy  as  well  as  those  of  tragedy 
in  your  class  should  all  be  equal  to  Roscius;  and,  therefore,  far  more 
accomplished  than  those  in  the  lower  classes  can  be.  I  desire  you 
never  to  suffer  the  week  to  go  by  without  a  performance,  so  that  an 
assiduous  and  habitual  attendance  at  the  theatre  may  be  encouraged." 

If  we  are  to  regard  this  disuse  of  our  mother  tongue  as  one  sacri- 
fice to  the  ideal, — nay,  let  me  call  it  the  idol  rather, — of  Latin  elo- 
quence, then  surely  these  theatrical  exercises  should  be  considered  as 
a  second  sacrifice  to  this  ideal.  It  appears  incredible  to  us  that  the 
committing  to  memory  and  acting  such  licentious  plays  as  are  those 
of  Terence  could  have  exerted  no  evil  influence  upon  the  morals  of 
the  young.  And  we  are  equally  at  a  loss  to  understand,  how  it  was 
that  so  pious  a  man  as  Sturm  did  not  object  to  the  pernicious  senti- 
ments inculcated  by  Terence.  Could  the  enthusiastic  rector  have 
been  blinded  by  the  hope,  that  his  scholars  would  be  moulded,  as  it 
were,  into  expert  Latinists  by  these  theatrical  performances,  and  by 
acting  comedy  ?  If  the  bare  reading  of  an  author,  like  Terence,  is 
dangerous  to  the  scholar,  how  much  more  dangerous  is  it,  when,  from 
the  necessities  of  acting,  he  is  obliged  to  assume  the  characters  and 
imagine  himself  in  the  situations  of  the  drama. 

Sturm's  endeavor  to  make  boys  adepts  in  Latin  eloquence  had, 
moreover,  a  very  great,  and  in  my  judgment,  a  very  injurious  influence 
upon  his  manner  of  reading  and  of  treating  the  classics.  It  is  true 
that  he  aimed,  first  of  all,  as  every  intelligent  school-teacher  should 
do,  at  a  correct  understanding  of  the  language  of  authors ;  for  he 
insists  that  the  teacher  should  dwell  upon  the  grammatical  construction 
of  the  text  long  enough  to  arrive  at  such  understanding. 

But  why  is  it, — if  I  may  ask  so  simple  a  question, — that  we  trouble 
ourselves  to  understand  the  language  of  a  classical  author  as  thoroughly 
as  we  do  our  own,  so  that  we  can  read  him  with  as  great  ease  as  if 
he  had  written  in  our  own  tongue  ?  Doubtless  it  is,  that,  having 
arrived  at  an  appropriate  underslanding  of  the  language,  we  may 
penetrate  through  the  language  to  the  sentiment,  and  so  at  last  may 
educe  the  intellectual  individuality  of  the  author  from  his  works,  and 
at  the  same  time  recognize  in  the  author  the  characteristics  of  the 
nation,  to  which  he  belonged.  But  such  an  aim  of  classical  studies 
is  nowhere  visible  in  Sturm's  method ;  to  him,  to  use  a  Kantian  ex- 
pression, the  author  himself  is  not  an  end,  only  a  means  to  an  end  ; 
that  is,  every  author  must  bo  used  for  the  cultivation  of  this  deified 
Roman  eloquence  in  boys.  And  how?  Precisely  as  the  peacock  was 


STURM'S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION.  219 

used  by  the  jackdaw.  They  borrow  the  author's  words  and  phrases, 
group  them  together,  and  learn  them  by  heart,  perhaps,  in  order  to 
apply  them  again  in  speech  or  in  writing.  Borrow,  is  too  feeble  an 
expression  ;  the  jackdaw  designed  not  merely  to  borrow  the  peacock's 
feathers,  but  to  represent  them  as  his  own.  The  doctrine  of  imitation 
as  we  find  it  set  forth  by  Sturm  and  others,  is,  after  all,  a  mere  jack- 
daw theory.  The  scholar  is  taught  how,  by  a  slight  alteration,  to 
*disguise  phrases  from  Cicero  and  others,  and  then  to  use  them  in 
writing  or  in  speech,  exactly  as  if  they  were  his  own  production ;  so 
adroitly  smuggling  them  in,  as  it  were,  that  the  reader  or  hearer  may 
not  suspect  whence  they  were  taken.  "Is  the  teacher,"  says  Sturm, 
M  to  give  out  themes  for  composition, — he  will  draw  attention  to  those 
points  where  imitation  is  desirable,  and  will  show  how  similarity  can 
be  concealed  by  a  superadded  variation."  "  We  must,  in  the  first 
place,  take  care,  that  the  similarity  shall  not  be  manifest ;  but  its 
concealment  may  be  accomplished  in  three  ways ;  by  adding,  by 
taking  away,  or  by  alteration." 

"The  objection,  perhaps,  will  be  made,"  says  Sturm  in  another 
place,  "  that,  if  we  appropriate  entire  passages  from  Cicero,  we  shall 
be  guilty  of  plagiarism."  This  would  be  so,  if  we  should  make  ex- 
tracts from  Cicero  and  call  them  our  own  ;  but  our  memory  is  our 
own,  so  is  the  use  to  which  we  put  our  memory,  so  is  our  style,  so  is 
the  caution  and  the  moderation  which  we  exercise  in  making  use  of 
the  classics,  and  so  likewise  is  our  method  of  imitation,  as  well  as  of 
borrowing,  provided  that  we  do  borrow.  And  truly,  in  such  case,  we 
shall  borrow  of  one,  who  no  longer  is  here  to  begrudge  it ;  of  one, 
who  wrote  for  others,  yea,  for  all  time.  Thus  Sturm  justifies  this  ex- 
tremely censurable  practice, — a  practice  which,  as  we  have  seen, 
Erasmus  had  already  condemned.  Thus  his  effort  to  restore  Roman 
eloquence,  had  a  great  influence  upon  the  choice  of  authors  to  be  read 
in  his  gymnasium  ;  for  hardly  any  were  introduced  but  such  as  were 
the  most  faultless  models  of  this  eloquence.  Cicero  was  placed  at  the 
head.  Even  the  boy  of  eight  read  the  "  select  epistles  "  of  Cicero, 
and  there  was  no  class  from  the  eighth  up  to  the  highest,  in  which  he 
was  not  read.  Terence,  Sturm  commends  most  highly,  next  to 
Cicero.  Every  Roman  author  who,  measured  by  the  Ciceronian 
standard,  did  not  vindicate  his  claim  to  be  considered  a  pure  classic, 
Sturm  appears  to  have  rejected.  Livy,  as  we  have  before  mentioned, 
was  not  one  of  the  Strasburg  school  text-books,  probably  on  account  of 
his  provincialism,  (Patavinity  ;)  we  are  less  surprised  at  the  absence  of 
Tacitus,  and  in  short,  of  every  author,  who  hindered  or  at  least  did  not 
further  the  main  object  of  learning  to  write  and  to  speak  like  Cicero. 


220  STURM'S  SV'STEM  OP  INSTRUCTION. 

In  the  eighth  class,  in  the  eight  year  of  the  pupil,  a  beginning  was 
made  in  exercises  in  Latin  style.  Sturm  commends  them  to  the 
teachers  in  the  most  urgent  manner;  but  they  appear,  when  closely 
examined,  to  have  been  almost  wholly  composed  of  attempts  at  that 
spiritless  imitation,  above  alluded  to ;  the  preparation  for  them  con- 
sisted in  singling  out  and  committing  to  memory,  phrases,  which  they 
had  noted  in  their  lessons,  as  suitable  to  be  used  in  Latin  discourse  or 
in  these  exercises.  Do  I  now  need  to  declare  emphatically,  that  those" 
youth,  who,  in  reading  the  classics,  have  been  engaged  merely  in  a 
hunt  after  phrases  for  future  use,  or  rather  misuse,  never  arrive  at  a 
true  understanding  of  these  classics,  and,  what  is  more,  that  this  meth- 
od renders  such  an  understanding  wholly  impossible  ?  Do  I  need  to 
observe,  that  youth  thus  trained  will  not  learn  either  to  admire  or  to 
understand  even,  very  many  writers,  who,  like  Tacitus,  are  essentially 
different  from  Cicero  ?  And  as  little  will  they  attain  to  an  under- 
standing of  the  poets,  if  it  is  made  their  chief  aim  in  reading  to  com- 
pose Latin  verses  themselves,  and  if  for  this  purpose  they  are  instructed 
to  gather  poetical  flowerets  from  the  ^Eneid,  as  they  have  before 
culled  prose  gems  from  Cicero ;  or  if,  again,  with  a  view  to  their 
exercises  in  prose,  they  are  constantly  directed  to  those  peculiarities 
which  the  oratorical  style,  mutatis  mutandis,  may  borrow  from  the 
poets. 

I  have  put  the  question  "  shall  I  bestow  unqualified  praise  on 
Sturm's  ideal  ? "  and  have  answered  it  in  the  negative.  I  have  now 
given  the  reasons  for  my  opinion.  I  have  shown  how,  in  the  undi- 
vided pursuit  of  Roman  eloquence  in  speaking  and  in  writing,  the 
German  language  was  not  only  neglected,  but  crushed  under  foot ; 
how,  in  order  to  gain  ease  and  readiness  in  Latin  expression,  the  most 
licentious  of  the  plays  of  Terence  were  acted  by  the  scholars ;  and 
how,  further,  since  the  requisitions  of  this  eloquence  absorbed  all  the 
energies  and  all  the  time  of  the  young,  there  was  no  opportunity  left 
for  any  thorough  mathematical  training ;  neither  was  any  instruction 
given  in  geography,  history,  Hebrew,  or  the  modern  languages,  and  I 
might  add,  in  natural  philosophy  and  drawing,  but  for  the  little  atten- 
tion that  was  generally  paid  to  these  two  branches,  at  that  period. 
And  finally  I  have  indicated  how  it  was,  that  this  unlucky  reaching  out 
after  Roman  eloquence  was  a  decided  hindrance  to  a  correct  exegesis, 
and  a  full  appreciation,  of  the  classics.  And  now  the  question  natur- 
ally arises  in  our  minds,  "  if  Sturm  and  so  many  of  his  contempora- 
ries in  this  chase  after  Roman  eloquence,  made  great  sacrifices,  and 
neglected  almost  every  thing  else, — did  they  see  their  desires  realized 
in  the  end  ?  " 


STURM'S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION.  221 

But  1  have  already  answered  this  question  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
intelligent  reader,  where  I  spoke  of  this  wretched  method  of  reading 
the  classics,  only  to  cull  out  phrases  and  piece  them  together  anew,  to 
be  used  in  exercises  in  style,  in  order,  haply,  to  equal  the  ancients. 
For  all  their  imitation  of  classical  authors  resolved  itself  at  last  into  a 
mere  paltry  connoisseurship  ;  since  they  attained,  at  the  furthest,  only 
to  a  philological  pharisaism,  which,  after  a  repulsive,  pseudo-classic 
fashion,  composed  works  that  disclosed  not  a  particle  of  the  classi- 
cal spirit.  When  we  peruse  their  "  Examples  of  Roman  eloquence," 
we  imagine  ourselves  walking  amongst  the  ghastly  spectres  of  the 
ancients,  and  Cicero  stalks  to  and  fro  before  our  eyes,  an  indistinct 
phantom. 

Sturm  however,  as  was  natural,  regarded  the  fruits  of  his  labors  in 
a  far  different  light.  He  believed  that  he  really  had  called  the  an- 
cients to  life  again,  and  he  fancied,  that  if  we  but  laid  the  foundations 
aright,  there  was  no  reason  why  we  should  not  produce  Latin  works 
as  full  of  the  fire  of  genius  as  were  the  originals.  In  one  place 
he  says  :  "  the  Romans  had  two  advantages  over  us  ;  the  one  con- 
sisted in  learning  Latin  without  going  to  school,  and  the  other,  in  fre- 
quently seeing  Latin  comedies  and  tragedies  acted,  and  hearing  Latin 
orators  speak.  Could  we,"  he  continues,  "  recall  these  advantages  in 
our  schools,  why  could  we  not  then,  by  persevering  diligence, 
gain  that,  which  they  possessed  only  by  accident  and  habit ;  namely, 
the  power  of  speaking  Latin  to  perfection."  In  another  passage  he 
uses  a  still  stronger  expression,  where  he  says,  "  I  hope  to  see  the 
men  of  the  present  age,  in  their  writing,  commenting,  haranguing  and 
speaking,  not  merely  followers  of  the  old  masters,  but  equal  to  those 
who  flourished  in  the  noblest  age  of  Athens  or  of  Rome."  What 
pedantic  narrow-mindedness,  to  indulge  the  delusive  notion,  that  an 
ever  so  judiciously-managed  Strasburg  school  could  effect  the  produc- 
tion of  works  of  genius,  equal  to  those  that  bloomed  amid  the 
splendor  of  the  age  of  Pericles  or  the  grandeur  of  Imperial  Rome  ! 

This  notion  of  Slurm's,  as  erroneous  as  it  was  presumptuous,  if  we 
might  not  rather  call  it  extravagant,  stands  in  quite  a  surprising  con- 
trast with  the  following  feeble  and  spiritless  sentiment,  which  we  find 
in  another  place.  "  It  is  astonishing,"  he  here  says,  "  that  while  there 
are  in  our  day  many  as  good  intellects  as  the  ancients  could  boast  of, 
while  we  possess  the  same  philosophical  sources  to  draw  from  as  did 
they,  while  our  advantages  for  the  attainment  of  eloquence  and  our 
opportunities  for  displaying  it  are  no  fewer  than  with  them,  and  while, 
moreover,  all  our  gifted  men  have  striven  to  distinguish  themselves  by 
eloquence,  yet  almost  all  have  shrunk  back  in  terror  from  the  course 


222  STURM'S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION. 

of  training  that  it  demands,  and  so  few  have  accomplished  any  thing 
by  means  of  it." 

"  We  can  not,"  continues  Sturm,  "  lay  the  entire  blame  of  this 
result  upon  the  scholars.  Year  after  year  there  have  been  many  at 
the  Strasburg  Gymnasium,  who  have  united  to  superior  talents  a 
strong  desire  to  excel  and  great  diligence.  It  has  been  so  likewise  at 
Louvain  and  at  Paris.  Now  how  is  it,  that  among  so  many  thousand, 
there  have  been  so  very  few,  who  have  applied  the  requisite  diligence 
to  Latin  writing  and  declamation  ? "  On  a  careful  consideration,  he 
concludes  that  the  fault  lies  with  the  teachers,  and  with  himself,  and 
is  partly  inherent  in  the  fact,  that  Latin  is  not  the  native  tongue  of 
the  scholar. 

If  we  examine  this  admission  of  Sturm  carefully,  we  shall  be  at  no 
loss  to  discover  where  the  truth  lies.  Men  of  the  very  highest  capaci- 
ties, he  says,  were  exceedingly  desirous  to  become  eloquent,  but  have 
been  appalled  before  the  style  of  eloquence  taught  in  his  school.  Had 
Latin  only  been  their  native  tongue,  then  they  would  have  succeeded. 
But  German  was  their  native  tongue,  and  in  this,  according  to  Sturm's 
own  theory,  they  would  have  succeeded  to  perfection.  And  he  asserts 
this  in  so  many  words,  but  a  few  lines  further  back.  "  Eloquence," 
he  here  remarks,  "is  by  no  means  confined  to  the  Latin  tongue.  Can 
not  Italians,  Spaniards,  French  and  Germans  be  eloquent  in  their  own 
language  ?  The  prose  of  Boccaccio  is  a  model  of  purity  and  elegance 
to  the  Italians,  and  so  is  the  sweet-sounding  poetry  of  Petrarch. 
Comines  charms  the  French  as  truly  as  ever  Thucydides  did  the 
Greeks.  And  as  for  Luther,"  he  continues,  "  has  he  not  stood  forth, 
a  perfect  master  of  our  language,  whether  we  look  to  purity  of  idiom 
or  to  opulence  of  expression  ?  Princes,  counselors,  magistrates,  em- 
bassadors,  and  jurists,  all  concede  to  him,  the  theologian,  this  praise. 
Luther  truly  vindicated  a  righteous  cause,  which  in  itself  deserved  the 
victory ;  but  it  was  with  the  sinews  of  an  orator  that  he  wielded  the 
weapons  of  controversy.  Had  there  been  no  Reformation,  had  no 
sermons  of  Luther  ever  appeared,  and  had  he  wmten  nothing  at  all 
save  his  translation  of  the  Bible,  this  alone  would  have  insured  him 
an  immortality  of  fame.  For,  if  we  compare  with  this  German  trans- 
lation either  the  Greek,  the  Latin,  or  any  other,  we  shall  find  them 
all  far  behind  it,  both  in  perspicuity,  purity,  choice  of  expression,  and 
resemblance  to  the  Hebrew  original.  I  believe  that,  as  no  painter  has 
ever  been  able  to  surpass  Apelles,  so  no  scholar  will  ever  be  able  to 
produce  a  translation  of  the  Bible  that  shall  excel  Luther's." 

If  we  were  compelled  on  other  grounds  to  conclude  that  Sturm  had 
become  altogether  denationalized,  and  a  Roman  to  the  core,  this 


STURM'S  SYSTEM  OF  INSTRUCTION.  223 

passage  just  cited  proves  to  us  that  it  was  not  altogether  so.  But  why, 
in  view  of  his  deep  and  heart-felt  recognition  of  the  great  German 
master-piece  of  Luther,  and  why  especially  in  view  of  his  acknowledg- 
ment that  Italians,  French  and  Germans,  had  written  classical  works, 
each  in  their  own  language, — why,  I  repeat  the  question,  did  he  con- 
tinue, like  a  second  Sisyphus,  his  fruitless  endeavors  to  metamorphose 
German  into  Roman  youths,  and  to  impart  to  them,  in  defiance  of  the 
laws  of  human  nature,  another  native  tongue  ?  ,  The  entire  age  in 
which  he  lived  was  in  fault,  not  he :  it  was  only  at  a  later  period,  that 
the  claims  of  our  own  country  and  our  own  language  came  to  be 
properly  regarded. 


MICHAEL  NEANDER.* 

[Translated  Tor  the  American  Journal  of  Education,  from  the  German  of  Karl  von  Raumer.] 


MICHAEL  NEANDER  was  the  son  of  a  tradesman,  of  the  town  of 
Sorau,  Hans  Neumann  by  name,  and  was  born  in  1525.  His  father 
had  destined  him  for  a  tradesman  also ;  and,  as  the  occupation  called 
for  long  journeys  on  horseback,  he  determined  to  lose  no  time  in 
making  his  son  a  good  horseman.  He,  therefore,  placed  him  upon  a 
gaunt  and  restive  horse,  without  a  saddle,  and  bade  him  ride  him  to 
water.  On  his  reaching  the  pond  the  horse  threw  him  into  it,  and 
he  was  only  saved  from  drowning  by  the  efforts  of  some  chance  by- 
standers, who  lifted  him  again  to  his  seat.  As  he  rode  in  at  the 
gate,  a  stone  was  thrown  at  him,  which  cut  his  head  and  covered  his 
face  with  blood.  Thus,  wet  and  bleeding,  he  returned  home.  But 
his  father,  instead  of  showing  pity  for  his  sufferings,  ordered  him  to 
mount,  upon  the  spot,  a  still  wilder  horse,  which  he  did.  But  he  was 
again  thrown  off  and  his  arm  broken.  And  when  his  mother  and  his 
relatives  gathered  around  him  in  tears,  his  father  upbraided  him 
harshly  with  these  words :  "To  a  cloister  with  you ;  you  are  of  no 
use  to  any  body."  Thus  was  his  whole  course  of  life  shaped  by  this 
one  day  of  mishaps. 

The  rector,  Heinrich  Theodore,  of  Sorau,  was  his  first  teacher.  In 
his  seventeenth  year,  in  1542,  he  went  to  the  University  of  Witten- 
berg. "Although  at  that  time  I  was  quite  young,"  says  Neander, 
of  himself.  "  I  yet  listened  attentively  for  three  years  to  Luther's  lec- 
tures and  sermons,  and  many  of  his  excellent  thoughts.  I  wrote 
down  with  care,  nor  shall  I  ever  forget  them  so  long  as  my  life  lasts ; 

*  Sources.  1.  "•Events  in  the  Life  of  Michael  Neander.  A  contribution  to  the  religious 
and  social  history  of  the  16th  century.  By  W.  Havemann.  professor  of  history  at  Giittingen." 

2.  Neamler's  works,  as  follows,  viz:— (a)  Two  Latin  Grammars.     (6)  '•£>«  re  poetica 
Graecornm,  litiri  quatuor.    E  notationibus  M.  Neandri  praeceptoris  sui  collecti  Opera  ./. 
Vullandi."     Editio  secunda.     1592.     (r.)  •'Catechetis  M.   Lutheri  Graeco-Latina."     "Pat- 
rum  Theologorttm  Graecorum  sententiae."    "Apocrypha;  hoc  est.  narrationes  de   Chritto, 
etc.,  extra  Bihlia."    Basileae,  per  Joh.  Oporinum.     1563.     (d.)  " Compendium  Dialtcticae 
ac    Rhetorical:."     1581.      (e.)  "Or.Wa    Terrae   partitim    succincta    explicatio."     15?6.      (/.) 
"Orfci'a  Terrae  dirisio  compendaria,  in  iisum  studiosaejurentutis  in  schola  flfeldensi."    15S6. 
Nova  edilio.     (g.)  "Compendium   Chronicorum,  conscripta    in   schola  Jlfelden.it ."    1586. 
Havemann  cites  the  following  in  addition:— (A.)  "Mankind's  Mirror."    Nuremburg.  1620. 
(i)  "Theolngia    mrgalandri    Lutheri."    Eisleben,  1587.    (*.)  *  Advice  to  a  gnod  nobleman 
and  friend;  or,  hou>  to  guidf  and  irmtruct  a  boy."    Eisleben,  1590.    Says  Havemann,  "this 
is  an  incomparable  liltle  book." 

3.  (a.)  "Funeral  Sermon  at  the  burial  of  the  venerable  M.  Neander.    Delivered  by  Val- 
entine Mylius."    Leipzig,  1595.    (6.)  Vollborth's  "Panegyric  upon  M.  Neander."    1777. 

O 


226  MICHAEL  NEANDER. 

for  I  often  recall  them  with  delight,  in  sorrow  and  affliction  they  are 
my  consolation,  and  they  aid  me,  moreover,  in  my  labors  both  with 
old  and  young." 

In  the  year  1547,  when,  after  the  battle  of  Muhlberg,  Neander,  in 
common  with  all  the  professors  and  students  at  Wittenberg,  deserted 
the  place,  he  obtained,  through  the  recommendation  of  Melancthon, 
the  post  of  (colleague)  assistant  in  the  school  of  Nordhauscn.  Short- 
ly after,  he  was  chosen  conrector  and  was  employed  also  as  tutor  to 
the  children  of  Herr  Schmied,  the  Mayor.  The  rector  of  the  school, 
whose  name  was  Basilius  Faber,  imposed  upon  the  youthful  Neander, 
then  fresh  from  the  conceited  air  of  Wittenberg,  and  regarding  "gram- 
mar and  syntax"  as  "insignificant  trifles,"  the"  humiliating  task  of 
teaching  the  older  boys  the  "Advanced  Syntax,"  (niajorem  Syntaxin 
majoribus)  a  work  which  he  had  "  never  even  seen,  much  less  heard 
of  or  studied." 

In  the  year  1550,  Neander  was  called  to  the  rectorship  of  the 
cloister-school  at  Ilfeld,  in  the  Harz.  Here,  in  1544,  Thomas  Stange 
had  been  chosen  abbot  of  the  monastery.  But  he  afterward  joined 
the  Protestants,  and  then,  under  the  patronage  of  the  noble  Count  of 
Stolberg,  founded  the  school,  to  which,  at  the  recommendation  of 
Melancthon  and  Schmied,  he  now  called  Neander.  When,  in  the 
year  1559,  the  devout,  conscientious  abbot  lay  upon  his  death-bed,  he 
commended  the  school  most  urgently  to  Count  Stolberg's  care,  and  to 
the  faithfulness  of  its  rector,  Neander. 

This  dying  injunction  Neander  kept  in  view  even  to  the  close  of 
his  own  life.  The  amount  of  labor  that  he  accomplished  would  appear 
well-nigh  incredible.  When  he  entered  upon  his  office,  he  found 
but  twelve  scholars  in  attendance  ;  nine  years  later,  in  1559,  this 
number  had  increased  to  forty.  And  until  within  a  few  days  before 
his  death,  or  during  the  space  of  forty-five  years,  he  took  the  charge 
of  the  whole  school  entirely  upon  himself,  never  employing  a  col- 
league.* lie  was,  moreover,  compelled  to  defend  the  very  existence 
of  the  school  itself  against  many  who  endeavored  to  wrest  the  cloistral 
domains  into  their  own  possession.  At  the  same  time  he  acomplished 
much  literary  labor — giving  to  the  press,  during  his  life-time,  thirty- 
nine  books,  and  leaving  behind  him,  in  manuscript,  fourteen  more. 

Many  of  his  contemporaries,  Melancthon  in  particular,  have  borne 
testimony  to  the  excellent  results  with  which  his  teachings  were  at- 
terded.  Melancthon  deemed  the  school  at  Ilfeld,  "by  reason  of  the 
faithful  labors  of  Neander,"  to  be  the  best  seminary  in  the  country. 

*  "Taiitnm  praestilit  linns  vir,  (jui  nulliim  in  administratione  scholae  usque  ad  ullimum 
f«.re  wnii  limen  collegam  haheret." 

Thus  that  eminent  man,  I.aurentius  Rhodomannus,  a  pupil  of  his,  and  later  a  professor  at 
Wittenberg,  writes  of  Neander. 


MICHAEL   NEANDER.  227 

Said  Rhodomannus:  "Neander  has  proved  himself  an  exceedingly 
skillful  and  successful  teacher.  He  has  carried  scholars  forward,  within 
the  space  of  three  or  four  years,  so  far  in  the  languages  and  the  arts, 
and  grounded  them  so  thoroughly  in  catechetics,  that,  when  he  had 
done  with  them,  they  were  fitted  to  enter  at  once  upon  important  posts, 
whether  in  the  school  or  in  the  church.  Especially  have  they  been  so 
thoroughly  drilled  in  the  three  languages,  that  they  have  not  inele- 
gantly imitated  the  Greek  classics."  And  the  learned  Caselius,  a 
scholar  of  Neander's,  in  Nordhausen,  said :  "  Neander's  boys,  on  en- 
tering the  university,  have  at  once  taken  precedence  of  most  others." 

Of  his  text-books,  so  far  as  I  am  acquainted  with  them,  I  have 
already,  in  part,  spoken  elsewhere.  In  his  grammars,  he  constantly 
dwelt  more  upon  the  elementary  than  the  abstruse,  and  placed  general 
principles  and  rules,  that  were  universally  binding,  before  unimportant 
particulars  and  anomalous  exceptions.  Hence  his  text-books  were 
brief;  but,  whatever  he  undertook,  he  intended  should  be  fully  and 
entirely  comprehended  by  the  learner. 

His  instructor,  Melancthon,  whom  he  highly  esteemed,  undoubtedly 
urged  him  to  give  his  attention  to  the  physical  sciences.  It  was  said 
of  Xeander,  that  "  he  was  such  an  adept  in  medicine  and  chemistry, 
that  he  was  enabled,  by  means  of  serviceable  remedies,  to  extend  a 
helping  hand  to  his  scholars  when  sick."*  His  "Hand-Book  of 
Natural  Philosophy"  was  in  much  repute. 

His  "Compendium  Chronicorum"  gives,  in  the  compass  of  forty 
pages,  a  survey  of  the  history  of  the  world,  from  Adam  to  the  year 
1575.  The  subjects  of  the  various  chapters  are,  "Jews,"  "^Egyptians," 
"Persians,"  "Greeks,"  and  "Romans;"  then  "The  Period  of  the  Mi- 
gration of  Races,  ending  with  Charlemagne,"  "Mohammed  and  the 
Saracens,"  and  "  Argonautae,  or  the  Crusades,  Tartars,  and  Turks." 
And  it  ends  with  a  glance  at  the  prophecies  of  Daniel. 

In  geography,  he  wrote  a  somewhat  extended  text-book,  called 
"Orbis  terrae  parlium  mccincla  explicatio;"  and  a  second,  much 
shorter,  with  the  title,  "Orbis  terrae  divisio" 

The  first  mentioned  compend  is  a  singular  book  ;  now  proceeding 
methodically,  and  again  branching  off  into  the  strangest  of  digressions. 
It  begins  by  giving  a  list  of  the  various  authorities  made  use  of.  Then 
there  follows  a  concise  and  clear  treatise  on  the  mathematics  of 
geography,  (in  which  the  sun  moves  around  the  earth,)  and  a  history 
of  the  science.  Next  are  described  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  and  the 
oceans ;  and  lastly  the  islands,  among  which  America  is  enumerated. 
Some  of  the  stories  interspersed  in  this  book  we  have  already  cited. 

*  A  favorite  scholar  of  his,  Thalius,  afterward  a  physician  at  Nordhnusen,  "  fathered  72 
species  of  glasses  in  the  neighborhood  of  life  Id,  and  carefully  pressed  and  dried  them  between 
the  leaves  of  an  oKi  and  huire  monkish  missal."— (Orbis  txpHcalia.  article.  Nonlhaufrn.l 


228  MICHAEL  NEANDER. 

In  his  description  of  Goldberg,  Neander  not  only  communicates  much 
upon  Trotzendorf,  but  also  narrates  that  unsuccessful,  first,  and  last 
attempt  of  his  own  to  learn  to  ride.  Under  the  article  "  Sagan,"  he 
gives  a  long  story;  how,  after  a  fourteen  years  absence  from  his  native 
land,  he  returned  thither,  and  how  he  was  every  where  received  like 
a  prince.  Every  where  they  made  feasts  in  his  honor,  at  which,  too, 
vocal  and  instrumental  music  were  heard,  and  often  the  wine  flowed 
till  midnight.  The  like,  also,  befell  him  in  his  native  town,  where  he 
found  his  aged  and  honored  mother  still  living;  though,  alas!  his 
father  had  died  but  a  short  time  before.  In  describing  Nordhausen, 
he  takes  occasion  to  speak  of  a  favorite  scholar  of  his,  who  died  there, 
the  physician  Thalius,  tells  of  his  botanical  studies,  and  of  his  death, 
caused  by  being  thrown  from  a  carriage.  Nor  does  he  stop  here,  but 
gives  a  letter  of  Thalius's,  and  cites  Latin  and  Greek  poems  composed 
upon  his  death.  And  still  further — he  adds  a  list,  many  pages  long, 
of  the  good  scholars  shaped  in  Ilfeld,  but  remarks  that  nevertheless 
he  had  some  very  bad  ones,  and  gives  the  history  of  one  of  these,  who 
was  beheaded.  He  communicates  this,  that  teachers  may  learn,  from 
his  example,  not  to  be  dispirited  on  account  of  some  untoward  ex- 
periences, but  rather  to  keep  up  a  courageous  heart.  Thus  much  in 
characterization  of  the  larger  geography.  The  lesser,  but  thirty 
pages  long,  is  far  more  concise. 

Let  us  now  turn  back  to  his  life.  In  the  year  1562,  he  married 
Anna  Winkler,  of  Nordhausen,  by  whom  he  had  two  sons  and  two 
daughters.  The  daughter  Maria  married  Valentin  Mylius,  the  pastor 
at  Ilfeld,  who  in  after  years  pronounced  the  eulogy  upon  Neander. 

In  this  eulogy  we  find  an  exceedingly  edifying  sketch  of  the  last 
days  of  the  venerable  man.  His  sickness  began  a  few  days  previous  to 
Easter,  in  the  year  1595.  But,  before  he  took  to  his  bed,  he  celebrated 
the  Lord's  supper  at  church,  after  full  confession.  Upon  his  death- 
bed he  testified  his  hearty  adhesion  to  the  Lutheran  confession  of 
faith.  When  his  pastor  read  to  him  from  the  73d  Psalm,  he  repeat- 
ed, with  joyful  emphasis,  the  words,  "  The  strength  of  my  heart,  and 
my  portion  forever,"  and  said,  "  I  will  give  praise  to  God  forever ; 
for  he  is  the  strength  of  my  heart,  and  I  shall  not  be  afraid  ;  he  is  my 
portion  and  I  am  his,  and  all  the  powers  of  darkness  can  not  sunder 
us  forever."  His  last  words  were,  "  Ah,  how  long  shall  I  linger  here 
before  I  go  to  that  blessed  place  ?  There  shall  I  meet  and  welcome 
my  dear  grand-parents,  my  parents,  and  so  many  dear,  pious  chris- 
tians,  so  many  good  and  glorious  friends ;  God  grant  me  a  speedy 
entrance  into  that  happy  land  !  Amen."  Then,  after  waving  a  last 
farewell  to  all,  he  fell  asleep  in  the  Lord  without  a  groan  or  a  mur- 
mur. It  was  four  in  the  afternoon  of  the  26th  of  April,  1595. 


THE  JESUITS  AND  THEIR  SCHOOLS.* 

[Translated  for  the  American  Journal  of  Education,  from  the  German  of  Karl  von  Raumer.] 
t 

IN  1491,  eight  years  after  Luther,  and  six  before  Melancthon,  Ig- 
natius Loyola  was  born,  the  founder  of  that  Order  whose  chief  aim 
was  to  bring  to  nought  the  Reformation,  and  to  reinstate  the  Popes 
iu  their  former  absolute  power.  The  Jesuits  sought,  by  means  of 
preaching,  the  confessional,  and  the  education  of  youth,  to  gain  pow- 
er and  influence.  And  how  great  the  influence,  how  complete  the 
power  which  they  thus  obtained ! . 

This  aim  and  method  of  the  Order  is  universally  acknowledged : 
we  find  it  asserted  equally  by  the  Protestant  Ranke,  in  his  work,  "The 
Popes  of  Rome,"  and  by  the  Popes  themselves,  as  well  as  by  the 
most  distinguished  Catholic  friends  of  the  Jesuits.  In  Pope  Gangan- 
elli's  Bull,  by  which  the  Order  was  suppressed,  it  is  described  as  hav- 
ing been  founded  for  the  "  conversion  of  heretics ;"  in  the  Bull  of 
Pius  the  Seventh,  which  restored  the  Order,  it  is  said,  that  the  Jes- 
uits might,  "  after  their  former  method,  instruct  youth  in  the  first 
principles  of  the  faith,  and  form  them  to  good  manners,  might  sus- 
tain the  duties  of  the  preacher's  office,  and  be  diligent  in  hearing  con- 
fession ;"  and  it  is  especially  enjoined  upon  them,  "  to  devote  them- 
selves, (as  formerly,)  to  the  education  of  Catholic  youth,  as  well  as  to 
undertake  the  control  of  seminaries  and  colleges.'' 

A  Catholic  writer  of  the  present  day  speaks  of  the  calling  of  the 
Jesuits  in  the  following  extremely  candid  manner:  "that  it  is  to  con- 
tend with  heretics,  chiefly  with  the  weapons  of  education  and  knowl- 
edge." "The  hateful  task  of  checking  heresy  by  means  of  fire  and 
sword,  this  the  Order'  leaves  to  its  antagonists,  the  Dominicans." 
This  same  Catholic  author  thus  writes  in  the  year  1833  :  "We  know 
both  when  and  how  the  Order  of  the  Jesuits  originated ;  we  know 
the  genesis  of  the  Society  of  Jesus.  At  the  commencement  of  the 

*  Sources.— 1.  Ranke's  Popes  of  Rome. 

"  2.  Spittler  on  the  History  and  Constitution  of  the  Order  of  the  Jesuits. 

"  3.  Pascal's  Provincial  Letters. 

'•  4.  Ratio  et  institutio  studiorum  societatis  Jesu ;  Superiorum  permistu :  Mo- 

guntiae,  1600. 

t;  6.  Educational  System  of  the  Society  of  Jesus;  Landshut,  1813. 

"  6.  Lang's  History  of  the  Jesuits  in  Bavaria;  Nuremberg.  1819. 

The  above  are  some  of  the  principal  sources  from  which  Von  Raumer  drew  his  views  ol 
the  Jesuit. 


230  THE  JESUITS  AND  THEIR  SCHOOLS. 

sixteenth  century  a  storm  had  gathered  against  the  church  of  Jesus 
Christ.  A  new  doctrine  was  proclaimed,  another  faith  preached;  a 
deadly  heresy  had  exalted  itself.  The  world  was  drifting  toward  the 
quicksands.  And  as  every  heresy  contains  some  element  of  truth, 
sufficient  to  give  it  a  specious  appearance,  and  to  insure  its  reception 
among  men,  so  in  this  case  we  find  such  an  element  in  the  estimation 
it  placed  upon  the  study  of  the  Scriptures,  in  the  absolute  homage 
and  unqualified  respect  that  it  paid  to  the  pure,  unaltered  word  of 
God,  as  recorded  in  Holy  Writ, — in  its  faith  in  the  written  word 
alone,  which  it  claimed  was  given  to  every  man  to  examine  for  him- 
self; and  this  homage  and  respect  culminated  in  the  complete  deifi- 
cation of  the  letter.  But  in  whatever  spot  the  earth  yields  a  poison, 
there  an  antidote  is  sure  to  spring  up  by  its  side.  So  too,  if  at  any 
time  storms  overspread  the  sky,  God,  in  his  providence,  soon  puts  an 
ond  to  their  fury.  Does  any  foe  to  the  Bride  of  Christ,  the  church 
of  God,  declare  war  against  her,  then,  even  in  the  very  fiercest  of  the 
onset,  when  her  defeat  seems  inevitable,  God  raises  up  a  hero,  who 
goes  forth  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  single  handed  and  alone,  and,  like 
a  second  David,  overcomes  the  champion  of  error".  Such  a  hero  was 
Ignatius  Loyola,  who,  in  the  year  of  grace,  1521,  most  fortunately 
for  the  world,  lay  wounded  in  the  fortress  of  Pampeluna.  The 
wounds  which  he  had  received  in  his  body  healed  in  a  miraculous 
manner  the  hurt  of  his  soul,  and  thereby  healed  the  spiritual  diseases 
of  the  greater  portion  of  mankind.  God  created  this  man  to  be  the 
founder  of  an  Order,  which  was  destined  to  become  a  strong  wall  of 
defense  for  his  holy  church  against  the  new  heresy.  Examination  of 
the  letter  of  the  word,  as  we  said  above, — investigation,  consequent- 
ly knowledge,  characterized  this  false  doctrine.  Hence  the  Order 
which  was  to  defend  men  from  its  allurements  and  to  confirm  them 
in  the  old  faith,  found  itself  compelled  to  put  on  the  same  armor  of 
knowledge,  that  it  might  win  the  victory.  If,  with  other  Orders,  con- 
templation and  mortification  of  the  flesh  stood  foremost  in  import- 
ance, while  study  was  a  minor  concern,  with  the  Jesuits,  on  the  other 
hand,  study  and  the  pursuit  of  knowledge  constituted  the  chief  aim, 
though  prayer,  meditation  and  devotional  exercises  were  not  omitted. 
Fcr  they  felt  that  erudition  and  knowledge  must  be  united  with 
piety.  And  they  turned  their  attention  to  those  youth,  who  were 
eager  to  run  in  the  ways  of  knowledge ;  to  studious  youth,  to  pro 
tect  them  from  the  pestilent  breath  of  false  doctrine,  presenting  itself 
in  the  guise  of  science.  Accordingly  schools  and  the  education  of 
the  young  were  their  chief  care  and  the  main  object  of  their  efforts. 
And  God  blessed  the  Society,  so  that,  in  a  very  short  time,  it  extend- 


THE  JESUITS  AND  THEIR  SCHOOLS.  231 

ed  its  operations  into  all  parts  of  the  globe.  And  it  was  not  long 
before  the  fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  took  possession  of  nearly 
every  nation  on  the  earth,  as  the  apostles  had  done  before  them ; 
and  wherever  they  established  themselves,  they  undertook  the  man- 
agement of  schools,  and  the  direction  of  such  as  thirsted  for  knowl- 
edge, and  their  efforts  were  prospered  and  blessed.  God  grant  that 
we  may  soon  see  such  an  Order  arising  in  our  midst,  for  we  too  live 
in  an  age  full  of  all  manner  of  heresies !" 

[We  omit  in  this  place,  as  well  as  toward  the  close  of  the  article, 
several  pages  of  Raumer's  chapter  on  the  Jesuits,  in  which  he  discus- 
ses, from  the  extreme  Protestant  stand-point,  the  influence  of  the  con- 
fessional, and  the  principles  of  what  he  calls  "Jesuitical  morality." 
These  topics,  and  especially,  when  handled  in  a  partisan  spirit,  are 
more  appropriate  to  a  theological  and  controversial,  than  to  an  educa- 
tional journal.  The  past,  as  well  as  the  present  organization  of  the 
schools  of  the  Jesuits, — the  course  of  instruction,  methods  of  teaching, 
and  discipline,  are  worthy  of  profound  study  by  teachers  and  educa- 
tors who  would  profit  by  the  experience  of  wise  and  learned  men. 
Says  Bacon  ;  "As  it  regards  teaching,  this  is  the  sum  of  all  direction  ; 
'  take  example  by  the  schools  of  the  Jesuits,  for  better  do  not  exist.' " 
ED.  AM.  JOUR.  OF  ED.] 

The  editor  of  the  "  System  of  Education"  has  adopted  the  above  words 
of  Bacon  for  his  motto,  and  has  cited,  in  addition,  the  following  testi- 
mony from  that  philosopher.  "  When  I  look  at  the  diligence  and 
the  activity  of  the  Jesuits,  both  in  imparting  knowledge  and  in 
moulding  the  heart,  I  bethink  me  of  the  exclamation  of  Agesilaus 
concerning  Pharnabazus  ;  'since  thou  art  so  noble,  I  would  thou  wert 
on  our  side.' "  The  editor  of  the  "  System"  boasts  of  this  passage  as 
a  "  splendid  tribute  extorted  from  an  anti-Catholic  and  a  heretic." 

I  will  now  subjoin  a  second  tribute,  likewise  from  a  "  heretic,"  viz., 
John  Sturm.  "The  name,  Jesuits,"  says  he,  "is  new,  and  of  recent 
origin.  They  merit  higher  praise  than  do  any  other  of  the  monks, 
if  indeed  we  may  praise  monkery  at  all.  For  what  neither  the  good 
and  devout  Reuchlin,  nor  the  learned  and  eloquent  Erasmus,  nor,  prior 
to  these,  Alexander  Hegius  and  Rudolf  Agricola  could  persuade  the 
schoolmen  and  the  monks  to  do,  namely,  that  they  should,  if  not  dis- 
posed themselves  to  cultivate  learning,  at  least  train  up  others  to  do 
it;  this  the  Jesuits  have,  without  prompting,  everywhere  undertaken. 

They  give  instruction  in  the  languages  and  in  logic,  and  so  far  as 
they  can,  they  impart  to  their  scholars  a  knowledge  of  rhetoric.  I 
rejoice  at  their  appearance  for  two  reasons.  And  first,  because  they 
promote  our  cause,  by  cultivating  the  sciences.  For  I  have  observed 


232  THE  JESUITS  AND  THEIR  SCHOOLS. 

what  authors  they  explain  and  what  method  they  adopt ;  it  is  a 
method  so  nearly  like  ours,  that  it  appears  as  if  they  had  copied  from 
us.  And  secondly,  they  incite  us  to  a  greater  watchfulness  and  zeal, 
lest  they  show  themselves  more  diligent  than  we,  and  lest  their  schol- 
ars become  more  learned  and  accomplished  than  ours." 

If  now  we  compare  Sturm's  mode  of  teaching  with  that  of  the  Jesu- 
its, we  shall  find,  at  the  first  glance,  scarce  any  difference  between 
them.  The  internal  structure  of  their  institutions,  their  text-books, 
general  curriculum,  and  ideal  of  culture,  all  are  nearly  identical,  and 
yet  a  Jesuit  college  in  respect  to  its  inmost  design  and  aim  differed  as 
widely  from  Sturm's  college  or  his  gymnasium,  as  a  Jesuit  from  a 
Protestant. 

The  u  Ratio  et  institutio,  (theory  and  method,)  studiorum  societatis 
Jem?  is  the  oldest  treatise  on  teaching  that  the  Jesuits  possess.  It 
was  originally  projected  in  1588  by  six  of  the  fathers,  and,  after  un- 
dergoing a  thorough  revision,  it  was  finally  published  in  the  year 
1599.  It  appeared  under  the  sanction  of  the  renowned  Claudius  de 
Aquaviva,  who  was  general  of  the  Order  at  that  period.  This  treat- 
ise has  maintained,  even  to  the  present  day,  its  original  authority, 
and  all  subsequent  writers  have  built  upon  its  foundation ;  we  have 
an  evidence  of  this  fact  in  a  later  treatise,  written  in  1730,  which,  in 
its  turn,  has  been,  in  the  main,  incorporated  into  the  "  Educational 
System"  of  the  year  1833.  So  too,  the  Jesuit  General  Rootbaan, 
in  the  preface  to  the  most  recent  official  "  Course  of  Instruction," 
published  in  1832,  remarks ;  "we  present  herein  nothing  new,  but 
the  old  original  system,  only  modified  to  suit  the  times."  For  "  this 
old  system  has  been  approved  by  the  fortunate  experience  of  almost 
two  centuries,  and  it  should  not  be  altered,  except  for  weighty  rea- 
sons." Some  alterations  were  made,  as  we  see,  in  obedience  to  the 
demands  of  the  age ;  a  nice  adaptation  of  fixed  principles  to  the  va- 
riations of  circumstance  being  characteristic  of  the  Order. 

We  turn  now  to  consider  the  internal  structure  of  a  fully  organized 
Jesuitic  college.  Such  an  institution  embraced  two  distinct  courses 
of  study,  each  complete  in  itself.  These  were  known  as  the  higher 
and  the  preparatory  branches,  "  studio.  suj)eriora  "  and  "  studio,  in- 
feriora"  Each  division  of  the  college  was  under  its  separate  prae- 
fect,  but  both  praefects  were  alike  subject  to  the  rector,  who  had  the 
general  control  of  the  whole  establishment. 

PREPARATORY  OR  LOWER  STUDIEI. 

The  lower  division,  corresponding  to  the  gymnasium,  comprised 
the  following  five  classes,  each  having  its  particular  name : 
1.  The  lower  class  in  grammar;  or  the  rudiments. 


THE  JESUITS  AND  THEIR  SCHOOLS.  233 

2.  The  middle  class  in  grammar ;  or  grammar  proper. 

3.  The  higher  class  in  grammar ;  or  syntax. 

4.  The  Humanities. 

5.  Rhetoric. 

These  names  lead  us  to  infer  at  the  outset  a  general  resemblance 
to  the  course  pursued  at  Sturm's  gymnasium,  wher  grammar  was 
the  beginning,  and  rhetoric  the  end  and  aim  of  all  education,  and 
when  the  art  of  speaking  Latin  was  the  summit  of  all  culture.  Says 
the  composer  of  "  The  Educational  System  of  the  Jesuits :"  "  not  a 
mere  knowledge  of  syntax,  but  a  practical  mastery  of  it,  in  other 
words,  readiness  and  skill  both  in  speaking  and  in  writing;  this  is 
the  aim  of  grammar."  Pupils  are  "  to  make  a  living  language  of 
the  Latin,  hence  they  should  be  taught  on  the  principle  of  the  maxim 
'lege,  scribe,  loquere.1^  "Those  alone  possess  a  perfect  knowledge  1 
of  a  language,  who  not  only  read  it,  but  who  can  likewise  speak  it  ' 
and  write  it.  And  the  course  of  study  adopted  by  the  Society  of 
Jesus  is  designed  to  secure  this  result.  The  pupils  of  the  Jesuits  are 
enabled  not  only  to'  read  and  write  Latin,  but  really  to  speak  it." 

As  the  Jesuits  and  Sturm  appear  thus  to  have  coincided  in  the 
pursuit  of  a  common  aim,  it  is  but  natural  to  suppose  that  their 
methods  of  indoctrinating  their  scholars  with  Latinity  would  have 
been  the  same  or  similar.  To  say  nothing  of  the  study  of  grammar, 
we  find  in  both  instances  an  absolute  sacrifice  of  every  thing  to  the 
single  object  of  storing  the  mind  with  a  multitude  of  Latin  words 
and  phrases.  The  "  System  "  recommends  the  use  of  books  in  which 
such  phrases  are  collected  and  methodically  arranged ;  such  a  book  is 
the  "Latin-German  Promptuarium  of  Father  Wolfgang  Schoensle- 
der."  Another,  recommended  for  the  three  lower  classes,  is  called 
"Amalthea  ;"  it  is  divided  into  six  parts,  each  part  containing  a  great 
variety  of  idiomatic  forms  and  phrases.  Part  6,  for  example,  treats 
of  the  arts  ;  chapter  1,  of  medicine,  2,  of  surgery,  3,  of  arithmetic,  6,  of 
printing,  etc.  "  Through  the  number  and  variety  of  phrases  thus 
rendered  familiar  to  the  mind,"  it  is  said,  "  style  will  assume  color, 
grace  and  dignity." 

For  the  sake  of  a  pure  Latinity,  the  Jesuits 'crushed  out  the  vernacu- 
lar, precisely  as  did  Trotzendorf  and  Sturm.  "  The  exercise  of  speak- 
ing Latin  must  be  unintermitted  and  absolute,  to  the  entire  exclusion 
of  the  vernacular  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  school."  This  rule 
extended  even  to  the  lower  classes  in  grammar;  "the  lowest,  it  may 
be,  being  on  some  occasions  excepted."  In  order  to  encourage  ex- 
cellence in  Latin  speech,  "  the  teacher  should  repeatedly  appeal  to  the 
stately  elegance  of  the  language,  and  on  the  other  hand  should  con- 


234  THE  JESUITS  AND  THEIR  SCHOOLS. 

tinually  dwell  upon  the  disgrace  which  is  sure  to  overtake  pupils  in 
Latinity  if  they  can  not  carry  on  a  conversation  in  Latin."  The  neg- 
ligent must  be  reprimanded,  "and  those  who  let  fall  a  word  in  the 
vernacular  must  be  compelled  to  wear  some  mark  of  disgrace,  and  in 
addition,  to  suffer  a  light  chastisement,  unless  they  can  shift  this  two- 
fold burden,  on  the  same  day,  upon  the  shoulders  of  some  fellow- 
pupil,  whom  either  in  school  or  in  the  street  they  shall  overhear  talk- 
ing German,  or  whom  they  can  convict  of  this  offense  by  at  least 
one  credible  witness."  "  This  noble  emulation  should  prevail  as  well 
among  pupils  of  the  same  school  as  between  one  school  and  another." 
The  noble  emulation  here  insisted  on  I  shall  advert  to  again, 
further  on. 

Of  the  study  of  the  classics  the  "  Educational  System "  says : 
*'  For  us  the  pagan  writers  of  classical  antiquity  can  have  but  a  sub- 
ordinate aim,  namely,  the  formation  of  style.  *  *  *  }}y  means 
of  the  classics  we  are  to  become  familiar  with  the  language  of  the 
Greeks,  but  especially  with  that  of  the  Romans,  and  thus  to  form 
our  style ;  further  than  this  we  can  not  go"  As  the  Jesuits  thus 
aimed  only  at  the  cultivation  of  style  in  reading  the  classics,  they, 
like  Sturm,  prized  Cicero  above  all  the  rest.  On  this  point  hear  the 
"  Educational  System :"  "  Style  should  be  drawn  almost  exclusively 
from  Cicero,  although  the  most  approved  of  the  historians  need  not 
on  that  account  be  overlooked."  And  again  ;  "  What  model  is  to  be 
imitated  and  after  what  pattern  we  should  fashion  our  style  is  briefly 
comprehended  in  the  words  of  the  rule,  'imitate  Cicero.'  As  in  the 
study  of  theology  we  follow  the  divine  Thomas  (Aquinas,)  and  in 
philosophy,  Aristotle,  so  in  the  humanities  Cicero  must  be  regarded 
as  our  peculiar  and  preeminent  leader.  For  he  has  been  crowned 
with  the  palm  of  superior  praise  by  the  common  consent  of  the 
world.  But  some,  misguided  by  a  willful  and  self-formed  taste,  have 
gone  astray,  preferring  a  style  totally  different  from  that  of  Cicero  ; 
such  an  erratic  course  is  quite  at  variance  with  the  genius  of  our  in- 
stitutions and  hostile  to  that  spirit  of  prompt  obedience"  etc.  "An 
abrupt  and  clipped  style  was  discountenanced  by  the  venerable  pre- 
cepts of  those  of  our  forefathers  who  gave  their  particular  attention 
to  this  subject.''  Since  Cicero  was  the  highest  model  for  imitation, 
he  was  read  by  all  the  classes ;  the  three  lower  classes  especially, 
were  drilled  in  the  "Familiar  Letters,"  as  they  are  styled  in  the 
"  System." 

Both  in  conversation  and  in  writing,  the  scholars  are  to  use  no  ex- 
pression "which  they  .can  not  justify  by  the  authority  or  example  of 
some  approved  writer."  This  precept,  taken  in  connection  with  the 


THE  JESUITS  AND  THEIR  SCHOOLS.  235 

foregoing  quotations,  proves  that  the  pupils  of  the  Jesuits  were  re- 
quired to  reproduce,  in  speaking  and  in  writing,  almost  universally,  the 
phraseology  of  Cicero,  carefully  culled  out  and  stored  in  the  memory. 
Latin  poems  were  in  like  manner  pieced  together  out  of  lines  or  ex- 
pressions taken  from  Virgil.  Latin  dramas  too  were  acted,  not  how- 
ever, the  old  plays  of  Terence  and  Plautus,  but  such  as  were  com- 
posed for  the  purpose.  "For  it  is  not  proper  in  every  act  to  intro- 
duce demons,  heartless  knaves,  tipplers,  gamblers,  and  profane  jesters, 
nor  ought  dancing  or  the  shifting  shows  of  gliding  specters  and  ghosts 
to  be  often  brought  upon  the  stage."  "These  plays,  pure  as  may  be 
their  style,  and  well  adapted  as  they  are  to  impart  finish  and  grace 
to  the  pupil's  knowledge,  nevertheless  ought  not  to  receive  so  much 
attention  in  our  eagerness  for  the  favor  of  the  people,  that  we  shall 
meanwhile,  neglect  the  true  interests  of  the  school." 

In  one  respect  the  Jesuits  appear  to  have  acted  with  more  direct- 
ness of  purpose  and  practical  good  sense  than  did  John  Sturm,  with  his 
like-minded  Protestant  compeers ;  for  the  former  knew  why  they  wished 
to  substitute  Latin  for  the  vernacular.  The  editor  of  the  "  Educa- 
tional System  "  says  to  this  point ;  "  The  schools  of  the  Jesuits  were  ") 
so  conducted  throughout,  as  to  bring  youth  completely  under  the 
dominion  of  the  true  church.  To  this  end  every  regulation,  from  the 
least  to  the  greatest  has  been  uniformly  directed."  It  was  to  serve 
the  Romish  hierarchy  then,  to  further  its  schemes  of  universal 
aggrandizement  by  means  of  the  powerful  instrumentality  of  a  com- 
mon language,  extending  to  all  the  nations  of  the  world ;  it  was,  I 
repeat  it,  to  serve  this  hierarchy,  that  the  Jesuits  banished  the  ver- 
nacular from  their  schools  to  make  room  for  the  Latin.  With  the 
aid  of  this  language  they  hoped  measurably  to  overcome  every  ob- 
stacle, that  deep-seated  national  prejudices  should  oppose  to  their  on- 
ward career,  and  to  build  up  a  spiritual  kingdom  whose  dominion 
should  embrace  the  whole  world.  Already  the  church  had  her  au- 
thorized Vulgate  version  of  the  Scriptures  in  Latin ;  already  was  her 
liturgy  in  Latin,  so  that  in  all  Catholic  churches  founded  anywhere 
in  the  world,  the  Roman  Breviary  was  read,  nor  was  any  departure 
from  its  language  in  any  case  permitted. 

The  Jesuits  taught  Greek  also.  That  scholars  as  well  as  teachers,  - 
were  at  least  somewhat  accomplished  in  this  branch,  is  evident  from 
the  fact  that  they  gloried  in  being  able  not  only  to  speak  Greek  but 
to  compose  Greek  poems.  Frederick  A.  Wolf,  the  most  eminent 
philologist  of  the  present  day  is,  like  Luther  and  Ernesti,  decidedly 
adverse  to  Greek  composition.  When,  on  the  occasion  of  an  exam- 
ination for  degrees,  a  Greek  thesis  was  called  for,  he  said,  "  among  a 


236  TIIE  JESUITS  AND  THEIR  SCHOOLS. 

hundred  school  teachers  and  school  directors  selected  from  the  whole 
of  Germany,  we  shall  not  find  ten  who  could  write  such  a  thesis  with 
even  ordinary  accuracy."  Speaking,  again,  of  a  similar  occasion,  when 
many  of  the  examiners  required  skill  and  elegance  in  Latin  compo- 
sition of  the  pupils,  he  said :  "  Those  who  open  their  mouths  the 
widest  in  these  demands,  can  not  themselves  do  what  they  require 
of  others." 

How  eagerly  would  the  editor  of  the  "  Educational  System  "  seize 
upon  these  admissions  of  the  great  Protestant  philologist  as  proof  of 
his  own  repeated  allegations.  "It  were  a  difficult  task,"  he  says,  "to 
determine  the  precise  position  which  the  study  of  Latin  occupies  at 
the  present  day.  The  teachers  of  the  language  are  themselves  with- 
out a  perfect  knowledge  of  it,  and  how  then  can  they  impart  what 
they  do  not  possess  ?  Verily,  the  Latin  language  has  suffered  a 
second  death  among  us,  and  those  old  worthies,  (the  Jesuits,)  who 
were  gifted  with  the  magical  power  to  raise  the  dead,  have  all  passed 
away.  Boast  not,  O  short-sighted  present  age,  of  thine  erudition ; 
blush  rather  on  account  of  thy  shallowness,  and  mourn  over  thy  dis- 
tance and  estrangement  from  the  spirit  of  the  classics." 

In  another  place  he  says :  "  Tell  me  not  that  you  have  mastered 
the  Latin  or  the  Greek  languages,  when  you  are  unable  to  speak 
them.  The  Jesuits  and  their  pupils  were  able  both  to  speak  these 
languages  and  to  write  them.  Many,  very  many  of  them  wrote 
hymns  and  odes,  yea,  epics  in  Latin  and  Greek,  as  none  but  a  Latin 
or  Greek  poet  could  have  done ;  so  that  their  productions,  if  com- 
pared with  the  works  of  Greek  and  Roman  poets,  would  not  be  found 
wanting.  The  libraries  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  contain  works  com- 
posed by  Jesuits,  such  as  speeches,  histories,  epic  poems,  (Christiads, 
for  example,)  both  Latin  and  Greek,  which  bear  the  classical  stamp, 
and  whose  authors  rank,  both  in  range  and  power  of  expression  and 
in  genuine  artistic  excellence,  with  Demosthenes  and  Cicero,  with 
Thucydides,  Livy  or  Tacitus,  with  Homer  and  Virgil."  Truly,  this 
advocate  of  the  Jesuits,  open  his  mouth  wide  as  he  may,  to  use 
Wolf's  expression,  can  give  us  no  stronger  proof  of  his  own  utter 
lack  of  high  classical  culture,  than  by  thus  inviting  all  the  world  to 
seat  themselves  as  disciples  at  the  feet  of  the  Jesuits,  while  ho  him- 
self can  not  even  write  good  German  ! 

In  addition  to  the  languages  I  find  but  one  other  branch  of  in- 
struction particularized,  and  that  is  given  under  the  name  of  "erudition.'9 
What  this  comprehended  we  can  only  know  approximately  by  a  com- 
parison of  various  passages  in  the  "  System."  In  one  place  we  are 
told  "  that  the  pupils  by  diligence  in  writing  will  attain  to  those 


THE  JESUITS  AND  THEIR  SCHOOLS.  237 

honorary  grades,  whose  names,  to  savor  of  erudition,  have  been  de- 
rived from  the  civil  or  military  polities  of  Greece  or  Rome."  In  an- 
other, it  is  enjoined,  "  in  the  interval  between  the  examination  and 
the  distribution  of  prizes  to  employ  the  pupils  in  agreeable  exercises, 
such  as  those  which  pertain  to  polymathy  or  philology,  to  arithmetic, 
to  orthography,  and  to  every  species  of  erudition.'1''  Or,  "  at  this 
time  some  questions  in  polymathy  or  in  the  higher  erudition  should  be 
discussed;  or  again  an  exercise  in  arithmetic  may  be  taken  up,  com- 
bined however,  with  an  explanation  of  the  principles  involved  in  the 
exercise."  Further  on  we  find  the  following :  "  Erudition  is  to  be 
gathered  by  the  scholars  from  the  history  and  the  manners  of  nations, 
from  the  opinions  of  authors,  and,  in  short,  from  the  entire  teachings 
of  the  school."  "At  the  examinations,  the  scholars  are  to  be  called 
upon  for  specimens  of  the  erudition  previously  laid  before  them,  viz., 
for  fable?,  historical  incidents,  antiquities,  responses  of  oracles,  sayings 
of  wise  men,  examples  of  strategy,  famous  deeds,  inventions  of  every 
sort,  customs  and  institutions  of  various  nations,  eminent  virtues,"  etc. 

But  the  most  varied  array  of  topics  comprehended  in  erudition  is 
the  following :  "  in  the  holidays,  attention  may  be  given  to  some  of 
the  less  familiar  subjectsjas  hieroglyphics, emblems,  with  questions  bear- 
ing upon  the  art  of  poetry,  (taken  from  the  Poetics  of  Aristotle  or  of 
Father  Jayi,)  relating  to  the  epigram,  the  epitaph,  the  ode,  elegy, 
epic  poetry,  and  tragedy;  the  Roman  and  Athenian  senate,  the  art  of 
•war  among  the  ancients,  horticulture,  dress,  the  banquet,  the  triumph, 
Sybils  and  other  characters  of  a  similar  class :  add  to  these,  Pytha- 
gorean symbols,  apothegms,  proverbs,  and  parables,  etc.;  moreover,  in- 
scriptions on  shields,  temples,  and  monuments,  gardens,  statues  and 
the  like ;  also  fables,  Roman  antiquities,  remarkable  events,  oracles, 
military  stratagems,  brilliant  achievements,  descriptions,"  etc. 

From  the  foregoing  quotations,  we  leave  the  reader  to  form  his 
own  idea  of  the  nature  of  this  erudition.  How  much  the  Jesuits 
left  M7<taught,  we  deem  it  hardly  necessary  to  mention.  Besides  Latin, 
which  occupied  by  far  the  largest  share  of  the  time  devoted  to  study, 
they  imparted  a  knowledge  of  Greek  and  of  erudition.  They  like- 
wise gave  religious  instruction,  of  which  we  shall  speak  further  on. 
There  was  no  place  given  to  German,  geography,  mathematics,  music, 
and  the  like ;  the  narrowness  of  their  curriculum  even  surpassed  that 
of  Sturm's.  But,  in  this  respect,  their  modern  scheme  of  study,  pub- 
lished in  1832,  indicates  progress.  "The  demands  of  the  age,"  they 
say,  "  constrain  us,  in  some  points,  yet  without  prejudice  to  the  cause 
of  sound  learning,  to  depart  from  the  usages  of  our  fathers ;  and  com- 
pliance with  these  demands  is  not  only  not  forbidden,  but  it  is  rather 


238  THE  JESUITS  AND  THEIR  SCHOOLS. 

required  by  the  spirit  and  design  of  our  establishment, — which  is,  to 
promote  the  greater  glory  of  God."     Accordingly  natural  philosophy, 
mathematics,  and  German  are  now  taught  by  the  Jesuits. 
THE  HIGHER  BRANCHES. 

Pupils  usually  spent  one  year  in  each  of  the  four  lower  classes 
of  the  gymnasium,  and  two  years  in  rhetoric.  They  then  passed 
to  the  higher  branches,  and  first  of  all,  to  a  two  or  three  years' 
course  in  philosophy. 

The  professor  of  philosophy  adhered,  in  the  main,  to  Aristotle,  so 
far  as  he  did  not  clash  with  the  doctrines  of  the  church,  "though 
Averroes,  when  he  came  upon  any  thing  good  in  him,  did  not  praise 
him  for  it,  but  sought  to  prove  that  lie  borrowed  it."  On  the  con- 
trary, "  the  professor  should  make  honorable  mention  of  our  holy 
Thomas  (Aquinas,)  should  delight  to  agree  with  him,  and  dissent, 
where  necessary,  with  great  reluctance."  The  first  year  Aristotle's 
logic  was  taught ;  the  second,  his  books  "  de  coelo?  the  "  de  genera- 
tions" and  the  " Meteorologies  ;"  the  third  year,  the  second  book  of 
" de  generatione"  the  books  " de  anima"  and  the  metaphysics.  A 
critical  exegesis  of  the  original  text  was  recommended,  as  well  as  sys- 
tematic disputations  on  particular  topics  in  hand. 

A  special  professor  of  morals  lectured  upon  the  "  ethics ''  of  Aristotle. 

A  professor  of  mathematics  explained  the  elements  of  Euclid  to 
the  class  in  "physics;"  he  touched  likewise  upon  geography,  or  upon 
the  "sphere,"  and  kindred  topics,  "  which  subjects  pupils  always  take 
hold  of  with  eagerness." 

At  the  close  of  the  philosophical  coursev  those  whose  qualifications 
were  suitable,  entered  upon  the  study  of  theology ;  this  extended 
over  a  period  of  four  years,  under  the  direction  of  professors  of  sacred 
literature,  of  Hebrew,  of  scholastic  or  doctrinal  theology,  and  of  casu- 
iatryi 

The  professor  of  sacred  literature  was  expected  to  make  use  of  the 
Vulgate  version,  only  referring  in  brief,  and  where  indispensable,  to  the 
Greek  and  Hebrew  originals ;  to  cite  the  Chaldee  and  other  versions, 
the  Septuagint  especially,  where  these  establish  the  Vulgate  and  the 
teachings  of  the  church.  He  was  not  to  give  much  attention  to  the 
interpretations  of  the  Rabbins,  nor  to  devote  much  time  to  chronolo- 
gy, the  geography  of  Palestine,  and  (similar  inquiries  of  minor  im- 
portance;  unless  a  passage  absolutely  demanded  an  allusion  to  them. 

The  professor  of  Hebrew  was  likewise  to  hold  by  the  Vulgate;  in 
teaching,  he  should  begin  with  the  elements,  then  explain  one  of  the 
simpler  books  of  the  Old  Testament;  and  he  should  teach  in  such  a 
manner,  that,  by  his  assiduity  and  care,  the  strange  and  uncouth  vis- 


THE  JESUITS  AND  THEIR  SCHOOLS.  2^9 

age,  which  the  Hebrew  presents  to  some  minds,  should  grow  mild 
and  attractive. 

The  professor  of  scholastic  theology  based  his  teachings  upon  the 
system  of  Aquinas,  (whom  the  Jesuits  regarded  as  peculiarly  their  own 
teacher,)  and  he  was  expected  not  merely  to  explain  and  to  commend 
the  doctrines  and  opinions  of  Aquinas  to  his  class,  but  likewise  warmly 
to  defend  them.  In  no  point  was  the  professor  to  deviate  from 
the  system  of  doctrine  prescribed  by  the  church. 

It  was  the  duty  of  the  professor  of  casuistry,  fitly  to  mould  the 
young  theologian  to  the  office  of  pastor  and  priest.  He  expounded 
the  nature  of  the  sacraments,  and  descanted  upon  the  various  positions 
and  duties  of  men.  With  theology  proper,  he  had  little  to  do.  He 
gave  decisions  of  doubtful  questions,  resting  his  decisions  upon  au- 
thorities, though  not  multiplying  these  unnecessarily.  "  But,  while 
thus  fortifying  his  own  position,  he  should  not  neglect  to  cite  those 
authorities,  if  any  there  are,  of  equal  weight,  which  appear  to  war- 
rant an  opposite  conclusion."  Disputations  likewise,  on  cases  of 
conscience  were  recommended. 

These  theological  classes  formed  the  source  from  whence  the  Order 
drew  a  supply  of  teachers  for  the  gymnasiac 

The  Society  received  at  the  hands  of  Pope  Julius  III.  the  power  of 
conferring  both  Bachelor's  and  Doctor's  degrees  upon  such  as  did  not 
take  a  University  course. 

Having  now  given  an  outline  view  of  the  entire  educational  course 
of  the  Jesuits,  I  come  to  the  moral  and  religious  character  of  their 
system,  to  its  discipline. 

"Religion,"  says  the  composer  of  the  "  Educational  System,"  "  is  the 
base  and  the  summit  of  schools  and  of  all  education,  their  foundation 
and  their  capstone,  their  central  principle  and  their  soul ;  therefore  the 
religious  should  be  chosen  for  teachers,  and  with  peculiar  propriety 
too,  from  that  Order,  which  has  always  stood  foremost  in  the  great 
work  of  instructing  the  young,  viz.,  the  Society  of  Jesus."  With  this 
Order  "the  religious  principle  was  not  a  mere  name  assumed  for 
ulterior  ends,  it  was  not  a  false  banner  hoisted  for  the  purpose  of  de- 
ception." It  ki  protected  youth  from  vice,  and  with  a  peculiar  care 
strengthened  them  against  every  spiritual  ailment."  "The  religious 
alone  can  save  the  schools  from  perdition ;  a  religious  fraternity  alone, 
an  Order,  which  has  received  the  sanction  and  consecrating  influence 
of  the  church  of  Christ,  this  alone  can  avert  the  overwhelming  de 
struction  that  is  now  settling  down  upon  education  and  upon  schools, 
sinking  them  deeper  every  day,  and  preparing  them  ultimately  to  be- 
come instrumental  in  subverting  both  thrones  and  governments  " 


240  THE  JESUITS  AND  THEIR  SCHOOLS. 

The  method  of  heretics  in  education  is  represented  as  directly  the 
reverse  of  that  of  the  Jesuits,  viz.,  as  superficial,  utterly  godless,  sub- 
versive of  morality  and  the  fruitful  parent  of  revolutions. 

But  the  moral  arid  religious  character  of  a  Jesuitical  institution 
needs  a  closer  examination  at  our  hands.  It  is  repeatedly  urged  in 
the  "Jesuit  System  of  Education  "  as  a  first  principle,  to  instil  into 
the  minds  of  youth  a  knowledge  of  the  Creator  and  the  Redeemer;  so 
that  at  the  same  time  with  earthly  knowledge,  they  may  acquire 
habits  and  sentiments  worthy  of  Christians.  "The  young  are  formed 
to  obedience,  to  love  of  God  and  to  virtue."  "  The  teacher  must  set 
them  an  example  of  a  religious  life,  must  do  nothing  whereby  the 
pupils  will  offend,  must  pray  for  them."  He  must  "with  great  faith 
and  confidence  commend  them  to  the  most  Blessed  Virgin  and  to  the 
Saints  of  God,  chiefly  to  such  as  have  ever  been  held  as  the  special 
and  peculiar  patrons  of  studious  youth,  as  St.  Joseph,  St.  Catharine, 
St.  Cassian,  St.  Nicholas,  our  holy  Father  Ignatius,  St.  Lewis,  St. 
Stanislaus,"  etc. 

Great  stress  is  laid  upon  that  humility,  "  that  seeks  not  the  perish- 
able honors  of  this  world,  but  the  enduring  honor  which  comes  from 
God."  "  Every  thing  bordering  on  vice  or  in  any  manner  inconsis- 
tent with  the  precepts  of  Christian  morality  should  be  stigmatized  as 
disreputable  and  mean.  Pride,  boasting,"  etc.  Obedience  was  not 
only  drilled  into  the  scholars,  but  it  was  required  of  the  teachers  too. 
"Every  will,"  remarks  the  editor  of  the  "Educational  System,"  "is 
merged  in  the  will  of  one  superior ;  and  his  will  is  to  be  honored  and 
obeyed  as  the  will  of  Jesus  Christ." 

What  kind  of  obedience  was  demanded,  we  saw  above  in  the  cur- 
sory remark,  that  an  un-Ciceronian  style  was  to  be  shunned  as  a  vio- 
lation of  the  grand  law  of  obedience.  In  short,  all  were  made  to  feel 
that  a  blind  and  slavish  obedience  was  universally  demanded,  and 
that  all,  teachers  as  well  as  scholars,  were,  so  to  speak,  wheels  of  one 
vast  machine,  whose  main  spring  was  the  general  at  Rome. 

The  nature  of  the  prayers  enjoined  upon  the  pupils  may  be  in- 
ferred from  what  we  have  already  advanced,  but  to  put  it  beyond  all 
doubt,  we  will  appeal  to  the  record.  It  is  prescribed  to  the  teachers, 
"to  be  faithful  to  the  scholars,  and  to  habituate  them  to  the  use  of 
certain  set  forms  of  prayer  to  God  and  to  the  saints.  These  they 
may  repeat,  now  from  a  book  and  now  from  memory,  lest  by  monoto- 
ny they  grow  irksome ;  or  at  times  they  may  go  through  with  them 
in  silence  and  mentally.  They  should  chiefly  make  use  of  the  Rosary, 
Office,  and  Litany  of  the  Blessed  Virgin." 

"  He  who  haa  omitted  his  devotions,  must,  for  a  punishment,  spend 


THE  JESUITS  AND  THEIR  SCHOOLS.  241 

some  time  in  prayer,  in  the  oratory,  or  if  it  is  a  feast  day,  must  at- 
tend a  second  mass,  or  he  must  go  to  the  first  mass  or  one  of  the  first 
at  early  dawn,  in  the  church."  If  these  punishments  appeared  hard, 
so  the  reward,  on  the  other  hand,  was  great,  viz.,  "  those  who  dis- 
tinguish themselves  by  superior  devotion,  shall  be  publicly  rewarded 
and  honored."  Truly,  with  such  motives,  both  of  punishment  and 
reward,  piety  could  not  well  remain  stationary  I 

And  if  devotion  was  thus  crowned  with  honors,  with  public  honors, 
much  more  so  was  diligence  and  other  subordinate  virtues. 

"  He  who  possesses  the  faculty  of  inspiring  a  spirit  of  emulation, 
finds  the  duties  of  his  office  wonderfully  lightened  thereby  ;  in  fact  an 
active  emulation  is  almost  of  itself  sufficient  to  direct  the  young  in 
the  right  path.  The  teacher  should,  therefore,  put  a  high  estimate 
upon  this  instrumentality,  diligently  examining  the  modes  in  which  it 
may  best  be  secured  and  applied."  "  Regular  contests  for  the  supe- 
riority are  of  great  use  in  calling  out  this  emulation." 

The  "  System,"  makes  frequent  mention  of  such  contests,  and  com- 
municates a  method  by  which  they  are  rendered  more  advantageous, 
viz.,  by  assigning  to  every  scholar  his  special  rival,  thus  dividing  the 
whole  school  into  pairs.  The  mutual  relation  of  two  such  rivals  is 
often  adverted  to  and  commended  for  the  reason  that  it  gives  to  each 
continual  opportunities  for  informing  of  and  triumphing  over  the 
other.  For  example,  "  those  who  fill  the  position  of  rivals  should 
note  any  breach  of  good  behavior  in  each  other,  and  report  it  for 
reprimand,"  etc. 

Pupils  were  not  expected  to  confine  their  attention  to  their  rivals, 
but  to  inform  of  any  other  of  their  fellows  whenever  their  own  in- 
terests should  require.  An  instance  in  point  has  been  given  already ; 
viz.,  "  where  one  who  had  spoken  in  German  instead  of  Latin,  had  been 
sentenced  to  disgrace  and  punishment,  he  was  permitted  to  go  free 
by  transferring  the  penalty  to  some  fellow  pupil,  whom  he  had  heard 
likewise  speaking  in  the  vernacular,  either  in  school  or  in  the  street, 
or  whom  he  at  least  could  convict  of  so  doing,  out  of  the  mouth 
of  one  credible  witness."  The  natural  effect  of  such  an  unholy  emu- 
lation was  to  destroy  utterly  all  mutual  confidence  and  love  among 
scholars.  They  could  not  love  each  other,  for  their  entire  feeling  was 
that  of  slavish  subordination,  and  they  regarded  their  fellows  who 
were  in  the  same  position  with  themselves,  as  natural  enemies  to  be 
put  down  in  every  possible  way.  In  every  way, — I  repeat  it, — even 
by  a  petty  species  of  tale  bearing  that  was  revolting  to  every  noble 
instinct  of  manliness ;  though  it  was  admirably  designed  to  prepare 
the  pupil  for  the  perfected  system  of  delations  to  which  the  Order 

No.  13.— [You  V.,  No.  l.]—15.  P 


242  THE  JESUITS  AM)  THEIR  SCHOOLS. 

was  chiefly  indebted  for  its  power.  Even  the  Jesuit  Mariana  has  tes- 
tified against  this  system :  he  says,  "  the  whole  framework  of  the  So- 
ciety rests  upon  its  delations,  which  spread,  like  a  poison,  through 
every  portion,  so  that  all  confidence  between  the  brethren  comes  to 
au  end.  Our  general,  out  of  his  unbounded  desire  for  absolute  do- 
minion, receives  these  delations  into  his  archives,  admits  their  truth 
as  a  matter  of  course,  and  acts  upon  them  without  giving  the  accused 
parties  the  least  opportunity  to  be  heard  in  their  own  defense."  And 
yet,  notwithstanding  the  existence  of  this  emulation  which  does  not  scorn 
the  basest  measures,  if  they  only  lead  to  the  grand  aim,  the  elevation 
of  the  pupil  above  his  fellows,  notwithstanding  such  a  systematic  cul- 
tivation of  pride, — with  which,  remember,  a  slavish  subjection  to  the 
superior  goes  hand  in  hand, — the  "  System"  is  perpetually  boasting 
of  the  importance  to  be  attached  to  humility,  llumility  indeed  ! 
It  would  do  better  to  call  it  the  extorted  obedience  of  a  slave. 

We  find  other  methods  laid  down  in  the  "  System,"  which  the 
teacher  "  may  adopt  to  quicken  a  spirit  of  emulation."  Take  the  fol- 
lowing, for  instance :  "  the  election  of  magistrates,  praetors,  censors, 
and  decurions  in  the  school,  will  prove  a  powerful  auxiliary  in  accom- 
plishing this  object,  (viz.,  arousing  competition.")  Such  officers  were 
likewise  created  by  Trotzendorf  and  Sturm,  as  we  have  had  occasion 
to  observe.  Said  Trotzendorf,  "  I  do  it,  in  order  that  my  scholars 
may  be  early  trained  to  the  usages  of  a  well  ordered  civil  govern- 
ment." And  Sturm's  decurions  were,  like  Lancaster's  monitors,  the 
same  as  assistant  teachers.  But  the  magistracies  of  the  schools  of 
the  Jesuits  appear,  on  the  contrary,  to  have  been  created  solely  to  en- 
gender ambition;  the* decurions  may  perhaps  have  corresponded  in 
a  measure  to  those  of  Sturm's  school,  but  the  censors  were  formally 
installed  to  be  spies  upon  their  fellow  pupils. 

And  again ;  "  to  provoke  emulation  the  teacher  should  inculcate 
upon  the  scholars  the  sentiment,  that  it  is  the  height  of  honor  to  out- 
strip one's  equals ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  that  nothing  is  more  de- 
grading and  contemptible  than  to  be  outstript  by  them."  The  distri- 
bution of  prizes  too,  was  especially  relied  on  to  stimulate  competition. 
"The  public  distribution  of  prizes  must  be  ushered  in  by  all  manner 
of  imposing  ceremonies,  and  attended  by  a  thronged  audience.  Let 
a  comedy  be  acted  before  the  distribution  ;  then  let  the  names  of  the 
successful  candidates  be  publicly  proclaimed,  after  which,  the  prizes 
may  be  formally  presented,  and  a  short  and  appropriate  poem,  which 
Las  previously  been  submitted  to  the  praefeet  and  approved  by  him, 
may  be  pronounced.  After  the  victors  have  thus  been  proclaimed  by 


THE  JESUITS  AND  THEIR  SCHOOL&  243 

the  herald  and  rewarded,  the  names  of  those  who  stand  next  in  rank 
may  be  read." 

Still  another  method  of  kindling  emulation  is  "  for  the  scholars  to 
yield  the  priority  to  those  who  take  the  first  rank,  not  only  in  the 
school  but  out  of  school,  and  everywhere  and  on  all  occasions." 
"  There  are  some  teachers  who  cause  to  be  inscribed  in  some  public 
place  whatever  may  have  been  ingeniously  elaborated,  gracefully  said, 
admirably  explained,  or  skilfully  invented  by  any  scholar,  so  that  this 
memento  of  the  successful  achievement  may  redound  to  the  perpetual 
fame  of  that  scholar  throughout  the  learned  world.  Some  too,  place 
in  the  middle  of  the  school-room,  or,  perhaps,  in  a  corner,  a  dunce 
bench,  giving  it  some  opprobrious  name,  such  as  the  gate  of  hell,  etc. 
Whoever  occupies  this  seat  is  to  be  branded  with  some  mark  of  re- 
proach, and  to  wear  a  humiliating  motto ;  but  he  may,  nevertheless, 
be  released  from  his  disgrace,  provided  that,  by  a  more  perfect  recita- 
tion or  a  superior  essay  he  shall  surpass  one  of  the  other  scholars" 
Such  are  the  doctrines  of  honor  of  these  Jesuit  teachers. 

Corporeal  punishment  was  seldom  inflicted.  "  Let  the  master  cor- 
rect no  one  with  his  own  hands,  but  on  those  rare  occasions  where 
our  method  of  education  permits  chastisement,  in  those  extreme  cases 
when  it  is  necessary  to  resort  to  the  rod,  let  the  corrector  be  one  who 
is  not  a  member  of  the  Society."  So  when  the  Inquisition  was  es- 
tablished through  the  zeal  of  Caraflfa  and  Toledo,  though  Loyola 
favored  the  plan  before  the  Pope,  yet  neither  he  nor  his  Order  would 
have  any  thing  to  do  personally  with  the  punishment  of  heretics, 
choosing  rather  that  such  punishments  should  be  inflicted  by  those 
who  were  in  no  way  connected  with  the  Society.  And,  finally,  this 
most  characteristic  caution  is  given,  viz.,  "In  order  that  the  master 
may  the  more  discreetly  observe  this  method  of  punishment,  he  is 
constantly  to  consider  that  those,  whose  age  and  condition  now  ap- 
pears to  be  feeble,  unworthy  of  consideration,  and,  perhaps,  contempt- 
ible, will,  in  a  few  years,  grow  up  to  manhood,  and,  as  human  affairs 
often  turn  out,  will,  haply,  arrive  at  honor,  wealth,  and  influence,  so 
that  their  favor  will  be  an  object  of  desire  and  their  power,  of  concil- 
iation. Let  the  master  consider  these  things,  and  be  governed  by 
them  both  in  his  words  and  in  his  actions." 

An  accurate  and  thorough  knowledge  of  the  character  of  the 
scholars,  as  a  basis  for  discriminating  and  judicious  authority 
over  them,  was  furnished  by  the  confessional.  All  the  letters  that 
the  pupils  wrote  to  their  parents  and  relatives,  as  well  as  all  those 
which  they  received,  passed  under  the  inspection  of  their  teachers. 


244  THE  JESUITS  AND  THEIR  SCHOOLS. 

[The  following  passages  in  the  original  German  of  Von  Raumer, 
were  omitted  in  the  first  edition  of  the  American  translation. — B.] 

Before  we  proceed  to  describe  the  educational  system  of  the  Jesu- 
its, it  will  be  necessary  to  advert  to  their  influence  at  the  confessional. 
For  it  was  here  they  brought  into  play  those  principles  which  we  find 
laid  down  in  the  various  writings  of  their  moralists.  To  understand 
these  principles,  then,  is  a  matter  of  the  utmost  importance,  since  so 
prominent  a  place  was  given  to  the  duty  of  confession  in  all  their  in- 
stitutions. 

The  man  who  first  opened  the  eyes  of  the  world  to  the  true  char- 
acter of  the  Jesuitic  morality,  was  Pascal ;  although  the  Order  had, 
long  before,  with  unparalleled  effrontery  and  shamelessness,  embodied 
the  distinctive  features  of  this  morality  in  many  of  their  publications. 
A  doctrinal  controversy,  into  which  Pascal's  friend,  M.  Arnauld,  had 
been  drawn,  occasioned  him,  under  the  name  of  Louis  Montalto,  to 
write  his  famous  Provincial  Letters.  The  three  first  of  these  are  in- 
troductory, and  of  a  doctrinal  nature ;  the  fourth  forms  a  transition 
to  the  peculiar  morality  of  the  Jesuits ;  which  subject  ia  continued 
through  the  tenth.  The  letter  writer  represents  himself  as  a  person 
unacquainted  with  the  maxims  of  the  Order,  who  betakes  himself  to 
an  aged  father  for  advice  and  direction  in  various  cases  of  conscience. 
He  begins  with  questions  growing  out  of  lighter  forms  of  transgres- 
sion, such,  for  instance,  as  the  omission  to  observe  a  fast,  but  gradually 
proceeds  to  sins  of  a  deeper  dye.  The  crafty  Jesuit  assists  him  out 
of  every  perplexity,  showing  him  how,  with  a  good  conscience,  he 
may  set  aside,  or  directly  contravene  every  commandment  of  the  Dec- 
alogue. Nay,  he  goes  to  the  highest  pitch  of  audacity,  proving  from 
his  moralists  that  there  may  occur  cases  where  a  man  is  absolved 
from  the  "painful"  task  of  sincerely  loving  God.  At  this  point  the 
letter  writer  can  no  longer  contain  his  righteous  indignation,  but, 
throwing  off  his  previous  reserve,  utters  his  real  opinion  as  to  the 
abominable  nature  of  these  maxims. 

To  give  our  readers  an  insight  into  this  morality,  we  select  the  fol- 
lowing extract  from  the  ninth  of  the  Provincial  Letters. 

"  I  will  now  enumerate  to  you,"  says  the  Jesuit  father,  "  some  of 
the  means  which  we  have  devised  for  men,  by  the  use  of  which,  in 
their  intercourse  with  one  another  and  with  the  world,  they  may 
avoid  sin.  And  first,  most  men  are  greatly  troubled  to  know  how  to 
avoid  falsehood,  especially  when  they  wish  to  make  others  believe 
what  is  not  true.  But  see  how  admirably  such  cases  are  met  by  our 
doctrine  of  equivocal*,  according  to  which  men  are  permitted  to  use 


THE  JESUITS  AND  THEIR  SCHOOLS.  245 

words  that  have  a  double  meaning,  thus  purposely  conveying  a  wrong 
impression.  You  will  find  this  laid  down  in  Sanchez." 

"  I  know  it,"  good  father,  "  said  I." 

"All  the  world  ought  to  know  it,  indeed,"  he  replied,  "for  we 
have  made  it  sufficiently  public ;  but  do  you  know  how  to  proceed, 
in  case  you  find  no  ambiguous  words  to  make  use  of?" 

"  No,  reverend  sir,  this  I  have  never  learned." 

"  I  thought  as  much,"  said  he,  "  for  our  device  to  meet  exigences 
of  this  sort  is  quite  new.  It  is  the  doctrine  of  mental  reservations; 
you  will  find  it  stated  by  Sanchez  in  the  same  place  as  the  above. 
He  says,  "A  man  may  take  an  oath  that  he  has  not  done  a  thing 
that  he  really  has  done,  provided  that  he  mentally  adds, '  on  a  par- 
ticular day,'  or  '  before  I  was  born,'  or  some  such  qualifying  phrase, 
and  yet  the  words  that  he  uses  shall,  in  no  sense,  betray  his  real 
meaning."  This  method  is  serviceable  in  many  instances,  and  it  is 
always  right  to  resort  to  it,  when  health,  honor,  or  property  is  at 
stake." 

"  But  is  not  this  adding  perjury  to  falsehood  ?" 

"  By  no  means,"  replies  the  Jesuit,  "  as  Sanchez  proves  in  the  same 
chapter,  and  our  Father  Filiutius  concurs  with  him.  For  he  says, 
'  the  end  sanctifies  the  means.'  The  latter  adds  another  and  an  infal- 
lible method  to  avoid  falsehood.  It  is  this.  When  you  have  said 
aloud, '  I  swear  that  I  have  not  done  it,'  add,  in  an  undertone, :  to-day ;' 
or  when  you  have  said  aloud,  '  I  swear,'  go  on,  mentally,  as  follows : 
4  that  I  say,'  then,  resuming  an  audible  tone,  add,  '  that  I  have  not 
done  it.'  You  plainly  perceive  that  this  is  telling  the  truth." 

"  I  do,"  said  I,  "  but  I  find  one  objection  to  it,  and  that  is,  truth  is 
spoken  in  a  whisper,  while  falsehood  utters  its  voice  boldly.  Besides, 
I  fear  you  will  not  find  many  men  who  have  sufficient  presence  of 
mind  to  avail  themselves  of  this  method." 

"  Our  fathers  have  answered  your  objection  in  the  same  passage," 
he  rejoined,  "and,  for  the  encouragement  of  those  who  are  not 
shrewd  enough  to  apply  this  precept,  have  taught  that  such  persons 
may  say,  point  blank,  that  they  have  not  done  the  things  that  they 
have  done,  provided  that  they  fully  intend  to  give  their  language  the 
same  meaning  that,  under  the  circumstances,  a  wise  man  would  do. 
Tell  me,  now,  have  there  not  been  many  occasions  in  your  life,  when 
the  knowledge  of  this  precept  would  have  helped  you  out  of  trouble  ?" 

"There  have,"  I  replied. 

"And  will  you  not  grant,  moreover,"  he  continued,  "  that  it  would 
often  be  very  convenient  to  be  absolved,  at  the  bar  of  conscience, 
from  the  obligation  of  a  promise  ?" 


246  THE  JESUITS  AND  THEIR  SCHOOLS. 

"  This  would  be  the  greatest  convenience  in  the  world." 

"  Then  hear  the  universal  rule,  as  stated  by  Escobar.  'A  promise 
is  not  binding,  when  he  who  gives  it  does  not,  at  the  time,  design 
to  keep  it.'  Now  it  seldom  happens  that  a  man  has  such  a  design 
unless  he  confirm  his  promise  by  an  oath :  hence  when  one  simply 
says,  '  I  will  do  a  certain  thing,'  he  only  means  that  he  will  do  it  if 
he  does  not  change  his  mind ;  for  thus  he  does  not  surrender  his  lib- 
erty. He  then  lays  down  other  rules,  all  of  which  you  rnay  read 
for  yourself;  and,  at  the  close,  he  adds,  'all  this  is  from  Molina  and 
our  other  writers;  we  may  therefore  trust  them  with  perfect  confi- 
dence.' " 

"  I  did  not  know,"  said  I,  "  that  a  specific  intention  had  power  to 
vitiate  a  promise." 

"  You  see  what  an  advantage  this  principle  yields  us  in  our  inter- 
course with  the  world." 

We  can  scarcely  trust  our  eyes  when  we  read  such  shameless  doc- 
trines openly  avowed  by  the  most  reputable  of  the  Jesuit  moralists; 
moralists  too  of  that  Order  to  which  the  confessional  was  chiefly  in- 
trusted. Says  Lord  Bacon,  "  In  our  investigations  of  nature,  multi- 
tudes of  scientific  deductions  flow  from  correct  maxims."  Who  then 
shall  estimate  the  multitude  of  abominable  deductions  and  corrupt 
practices  that  flow,  logically,  from  this  Jesuitical  morality  ? 

In  view  of  what  we  have  now  quoted,  our  readers  will  be  surprised 
to  learn  that  the  Order  exhibited  some  moralists  in  its  ranks  of  quite 
a  different  character,  stern  and  unyielding  in  their  principles.  And 
they  will  naturally  ask  how  such  a  thing  can  be  without  involving  an 
inconsistency  1  The  reply  is  to  be  found  in  the  following  admission 
of  Pascal's  Jesuit.  He  says,  "  Men  now-a-days  have  gone  so  far 
astray,  that  we  are  obliged  to  seek  them  out  and  adapt  ourselves  to 
their  condition.  For  otherwise  we  could  never  prevail  on  them  to 
come  to  us,  but  they  would  leave  us  altogether.  For  this  reason  our 
casuists  have  treated  of  the  nature  of  all  the  vices  to  which  men  in 
all  the  varied  walks  of  life  are  addicted,  in  order,  without  weakening 
the  cause  of  truth,  to  devise  maxims  of  so  mild  a  character  that  one 
must  be  very  hard  to  please  indeed  if  he  is  not  satisfied  with  them. 
Our  Society  has  ever,  with  a  view  to  promote  the  best  interests  of  re- 
ligion, acted  on  the  principle,  never  to  give  offense  to  any  one,  that 
thus  no  one  may  give  way  to  discouragement.  Accordingly  we  have 
maxims  for  all  classes  of  persons, — for  stipendiaries,  priests,  monks, 
noblemen,  servants,  rich  men,  merchants,  bankrupts,  the  poor,  for 
pious  women  and  women  of  the  world,  the  married  and  the  profli- 
gate ; — in  short,  nothing  lias  escaped  our  oversight." 


THE  JESUITS  AND  THEIR  SCHOOLS.  0-4  * 

It  may  well  be  imagined  what  a  sensation  these  Letters  of  Pascal's 
produced  throughout  France,  particularly  among  the  clergy.  But 
though  all  the  abominable  doctrines  of  the  Jesuits  were  thus  exposed 
in  the  clearest  colors,  by  quotations  from  their  moralists,  yet  people 
were  slow  to  believe  that  the  quotations  were  correct.  And  in  Rouen 
the  clergy  set  on  foot  an  investigation  of  the  originals.  A  full  month 
was  spent  in  a  most  rigid  comparison,  and  the  result  proved  that  all 
the  quotations  that  Pascal  had  made  were  literally  accurate.  After 
this  examination,  the  Provincial  Letters  acquired  such  an  influence 
that  the  greater  part  of  the  French  clergy  came  together  and  urgent- 
ly insisted  that  these  noxious  moral  principles  of  the  Jesuits  should 
be  publicly  condemned.  It  was  in  vain  that  they  sought,  by  sophist- 
ical argument  or  by  burning  the  hated  Letters,  to  remove  the  odi- 
um that  had  been  fastened  upon  them.  Many  other  things  conspired 
also,  at  this  time,  to  destroy  their  power,  especially  controversies  with 
other  Orders,  and  the  growing  conviction  that  the  wily  knaves  were 
every  where  disturbers  of  the  peace.  They  maintained  their  position, 
however,  until  toward  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  In  the 
year  1762  France  abolished  the  Order,  and  Spain  and  Naples  follow- 
ed her  example  ;  in  the  year  1769,  the  ambassadors  of  these  powers 
called  upon  the  Pope  to  put  down  the  Order  universally.  On  the 
21st  of  July,  1773,  appeared  the  famous  Bull,  "Dominus  ac  Re- 
demptor  noster,"  by  which,  at  last,  its  existence  was  definitively  ter- 
minated. In  this  Bull  the  Pope  said,  "The  Society,  even  at  its  incep- 
tion, contained  manifold  germs  of  jealousy  and  dissension,  not  only 
within  its  own  body,  but  against  other  regular  Orders,  against  the  secu- 
lar priesthood,  gymnasiums,  universities,  public  schools,  yea,  even 
against  sovereigns  within  whose  realms  it  had  intrenched  itself. 
There  were  numerous  weighty  accusations  made  against  the  Society, 
to  the  effect  that  they  disturbed,  in  no  small  degree,  the  peace  and 
quiet  of  Christendom." 

The  Bull  proved  its  assertions  with  facts,  and  mentioned,  in 
express"" terms,  "the  advocacy  and  the  adoption  of  doctrines  which 
the  Apostolical  See  had  justly  condemned  as  not  only  repulsive 
in  themselves,  but  as  directly  at  war  with  morality  and  good  order." 
And,  finally,  it  asserted,  "  that  it  is  hardly  or  not  at  all  possible,  so 
long  as  the  '  Society  of  Jesus'  exists,  for  the  true  and  abiding  peace 
of  the  church  to  be  again  restored." 

Thus  even  the  Pope  found  himself  compelled  to  uproot  this  Order, 
although  it  was  founded  for  the  very  purpose  of  extending  the  power 
of  the  Romish  hierarchy.  There  was  one  reason  for  this  proceeding, 
however,  which  we  do  not  find  stated  in  the  Bull  of  Clement  XIV., 


248  THE  JESUITS  AND  THEIR   SCHOOLS. 

nor  could  it  have  been,  consistently  with  a  due  regard  to  policy. 
Though  the  right  of  appointing  the  general  of  the  Jesuits  was  vested 
in  the  Pope,  yet,  when  appointed,  his  authority  was  absolute.  The 
Jesuitic  fathers  swayed  the  consciences  of  men  by  the  agency  of  the 
confessional,  and  they  transmitted  annually  to  their  general  more 
than  seven  thousand  reports.  "No  monarch  .in  the  world,"  says 
Spittler,  "  could  have  been  so  well  advised  in  respect  to  the  affairs  of 
his  kingdom  as  he.  How  potent  was  the  scepter  that  he  wielded, 
and  how  difficult  was  it  to  escape  his  scrutiny  !  And  what  scheme 
could  he  conceive,  that  his  power  was  not  fully  adequate  to  car- 
ry into  effect !"  So  the  Pope  must  have  thought,  as  he  saw,  side  by 
side  with  himself  in  Rome,  this  general  of  the  Jesuits,  so  well  in- 
formed in  respect  to  all  that  was  transpiring  among  all  the  Christian 
nations  of  the  earth,  and,  at  the  same  time,  ruling  these  nations  with 
such  a  limitless  power.  "  There  can  be  but  one  sun  in  the  firma- 
ment." Said  Clement  the  Eighth,  of  the  Jesuits  :  "  their  aim  is  to  rule 
the  whole  world."  As  the  Praetorian  Guard,  first  organized  for  the 
personal  defense  of  the  Roman  emperors,  became  afterward  their 
most  dangerous  foes,  so  the  Jesuits,  from  being  faithful  allies  to  the 
Popes,  after  the  lapse  of  years  conspired  to  overthrow  them. 

Soon  the  French  revolution  burst  upon  the  world,  and  both  church 
and  state  were  rocked  to  their  foundations.  In  the  general  confusion 
that  followed,  Pius  VII.  found  himself  compelled  to  submit  to  the  su- 
perior power  of  Napoleon.  Set  free  at  length,  and  reinstated  in  his 
former  position  of  independence,  "  the  first  great  act  with  which  he 
signalized  his  reinduction  into  office  was  the  restoration  of  the  Jesu- 
its." The  Bull  of  Restoration  appeared  on  the  7th  of  August,  1814  ; 
it  is  very  circumspectly  worded,  and  discloses  but  little  of  the  Impe- 
rial air  and  style  once  so  characteristic  of  the  Roman  Pontiffs.  It 
commences  with  the  permission  to  Francis  Karnu,  a  lay  priest,  form- 
erly a  Jesuit,  and  a  resident  of  Russia,  to  form,  in  connection  with 
other  priests  of  the  same  class,  an  association,  "  thereby  the  better  to 
carry  out  the  purposes  of  their  vocation"  both  in  teaching  and  preach- 
ing The  reader  will  imagine  that  it  is  only  Francis  Karnu  who  is 
here  concerned.  But  a  little  further  on,  we  find  the  decision  to  re-es- 
tablish the  Jesuit  order  in  Russia,  is  "  extended,  at  the  request  of 
King  Ferdinand,  to  the  Two  Sicilies,"  then  to  the  "  States  of  the 
Church,"  and,  finally,  "  to  all  other  states  and  countries." 

No  attempt  is  made  in  this  Bull  to  meet  the  heavy  charges  against 
the  Order  that  were  embodied  in  the  Bull  of  Clement  XIV.  And, 
without  giving  any  heed  to  the  fact  that  the  name  of  Jesuits  had  de- 
servedly been  branded  with  odium,  the  members  of  this  reorganiza- 


THE  JESUITS  AND  THEIR  SCHOOLS.  249 

tion  styled  themselves  the  Society  of  Jesus ;  thus  boldly  proclaiming 
to  all  the  world  that  they  retained  the  same  principles  which  had 
actuated  the  Jesuits  of  a  former  age.  Thus  was  an  Order,  which  had 
endeavored,  in  every  possible  manner,  to  destroy  Protestantism,  again 
revived,  by  the  very  Pope  who  owed  his  own  restoration  to  the  Papal 
dignity  chiefly  to  Protestant  princes.  For  we  find  that  this  same 
Pius  VII.  was  under  the  necessity  (witness  his  Allocution  of  the  4th 
of  September,  1815,)  of  acknowledging  the  distinguished  services  of 
the  King  of  Prussia,  who,  in  the  whole  course  of  the  negotiations, 
had  steadily  advocated  his  claims. 

The  Order  now  undertook  to  battle,  not  against  the  Reformation 
alone,  but,  at  the  same  time,  against  the  Revolution,  and,  through  its 
zeal  in  this  latter  direction,  to  win  the  favor  of  princes.  And  every 
effort  was  put  forth  to  blend  the  ideas  of  Reformation  and  Revolution  in 
one,  although  they  were,  in  fact,  totally  dissimilar,  inasmuch  as  the  for- 
mer drew  both  its  origin  and  its  increase  from  the  power  of  a  Divinely 
directed  faith ;  while  the  other  was  the  fruit  of  that  infidelity  into 
which  nations,  reared  in  superstition,  are  the  foremost  to  relapse. 

We  have  deemed  it  necessary  to  say  thus  much  of  the  peculiar 
characteristics  of  the  Jesuits,  because,  without  taking  into  the  account 
the  tendency  and  practical  operation  of  their  organization,  we  should 
not  be  in  a  position  to  judge  aright  of  their  system  of  education. 
The  dark  and  loathsome  morality  of  the  Order,  I  have  felt  constrained 
to  give  chiefly  from  Catholic,  and  of  course  impartial,  authorities, 
and  the  rather,  since  men  of  eminence  in  the  ranks  of  Protestantism 
have  been  misled  even  into  warm  panegyrics  of  the  education  and 
the  schools  of  the  Jesuits.  I  need  only  to  refer  to  Bacon  and  John 
Sturm.  Perhaps,  however,  they  are  somewhat  excusable,  from  the 
fact  that,  in  their  day,  the  corrupt  character  of  the  Order  had  not 
made  itself  fully  manifest ;  for  even  a  Pascal  was  not  able  wholly  to 
strip  off  their  mask. 

Thus  the  ties  of  natural  affection  were,  by  slow  gradations,  percepti- 
bly weakened.  And,  after  a  time,  the  young  Jesuit  was  expressly 
taught  to  abnegate  his  misplaced  affection  for  his  kindred ;  and,  ac- 
cordingly, if  any  property  came  into  his  possession,  he  was  expected 
to  surrender  it  to  the  Order.*  And  then  there  remained  to  him  in  the 
wide  world  no  relation,  and,  if  the  term  is  not  a  misnomer,  no  love, 
but  that  which  he  cherished  for  the  body  of  which  he  was  a  member. 

With  regard  to  heretics,  the  sole  feelings  that  the  pupils  were  per- 
mitted to  cherish  toward  them,  were  those  of  hatred ;  in  proof  of 

*  From  this  single  source,  in  Upper  Germany  alone,  the  Order  accumulated,  within  the  pe- 
riod from  1620  to  1700,  the  sum  of  600,000  gulden  (about  half  a  million  of  dollar*.) 


230  THE  JESUITS  AND  THEIR  SCHOOLS. 

this  assertion  we  need  only  appeal  to  the  catechism  of  Canisius,  a 
book  in  almost  universal  use  among  the  Jesuits.*  For  instance,  after 
a  general  interdict  against  attending  upon  executions,  there  comes  a 
single  exception  in  the  instance  of  the  execution  of  heretics ;  thus 
early  was  a  thirst  for  blood  developed  in  the  tender  minds  of  youth. 

But  I  will  not  continue  the  subject.  I  should  not  have  given  so 
much  space  to  the  schools  of  the  Jesuits,  if  they  had  been  merely  an 
institution  of  the  past.  This  they  certainly  are  not.  These  crafty 
fathers,  reinstated  in  their  former  position  by  Pope  Pius  VII.,  and 
having  effected  a  lodgment  anew  in  many  lands,  are  but  waiting  the 
wished-for  day  when  they  shall  every  where  reassert  their  former  do- 
minion. The  same  in  character  and  aim  as  at  the  first,  they  have 
merely  assumed  a  more  refined  exterior,  adapting  themselves  to  the 
times,  until  their  time  of  triumph  shall  come.  It  behooves  Protest- 
ants to  be  wary,  and  not  suffer  themselves  to  be  deceived  by  the  false 
colors  which  their  institutions  of  learning  have  raised  to  disarm  sus- 
picion. 

Have  we  not  evidence  enough  against  them  in  the  fact  that  they 
themselves'  have  repeatedly  proclaimed  their  vile  and  godless  tenets 
to  the  world  through  the  medium  of  the  press,  and  that  too  under 
the  seal  and  authority  of  their  general  ? 

Let  us  watch  them  with  care.  For  amid  every  apparent  change 
of  direction,  their  ultimate  purpose  is  never  lost  sight  of.  This  fact 
we  must  bear  in  mind  too,  in  our  estimate  of  their  schools.  What 
though  the  butcher  seeks  out  the  greenest  and  fairest  pastures  for  his 
lambs,  shall  we,  on  that  account,  praise  him?  But  the  pasture  of 
youth  in  the  schools  of  the  Jesuits  was  neither  fair  nor  green. 

To  view  aright  these  gloomy  and  sinister  institutions  of  the  Jesuits, 
with  their  dark,  joyless,  and  soul-destroying  aims,  it  will  be  well  to 
call  to  our  minds  the  open-hearted  admonitions  of  Luther,  to  his 
"  beloved  Germans,"  admonitions  prompted  by  the  love  of  a  true  pas- 
tor. "  And,  though  there  be  some  who  deem  me  of  too  little  conse- 
quence to  give  heed  to  my  counsel,  yet  I  hope  that  one  day  they  will 
see  that  I  did  not  seek  my  own,  but  only  the  welfare  and  the  inter- 
ests of  the  entire  German  nation." 

•  How  (lift-rent  the  teachings  of  Luther  !  Says  he  :  "The  schoolmaster  should  seek  to 
impart  to  children  that  knowledge  that  will  make  them  good  men.  He  should  not  minister 
to  iliweiiiiion  and  hatred,  nor  epeak  evil  of  monks  or  any  other  class,  as  many  indiscreet 
tttthtrt  are  wont  to  do." 


EARLY  SCHOOL  CODES  OF  GERMANY. 

I.    DUCHY    OF    WIRTEMBERG. 

[Translated  from  the  German  of  Karl  Von  Raumer,  for  the  American  Journal  of  Education.] 


THE  schools  of  Trotzendorf,  Neander,  and  Sturm,  formed  the  gen- 
eral model  upon  which  the  schools  of  the  sixteenth  century  were  or- 
ganized, a  model  imitated  with  greater  or  less  exactness,  however,  in 
the  different  German  states,  according  to  their  varying  position  and 
demands.  The  truth  of  this  remark  will  appear  from  an  examination 
of  the  school  codes  of  Wirtemberg  and  Saxony,  that  were  published 
in  the  second  half  of  this  (sixteenth)  century. 

The  Wirtemberg  code,  to  which  we  shall  first  advert,  is  to  be  found 
incorporated  in  the  Grand  Ecclesiastical  Order,  so-called,  issued  in  the 
year  1559,  by  Duke  Christopher,  and,  after  receiving  the  formal  sanc- 
tion of  the  assembled  states  at  the  Diet  of  1 565,  accepted  as  an  inte- 
gral part  of  the  constitution  of  the  government,  and  approved  by  suc- 
cessive revisions  at  different  periods,  as  in  1582,  1660,  etc.  In  the 
preamble  to  this  code,  its  purpose  is  stated  as  follows :  "To  carry  youth 
from  the  elements  through  successive  grades  to  the  degree  of  culture 
demanded  for  offices  in  the  church  and  in  the  state." 
TEUTScn  (GERMAN)  SCHOOLS. 

The  "  Teutsch"  schools  formed  the  lowest  grade,  in  which  boys  and 
girls,  sepa'rate  from  each  other,  received  instruction  in  reading,  writing, 
religion,  and  sacred  music.  Arithmetic  was  left  out  of  the  account 
here ;  although  afterward  we  find  it  required  of  the  schoolmaster, 
that  he  be  "of  a  good  understanding  to  teach  both  reading  and  fig- 
ures." In  the  matter  of  discipline,  the  master  was  cautioned  "  to  use 
the  rod  on  all  proper  occasions,  but  never  to  seize  the  children  by  the 
hair,  etc."  And  in  order  that  the  service  of  the  school  might  wholly 
engage  the  attention  of  the  teacher,  "  wherever  any  sacristan  is  now 
required  to  do  beadle  and  mass  service,  for  the  future  he  may  be  re- 
leased therefrom." 

Such  "  Teutsch"  schools,  moreover,  were  to  be  set  up  "in  the  little 
villages  and  hamlets,"  where  there  were  no  higher  institutions  in  ex- 
istence; but,  together  with  these,  u  in  each  and  every  city,  large  or 
small,  as  well  as  in  the  principal  villages  or  hamlets,  Latin  schools  like- 
wise were  to  be  founded."  These  last  were  also  called  private  schools. 


252  SCHOOL  CODE  OF  WIRTEMBERG. 

LATIN    SCHOOLS. 

A  fully  equipped  Latin  school  was  to  include,  according  to  the  code 
of  Duke  Christopher,  five  classes,  to  which  Duke  Louis  added  a  sixth. 
This  number,  however,  in  thinly  setfled  hamlets,  was  reduced,  so  that 
in  some  instances  we  find  but  one  class  in  a  school. 

Where  the  classes  were  sufficiently  full,  they  were  to  be  divided  into 
dccurice  ;  and  each  decuria,  as  in  the  school  of  Sturm,  had  its  decurion, 
elected  weekly,  whose  duty  it  was  to  take  the  general  "oversight  of 
bis  comrades." 

The  lowest  class  was  called  Prima.  The  boys  in  this  class  learned 
to  read  Latin.  The  teachers  were  particularly  admonished  to  require 
the  boys  "to  pronounce  the  vowels  and  consonants  in  a  clear  and  dis- 
tinct manner,  and  according  to  the  usage  of  the  Latin  language  rather 
than  that  of  the  vernacular."  Those  who,  "from  natural  backwardness, 
are  unable  to  pronounce  all  the  letters,  should  be,  as  much  as  possible, 
practiced  upon  words  of  a  smooth  and  gliding  accent."  The  paradigms 
of  the  etymology  were  taught,  Cato  read,  and  two  Latin  words,  taken 
from  the  Nomenclalura  rerum,  were  daily  assigned  to  each  scholar,  to 
copy  and  commit  to  memory. 

Second  Class. — In  this,  Cato  and  the  " Mind  Publiani"  were  ex- 
pounded, word  by  word,  and  the  declensions  and  conjugations  were 
continued;  "with  the  other  parts  of  speech  (»'.  e.,  other  than  nouns 
substantive  and  adjective,  and  verbs,)  the  boys  in  the  lower  decuria 
were  not  to  be  perplexed ; "  but,  in  the  upper  decurice,  all  the  parts  of 
speech  were  to  be  learned,  syntax  begun,  and  translations  made  from 
the  Latin  catechism.  Moreover,  the  preceptor  was  enjoined  to  "  ques- 
tion and  drill  the  boys  in  phrases,"  to  see  how  they  would  express  this 
or  that  particular  phrase  in  Latin ;  for  at  this  point  Latin  conversation 
was  the  chief  subject  of  attention.  Exercises  in  music  were  likewise 
required. 

Third  Class. — In  this  class,  lessons  were  recited  from  the  "Fables 
of  Camerarius "  and  the  "  Dialogues  of  Cattalio,"  and  "  fine  phrases 
were  pointed  out  therein,"  for  the  boys  "  to  put  to  use,  both  in  writing 
and  in  speech."  They  were  likewise  introduced  to  the  "choice  epis- 
tles of  Cicero,"  and  to  Terence.  The  latter  was  to  be  committed  to 
memory.  "And,  since  Terence  wrote  with  great  elegance  and  purity, 
the  boys  should  read  over  his  expressions  often,  and  that  attentively, 
and  should  also  turn  them  into  good  German,  'that  so  their  own 
Latin,  both  written  and  colloquial,  may  be  improved.'"  At  the  read- 
ing of  Terence,  the  teachers  "  should  be  specially  careful  to  give  prom- 
inence to  the  design  and  purpose  of  the  author,  how  he  does  not  him- 
self advocate  every  thing  that  is  said,  but  depicts  various  vices  and 


SCHOOL  CODE  OF  W1RTEMBERG.  253 

dispositions  in  the  person  of  his  various  characters  ;  for  instance, 
where  Mitio  says — '  Non  est  flagitium  (crede  mihi)  adolescenlem  scor- 
tari,  negue potare,  neque  fores  effringere]  etc.;  here  the  boys  are  to 
understand  that  these  words  do  not  express  the  real  sentiments  of  the 
writer."  "  Again,  these  and  the  like  passages  should  be  used  by  the 
preceptor,  to  show  how  those  benighted  pagans  knew  nothing  of 
God  and  his  word ;  in  short,  a  diligent  care  should  be  exercised,  on  all 
occasions,  that  the  tender  minds  of  the  young  receive  no  evil  bias." 

Syntax  was  then  taken  up,  combined  with  "exercises  in  style;" 
and  in  these  the  pupil  was  instructed  "  to  imitate  the  periods  of  au- 
thors, gleaned  from  suitable  readings."  Patience  and  perseverance 
were  especially  commended  to  teacher*,  in  their  corrections  of  the 
written  essays  of  their  scholars. 

Fourth  Class. — Cicero's  "  Letters  to  his  Friends,"  the  treatises  on 
"Friendship,"  and  on  "Old  Age,"  and  Terence  were  read  in  this  class. 
After  finishing  syntax,  the  elements  of  prosody  were  taken  up.  Also 
the  rudiments  of  Greek  grammar  were  learned,  and  translations  made 
from  the  smaller  Greek  catechism  of  Brentius. 

Fifth  Class.*— Those  boys  who,  while  passing  through  the  four  first 
classes,  "  had  been  sufficiently  exercised  and  perfected  in  grammar,  so 
that  they  spoke  Latin  with  tolerable  freedom,  and  had  besides  mas- 
tered the  elements  of  Greek/'  were  in  this  class  to  be  confirmed  "  in 
all  the  studies  to  which  they  had  previously  attended." 

They  were  then  to  read  Cicero's  "Familiar  Letters,"  and  bis  "Of- 
fices," also  Ovid  "  de  Tristibus,"  the  Gospels  in  Greek  and  in  Latin, 
and,  in  addition,  to  give  their  attention  to  prosody  and  to  exercises  in 
style. 

Sixth  Class. — "After  the  boys  have  been  thoroughly  drilled  in 
grammar,  they  are  in  this  class  to  be  made  acquainted  with  logic  and 
rhetoric."  They  were  to  read,  beside  Cicero's  Speeches  and  Sallust, 
the  ^Eneid  of  Virgil,  "that  they  may  thereby  grow  accustomed  to 
the  elegancies  of  the  Latin  tongue,  and  to  a  pure,  poetical  diction." 

In  their  exercises  in  style,  "regard  should  be  paid  not  to  the  quan- 
tity but  the  quality  of  their  compositions,  and  to  their  successful  imi- 
tation of  the  idiom  and  the  phraseology  of  Cicero." 

In  Greek,  they  were  to  go  through  with  the  grammar,  and  to  read 
the  Cyropaedia  and  the  larger  catechism  of  Brentius. 

Music,  especially  sacred,  both  in  German  and  Latin  words,  was 
thoroughly  practiced  by  all  the  classes,  and  the  recitations  of  the  day 
were  always  introduced  with  the  singing  of  the  "  Veni  sancte  Spiritus" 
or  the  " Veni  Creator  Spiritus" 

The  boys  were  also  obliged,  "  as  well  out  of  as  in  school,  to  con- 


254  SCHOOL  CODE  OF  WIRTEMBERQ. 

verse  with  each  other  in  Latin,  not  in  German,"  and  "every  week  to 
write  '  letters.' " 

A  comparison  of  the  Wirtemberg  school  code  with  that  of  Sturm 
reveals  a  most  surprising  similarity  between  them  both,  in  their  re- 
spective aims,  as  well  as  in  the  means  by  which  in  each  case  that  aim 
was  reached.  The  Wirtemberg  boys  were  required  to  be  "  devout, 
God-fearing,  modest,  and  obedient,  and  to  be  faithful  in  attendance  on 
school  and  in  study."  Teachers  were  repeatedly  cautioned  against  too 
great  severity,  especially  in  the  infliction  of  corporeal  punishment. 

THE    CLOISTER    SCHOOLS. 

Duke  Christopher's  chief  care  was  to  provide  his  people  with  good 
spiritual  guides.  For  the  education  of  such,  he  founded,  in  the  year 
1556,  cloister  schools,  so-called,  upon  the  endowments  of  the  disfran- 
chised monasteries,  so  that  these  might  be,  according  to  their  original 
design,  again  enlisted  in  the  service  of  the  church.  At  an  annual  ex- 
amination held  by  authority  at  Stuttgart,  the  most  promising  boys,  of 
twelve  or  fourteen  years  of  age,  at  the  Latin  schools,  were  transferred 
to  the  cloister  schools,  and  there  educated  without  charge,  until  they 
were  fitted  to  enter  the  University  of  Tubingen.  At  their  entrance 
into  the  cloister  schools,  the  promise  was  exacted  of  them,  to  continue 
faithfully  in  the  study  of  theology,  and,  except  under  permission  from 
the  duke,  never  to  engage  in  any  foreign  service,  The  "  Church  Order  " 
divided  the  cloister  schools  into  lower  and  higher;  the  former  were  also 
styled  grammar  schools.  Boys  went,  as  we  have  stated  above,  in  their 
twelfth  or  fourteenth  year,  from  the  Latin  school,  into  the  cloister 
grammar  school.  They  were  obliged,  beforehand,  to  have  completed 
the  studies  of  the  third  class ;  for  in  the  cloister  school  they  received 
nearly  the  same  instruction  that  was  imparted  in  the  fifth  and  the 
sixth  of  the  Latin  schools.  To  this  there  was,  moreover,  added  much 
theological  doctrine,  bearing  upon  their  future  course. 

From  the  grammar  schools,  they  went  up  into  the  higher  cloister 
schools.  Here  they  read  Cicero,  Virgil,  and  Demosthenes,  and  took 
up  Greek  grammar ;  they  also  continued  logic  and  rhetoric,  and 
practiced  singing,  in  connection  with  the  study  of  a  compendium  of 
musical  science.  Up  to  this  point,  they  were  wholly  upon  old  ground. 
But  now,  other  and  new  branches  demanded  their  attention ;  viz., 
arithmetic  and  astronomy,  the  latter  most  probably  taught  out  of 
the  "Sphere  of  Sacro  Bosco." 

Meanwhile,  frequent  exercises  in  style  were  insisted  on,  in  order  "to 
attain  to  the  purity  and  elegance  of  the  Latin  tongue."  Some  short 
collection  of  phrases  was  to  be  learned  by  heart,  and  reference  "  should 


SCHOOL  CODE  OF  WIRTEMDERO.  255 

be  freely  made  to  the  'Phrases  out  of  Cicero  and  Terence,  collected 
by  certain  scholars,  and  now  first  put  into  print.'"  The  preceptor 
"should  himself,  with  such  phrases  as  he  had  collected  in  his  reading 
during  the  week,  compose  a  Latin  treatise,  inventing  his  argument 
in  such  a  manner,  that  well-considered  phrases  may  be  fitly  woven 
into  its  expression  ;  for  he  ought,  by  all  means,  to  avoid  affectation, 
and  to  use  embellishments  only  where  they  grow  out  of  the  subject. 
Such  treatises  he  should  translate  into  good  German,  and  dictate  the 
same  to  the  boys,  bidding  them  turn  it  again  into  pure  and  elegant 
Latin,  for  which  purpose  he  may  remind  them  to  use  their  own  com- 
mon-place books,  already  prepared  of  words  and  phrases  from  Cicero, 
Terence,  Virgil,  and  other  good  authors.  The  preceptor  must  "  strike 
out  every  phrase  which  is  not  sanctioned  by  some  approved  author," 

"  and  at  last  he  should  read  over  to  the  boys  the  Latin 

treatise  which  he  has  himself  already  prepared  from  the  same 
phrases,  and  they  should  listen  attentively,  in  order  to  see  how  skill- 
fully the  preceptor  has  joined  these  phrases  together ;  that  they  may 
learn  how  to  follow  his  lead,  and  attain  to  his  excellence." 

Every  where  we  find  the  same  grand  aim  ;  i.  e.,  imitation  of  classical 
authors.  And  those  earlier  scholars  fancied  themselves  genuine 
imitators  and  pure  classical  writers,  when  they  had  merely  put 
together,  with  great  care  and  pains,  phrases  borrowed  from  the  classics. 
That  they  did  not  learn  from  the  classics,  as  did  Wieland,  how  to 
write  German  well,  is  sufficiently  evident  from  the  composition  of  the 
foregoing  citations.* 

Every  two  weeks,  disputations  were  to  be  held  upon  questions  of 
grammar,  logic,  rhetoric,  or  the  sphere,  ("Sphasrica  lectio.") 

The  discipline  of  these  cloister  schools  was  the  more  strict,  inas- 
much as  more  was  demanded  of  boys  who  were  destined  for  the 
clerical  office. 

UNIVERSITY. 

When  the  cloister  scholars  had  reached  the  age  of  16  or  17,  they 
entered  the  university.  They  were  first  examined  ;  and  those  who 
had  passed  a  good  examination  were  admitted  to  the  Tubingen 
Foundation,  and,  during  their  entire  university  course,  received  a 
gratuitous  maintenance.  And  here,  too,  they  were  subjected  to  a 
strict  discipline.  Besides  their  particular  department  of  theology, 
they  paid  special  attention  to  Hebrew,  Greek,  and  Latin,  prosecuted 
logic,  rhetoric,  and  mathematics  more  thoroughly,  and  were  kep't  at 
exercises  in  stylf,  together  with  disputations.  The  Foundation  was 

*  Take  for  instance  (he  following :  "  Kein  pliraiin  die  nicht  ex  probato  authore  herkommea 
passiren  lassen." 


250  SCHOOL  CODK  OF   WIRTEMBERQ. 

sufficiently  ample  for  the  support  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  students, 
Its  privileges  however  were  extended  only  to  native-born  Wirtem- 
bergers,  who  were  destined  for  the  sacred  office.  , 

Such  was  the  Wirtemberg  school  system,  beginning  in  the 
"Tfulsch "  or  elementary  schools,  and  ending  in  the  university. 
But  it  did  not  entirely  answer  the  expectations  even  of  jts  founder, 
Duke  Christopher.  The  private  schools  especially  often  proved  a 
failure;  as,  in  many  places,  "from  the  scarcity  both  of  teachers  and 
pupils,"  they  were  not  fully  organized,  having  only  the  lower  classes. 
For  this  reason,  the  Duke  founded  in  eight  cities  special  private  schools 
with  more  classes — the  principal  of  these  was  at  Stuttgart ;  this  con- 
tained five  classes,  to  which  Duke  Louis  added  a  sixth.  This  latter 
school  was  a  perfect  realization  of  the  plan  of  instruction  of  Louis, 
being  a  fully  equipped  private  school,  in  which  boys  were  thoroughly 
fitted  for  the  university.* 

They  read  the  speeches  of  Cicero,  Virgil,  the  comedies  of  Frischli- 
nus,  and  practiced  writing,  both  in  Latin  and  Greek,  both  diffuse  and 
compact,  (ezercitia  styli  Latini,  Greed,  soluti,  ligati.) 

They  attended  also  to  music,  astronomy,  logic,  and  rhetoric  ;  we 
find  mention  made  likewise  of  physics  and  ethics.  And  because,  in 
1590,  complaints  were  made  of  the  neglect  of  the  Greek  language, 
the  grammar  of  Crusius  and  the  Cyropsedia  were  introduced  into 
the  school.  Afterward,  in  the  year  1686,  "  this  school  was  reorgan- 
ized into  the  form  and  shape  of  a  completely-equipped  gymnasium;" 
both  studies  and  classes  being  raised. 

The  external  organization  of  the  Wirtemberg  schools  of  the  present 
day,  agrees  in  the  main  with  that  of  the  16th  century.  In  addition 
to  the  German  elementary  schools,  the  duchy  can  now  boast  of  83 
Latin  schools.  From  these,  those  pupils  destined  for  the  ministry, 
who  distinguish  themselves  at  the  official  examinations,  are  sent  to 
the  four  cloister  seminaries  at  Maulbronn,  Urach,  Blaubeuren,  and 
Schonthal,  among  which  there  is  now  no  longer  the  ancient  distinction 
of  lower  and  higher.  For  example,  thirty  scholars  entered,  in  the 
year  1828,  the  seminary  of  Schonthal,  taking  the  places  of  those, 
previously  there,  who  had  just  left  for  Tubingen.  These  thirty  new 
scholars  formed  a  promotion,  so  called,  and  remained  there  four 
years;  until,  in  1832,  at  the  end  of  the  summer  semester,  they  all 
left  for  the  university.  In  the  same  manner,  every  year,  one  of 
the  four  cloister  schools  dismisses  its  scholars,  and  admits  at  the 
same  time  a  new  promotion,  so  that  every  year  the  Tubingen 

•  The  course  of  instruction  pursued  in  this  school  toward  the  clone  of  the  16th  century 
may  be  «eeu  in  the  •'Steabian  Magatine  "  for  1776,  part  1,  pajje  412.  In  1574  the  school  num- 
bered 312  pupils. 


SCHOOL    CODE    OF   SAXONY.  257 

Foundation  receives  from  one  of  the  four  cloister  schools  not  far  from 
thirty  scholars. 

But  although  the  external  organization  of  the  present  Wirtemberg 
schools  appears  thus  similar  to  that  of  the  schools  of  the  16th  cen- 
tury, yet,  on  a  comparison  of  their  internal  economy,  we  discover  a 
most  marked  difference.  A  new  educational  ideal,  developed  chiefly 
within  the  last  seventy  years,  has  introduced  new  subjects  of  instruction, 
and  inaugurated  new  methods  of  teaching.  To  speak  but  of  a  single 
branch,  viz.,  the  classics.  Under  the  old  system,  but  three  of  the  Latin 
classics,  Cicero,  Terence,  and  Virgil,  were  read ;  while  now  seven 
others  are  included  in  the  curriculum,  and  eight  Greek  classical 
authors  have  now  taken  a  place  side  by  side  with  the  Cyropaedia 
and  Demosthenes  of  those  days. 

Now,  too,  instruction  in  French  and  German  is  regarded  as  of 
equal  importance  with  that  in  Hebrew,  Greek,  and  Latin.  We  have 
likewise,  among  our  modern  branches  of  education,  geography, 
history,  and  natural  philosophy ;  and,  with  logic,  we  have  the  new 
science  of  anthropology. 

H.   SCHOOL  CODE  OF  SAXONY,  1580. 

IN  the  year  1580  there  appeared  in  the  Electorate  of  Saxony  the 
"Rules  and  Regulations  of  Augustus,  Elector  of  Saxony,"  to  be  ob- 
served by  the  churches,  universities,  and  schools,  both  royal  and  pri- 
vate, throughout  his  dominions, 

If  we  compare  these  ordinances  closely  with  the  Wirtemberg  school 
code  of  Duke  Christopher,  we  shall  find  a  most  remarkable  similarity 
between  them;  and,  in  fact,  a  great  portion  of  this  Saxon  edict  was 
borrowed,  word  for  word,  from  the  Wirtemberg. 

The  "Teutsch  "  schools  "in  the  villages  and  thinly-settled  hamlets" 
were,  in  Saxony,  as  in  Wirtemberg,  set  apart  for  elementary  instruction 
in  reading,  writing,  and  religious  doctrine.  Here,  also,  there  was  no 
mention  made  of  arithmetic,  although  the  Wirtemberg  Ecclesiastical 
Order  required  of  schoolmasters  "  that  they  understand  it." 

Private  schools  in  Saxony,  as  in  Wirtemberg,  were  the  next  highest 
in  grade;  and  there  as  well  as  here  they  were  divided  into  five  classes. 
With  a  few  slight  exceptions,  the  Saxon  system  was  almost  a  literal 
transcript  of  the  Wirtemberg.  The  chief  difference  between  them 
was  this,  viz.,  that  in  the  Saxon  schools  arithmetic  was  carried  in  the 
fourth  class  through  division,  and  finished  in  the  fifth;  while  in  those 
of  Wirtemberg  it  was  not  taught  at  all.  With  regard  to  music,  (and 
by  consequence  to  musical  instruction,)  the  Augustan  code  thus  strin- 
gently and  wisely  ordained:  "Pastors  shall  give  diligent  heed  that 


258  SCHOOL  CODE  OF  SAXONY. 

uone  of  the  pieces  of  the  cantators,  where  these  are  also  composers, 
nor  any  new  pieces  whatever,  be  sung;  but  only  the  music  of  such 
learned  and  worthy  old  masters  as  Josquin,  Clement,  (not  the  Pope,) 
Orlandus,  and  the  like ;  and,  above  all,  that  all  airs  of  a  light  and  las- 
civious character  be  avoided ;  for  all  the  music  chosen  ought  to  be 
solemn,  noble,  and  inspiring,  so  that  the  people  may  be  charmed  into 
a  devout  and  Christian  frame  of  mind." 

The  private  schools  of  Saxony  were  unconnected  with  any  special 
theological  institutions,  as  in  Wirtemberg ;  but  in  their  stead  there  were 
royal  schools  at  Meissen,  Grimme,  and  Pforten,  which  were  founded 
"  for  the  benefit  of  all  future  generations."  Each  of  these  schools  were 
divided  into  three  classes,  and  each  class  into  decurice,  all  under  decu- 
rions.  Boys  were  to  remain  at  these  royal  schools  six  years.  Before 
their  admission  they  were  required  to  have  gone  through  the  third 
class  in  one  of  the  private  schools.  Nevertheless,  in  the  first  or  lowest 
class  of  the  royal  schools,  the  course  of  study  in  that  third  was  to  be 
repeated,  viz.,  etymology,  the  Mimi  Publiani,  Cato,  and  the  Familiar 
Letters  of  Cicero.  So,  likewise,  the  course  in  the  second  class  of  the 
royal  schools  agreed  in  part  with  that  of  the  fourth  of  the  private 
schools.  Latin,  syntax,  the  Familiar  Letters,  the  Bucolics  of  Virgil, 
Ovid's  Pontus,  Tibullus,  select  Latin  poetry,  elementary  Greek,  with 
^Esop's  Fables  in  Greek,  and,  lastly,  arithmetic  and  music.  In  the 
third  or  highest  class  of  the  royal  schools,  the  whole  of  Melancthon's 
Latin  grammar,  with  the  additions  of  Camerarius,  was  studied,  and 
there  was  read  of  Cicero  the  Offices,  Old  Age  and  Friendship,  and  the 
Tusculan  Questions,  Virgil's  Georgics  and  ^Eneid,  and  the  Odes  of 
Horace;  in  Greek,  Isocrates,  the  Theogony  of  Hesiod,  the  Golden 
Lines  of  Pythagoras,  and  the  first  book  of  the  Iliad,  and  Plutarch  on 
the  Education  of  Children.  Instruction  was  also  given  in  the  elements 
of  Hebrew,  in  logic  and  rhetoric,  Sacro  Bosco  on  the  "  Sphere,"  and 
the  "  Rudiments  of  Astronomy"  of  M.  Blebellius.  Above  all,  the  boys 
were  to  "learn  to  read  and  write  good  Latin  in  an  elegant  as  well  as 
intelligible  manner;"  for  this  purpose  to  collect  phrases,  to  give  much 
attention  to  Cicero,  to  write  many  essays,  etc.  "The  comedies  of 
Terence  and  Plautus  they  (the  teachers)  shall  cause  the  boys  to  per- 
form throughout  the  year,  and  in  this  way  accustom  them  to  speak 
Latin  with  elegance."  Yet  the  teachers  should  separate  the  poison 
from  the  honey,  and  should  instruct  their  pupils  "  carefully  to  avoid 
and  eschew  the  vices  which  these  poets  have  depicted  both  in  young 
men  and  old." 

Upon  the  office  and  qualifications  of  teachers,  rectors  especially,  and 

the  doctrine  and  discipline  to  be  observed  in  schools,  the  Saxon  code 
No.  17.— [VOL.  VI.,  No.  2.]— 28. 


SCHOOL  CODE  OF  SAXONY.  259 

contained  much  that  was  admirable.  We  find  therein  plain  and 
straightforward  rules,  distinguished  alike  for  their  devout  tone  as  for 
their  shrewd  common  sense. 

In  the  year  1773,  there  appeared  the  well-known  "Remodeled 
school  code  for  the  government  of  the  three  royal  and  national  schools 
of  the  Electorate  of  Saxony"  Its  framer  had  before  him  the  code  of 
Augustus  L,  then  of  nearly  200  years'  standing,  and  he  appears  to 
have  translated  this  as  faithfully  as  possible  into  the  character  and 
style  of  his  own  day.  But,  while  both  these  codes  agree  with  each 
other  in  the  main,  yet  the  new  one  was  conformed  to  the  demands  of 
the  new  age,  disclosing,  for  instance,  an  unmistakable  tinge  of  the  ra- 
tionalism of  that  age.  The  branches  of  study  were  more  numerous ; 
notwithstanding  the  study  of  the  classics  still  continued  prominent, 
and  the  old  modes  of  forming  a  Latin  style,  both  written  and  spoken, 
were  still  retained.  Hebrew  was  taught  as  formerly,  and  to  this  were 
added  French,  Italian,  and  English.  Geography,  history,  and  chro- 
nology were  also  particularized  as  subjects  of  study.  With  logic  and 
rhetoric,  natural  theology  and  moral  philosophy  were  combined,  the 
text-books  in  these  sciences  being  the  well-known  Initia  of  Ernesti. 

Since  this  code  of  1773  appeared,  a  new  educational  era  has  dawned, 
and  the  character  of  Pforte  has  changed  far  more  since  1773  than  it 
had  previously  done  during  the  long  period  from  1580  to  1773. 


UNIVERSITIES  IN  THE  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY. 

[Translated  for  the  American  Journal  of  Education,  from  the  German  of  Karl  von  Raumer.] 


THE  reader  has  doubtless  been  surprised  to  learn  how  much  was 
left  untaught,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  in  the  schools.  Geography 
and  history  were  entirely  omitted  in  every  scheme  of  instruction, 
mathematics  played  but  a  subordinate  part,  while  not  a  thought  was 
bestowed  either  upon  natural  philosophy  or  natural  history.  Every 
moment  and  every  effort  were  given  to  the  classical  languages,  chief- 
ly to  the  Latin. 

But  we  should  be  overhasty,  should  we  conclude,  without  further 
inquiry,  that  these  branches,  thus  neglected  in  the  schools,  were  there- 
fore every  where  untaught.  Perhaps  they  were  reserved  for  the  uni- 
versity alone,  and  there,  too,  for  the  professors  of  the  philosophical 
faculty,  as  is  the  case  even  at  the  present  day  with  natural  philosophy 
and  natural  history;  nay,  logic,  which  was  a  regular  school  study  in 
the  sixteenth  century,  is,  in  our  day,  widely  cultivated  at  the  univers- 
ity- 

We  must,  therefore,  in  order  to  form  a  just  judgment  upon  the 

range  of  subjects  taught  in  the  sixteenth  century,  as  well  as  upon  the 
methods  of  instruction,  first  cast  a  glance  at  the  state  of  the  universi- 
ties of  that  period,  especially  in  the  philosophical  faculties. 

A  prominent  source  of  information  on  this  pomt  is  to  be  found  in 
the  statutes  of  the  University  of  Wittenberg,  revised  by  Melancthon, 
in  the  year  1545. 

The  theological  faculty  appears,  by  these  statutes,  to  have  con- 
sisted of  four  professors,  who  read  lectures  on  the  Old  and  New  Tes- 
taments,— chiefly  on  the  Psalms,  Genesis,  Isaiah,  the  Gospel  of  John, 
and  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  They  also  taught  dogmatics,  com- 
menting upon  the  Nicene  creed  and  Augustine's  book,  "De  spiritu  et 
literal 

The  Wittenberg  lecture  schedule*  for  the  year  1561,  is  to  the  same 
effect ;  only  we  have  here,  besides  exegesis  and  dogmatics,  catechetics 
likewise. 

According  to  the  statutes,  the  philosophical  faculty  was  composed 

*  This  is  to  be  found  in  Strobel's  "  New  Contributions  to  Literature,"  who  likewise  cites  au 
earlier  one  of  the  year  1507. 


202  UNIVERSITIES  IN  THE  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY. 

of  ten  professors.  The  first  was  to  read  upon  logic  and  rhetoric ;  the 
second,  upon  physics,  and  the  second  book  of  Pliny's  natural  history  ; 
the  third,  upon  arithmetic  and  the  "Sphere  "  of  John  de  Sacro  Buslo  ; 
the  fourth,  upon  Euclid,  the  "Theories  Planetarum"  of  Burbach,  and 
Ptolemy's  "Almagest;"  the  fifth  and  sixth,  upon  the  Latin  poets  and 
Cicero ;  the  seventh,  who  was  the  "Pedagogus"  explained  to  the 
younger  class,  Latin  Grammar,  Linacer  de  emendata  structura  Latini 
sermonis,  Terence,  and  some  of  Plautus ;  the  eighth,  who  was  the 
"  Physicus,"  explained  Aristotle's  "Physics  and  Dioscorides  ;"  the 
ninth  gave  instruction  in  Hebrew  ;  and  the  tenth  reviewed  the  Greek 
Grammar,  read  lectures  on  Greek  Classics*  at  intervals,  also  on  one 
of  St.  Paul's  Epistles,  and,  at  the  same  time,  on  ethics. 

The  above  requisitions  of  the  statutes  are  likewise  confirmed  by  the 
lecture  schedule  already  alluded  to.  To  the  lectures  were  added 
declamations  and  disputes,  and  that  alternating,  so  that  on  one  Satur- 
day there  would  be  declamations,  on  the  next  disputes,  <fec. 

In  regard  to  lectures  by  jurists  and  medicists,  the  statutes  are 
silent.  But  we  learn  from  the  lecture  schedule,  before  cited,  that 
seven  jurists  read  upon  the  various  departments  of  Roman  and  canon 
law  ;  of  medicists,  one  discoursed  upon  the  ninth  book  of  "Rasis  ad 
Almansorem  ;"  a  second  read  "Hippocratica  et  Galenica  ;"  a  third, 
likewise  upon  Galen,  and  also  upon  Avicenna. 

Thus  the  philosophical  faculty  appears  to  have  been  the  most  fully 
represented  at  Wittenberg,  as  it  included  ten  professors,  while  the 
theological  had  but  four,  the  medical  but  three.  The  Elector  John 
Frederick,  in  a  new  foundation-grant  to  the  university,  specified  a 
faculty  of  "Artists"  the  "  origin  and  parent  of  all  the  other  facul- 
ties," and  took  it  under  his  especial  protection.  Its  functions  over- 
stepped even  the  limits  of  the  curriculum,  prescribed  by  the  statutes. 
Thus  Melancthon  read  a  historical  course  upon  Carion's  "Chronicon," 
as  did  afterward  his  son-in-law,  Peucer.  A  new  chair,  moreover,  was 
established  in  1572,  when  William  Rabot,  a  native  of  Dauphiny,  was 
installed  in  Wittenberg  as  professor  of  the  French  language.  In  his 
inaugural  address,  he  spoke  of  the  affinity  between  the  Germans  and 
the  French,  remarked  that,  according  to  the  "  lex  Carolina"  the  Ger- 
man emperors  were  expected  to  understand  French,  and  praised  the 
elector,  because  lie  had  called  a  special  teacher  to  give  instruction  in 
the  language. 

On  a  comparison  of  different  Protestant  universities  of  the  sixteenth 

"  When  Melancthon  was  a  stiiileni  at  Wittenberg,  there  existed  no  chair  there  for  instruc. 
linn  in  i  In-  Greek  language  ;  at  Heidelberg,  however,  Dionysiua  Reuclilin  hail,  prior  to  thig 
period,  been  inducted  into  the  office  of  Greek  Professor. 


UNIVERSITIES  IN  THE  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY.  OQ3 

century,  it  appears  that  they  all  proposed  to  themselves  essentially 
one  and  the  same  problem.  This  problem  was,  in  part,  entirely  new ; 
though,  in  part  also,  an  inheritance  of  the  past,  made  new,  however, 
or  greatly  modified,  under  the  demands  of  that  awakening  age.  We 
need  only  refer,  in  illustration  of  our  statement,  to  the  fact,  that  be- 
fore Erasmus  there  was  no  exegesis  of  the  New  Testament  in  the 
original,  before  Reuchlin  none  of  the  Old,  and  that  Rudolf  Agricola 
was  the  first  to  initiate  a  new  style  of  commenting  on  and  interpreting 
the  ancient  classics. 

But,  as  in  our  own  day,  we  should  not  be  in  a  condition  to  make  a 
correct  estimate  of  the  value  of  our  present  schools  and  universities 
simply  by  consulting  school-plans,  governmental  decrees,  lecture  sched- 
ules, and  the  like,  but  must  much  rather,  to  avoid  erroneous  conclu- 
sions, inform  ourselves,  by  careful  observation,  upon  the  internal  econ- 
omy of  these  institutions,  so  neither  can  we  decide  upon  the  merits 
of  the  institutions  of  learning  of  former  centuries,  without  putting 
them  to  a  similar  ordeal.  Now  there  happens  to  have  been  preserved 
some  indirect  testimony  to  this  point,  going  to  show  that  studies  in 
the  sixteenth  century,  at  least  those  of  the  majority  of  students,  by 
no  means  conformed  to  the  idea  which  the  reader  will  naturally  form 
of  them  in  the  light  of  the  preceding  pages.  A  few  examples  will 
suffice  in  support  of  this  assertion. 

The  professor  of  mathematics  and  astronomy,  at  Wittenberg, 
Erasmus  Reinhold,*  was  an  eminent  scholar,  who  advocated  the 
Copernican  system  ;  but,  in  spite  of  his  ability, "  because  of  the  general 
distaste  for  mathematical  pursuits,  he  had  few  hearers."  Melancthon 
wrote  to  Duke  Albert,  of  Prussia,  as  follows:  "Very  few  apply 
themselves  to  mathematics,  and  fewer  still  are  the  men  of  wealth  and 
influence  who  foster  this  study  by  their  patronage.  Our  court  pays 
scarce  any  heed  to  it."  To  Spalatin  he  wrote  :  "  There  is  urgent 
need  of  two  instructors  of  mathematics  in  Wittenberg,  that  a  science 
so  absolutely  indispensable,  but  now  neglected,  may  come  into  honor." 
But  the  best  proof  we  can  give  of  the  disrepute  into  which  mathe- 
matics had  then  fallen,  is  to  be  found  in  the  address  of  invitation  of 
a  Wittenberg  mathematical  Docent.  He  eulogizes  arithmetic,  and 
implores  students  not  to  be  intimidated  by  the  difficulties  that  this 
study  presents.  ,  The  first  elements  are  easy,  and  though  the  principles 
of  multiplication  and  division  require  more  diligence,  yet  the  attent- 
ive can  master  them  with  ease.  It  is  true  there  are  parts  of  arith- 
metic which  are  much  harder,  "  but,"  he  continues,  "  I  now  speak 
only  of  these  rudiments,  which  I  am  to  teach,  and  which  you  will 

•  Reinhold  was  born  at  Saalfeld,  in  1511,  and  he  died  in  1552.    His  principal  work  ww  en- 
titled "  Tabulae  prutenicae  coelettium  moluum." 


2G4  UNIVERSITIES  IN  THE  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY. 

find  serviceable."  We  can  scarcely  trust  our  eyes,  when  we  read 
such  language  as  the  above. 

In  the  year  1536,  Melancthon  read  a  course  of  lectures  upon  Ptole- 
my's Treatise,  "De  apotelesmatibus  et  judiciis  astrorum."  On  finish- 
ing the  first  book,  he  announced  the  second  in  these  terms:  "It  gives 
me  pain  to  perceive  that  some  of  my  hearers  have  already  taken  a 
dislike  to  so  excellent  an  author."  Then,  after  a  panegyric  upon 
Ptolemy's  book,  he  continues  :  "It  appears  marvelous  to  me  that  so 
many  can  reject  such  a  book.  For,  if  we  think  of  it,  the  life  of  a 
student  is  a  continual  warfare.  Now  it  is  not  becoming  in  a  soldier 
to  grow  weary  and  faint-hearted  when  every  thing  does  not  go  accord- 
ing to  his  wish.  I  therefore  exhort  all  who  began  with  me  these 
lectures  upon  Ptolemy  to  come  back.  To  those  who  have  not  desert- 
ed me,  I  offer  my  tribute  of  thanks." 

We  might  conclude  that  such  a  general  indisposition  to  study  had 
reference  mainly  to  the  department  of  natural  science,  and  not  to 
philology  ;  inasmuch  as  the  latter  was  the  peculiar  educational  agent 
of  that  era.  But  it  fared  no  better  with  Greek  at  Wittenberg,  as  we 
may  learn  from  the  following  expressions  of  Melancthon.  In  1531, 
he  announced  that  he  would  give  some  lectures  upon  Homer :  "  I 
shall,"  said  he,  "  according  to  my  custom,  read  gratis.  But,  as  Homer 
in  his  life-time  was  needy  and  a  beggar,  so  the  same  fate  follows  him 
now  that  he  is  dead.  For  this  noblest  of  poets  is  compelled  now  to 
wander  about  imploring  men  to  listen  to  him.  He  does  not,  however, 
seek  out  those  groveling  souls,  bent  only  on  gain,  who,  not  content 
with  resting  in  ignorance  themselves,  delight  in  crying  down  all  noble 
learning,  but  turns  rather  to  those  free  spirits  who  aim  after  perfect 
knowledge." 

There  is  preserved  an  announcement  from  Melancthon,  of  the  year 
1533,  of  his  lectures  on  the  4th  Philippic  of  Demosthenes.*  In  this 
he  says:  "I  had  hoped,  by  disclosing  to  my  hearers  the  grace  of  the 
second  Olynthiac,  to  have  allured  them  to  a  nearer  acquaintance  with 
Demosthenes.  But  I  perceive  that  this  generation  has  no  ear  for 
such  authors.  For  there  remain  to  me  but  few  hearers,  and  these 
have  not  forsaken  me  lest  I  should  be  wholly  discouraged ;  for  this 
courtesy,  I  thank  them.  But  I  shall,  nevertheless,  continue  to  dis- 
charge the  duties  of  my  office.  I  shall  commence  these  lectures 
to-morrow."  But,  on  another  occasion,  Melancthon  spoke  in  still 
stronger  terms:  "To-morrow  it  is  my  intention  to  begin  my  exposi- 
tion of  the  "Antigone  "  of  Sophocles.  And  I  would  here  utter  an  admo- 
nition, if  I  thought  it  would  be  at  all  heeded,  in  rebuke  of  the  shock  - 

*  The  scarcity  of  printed  copies  of  Dem  o*t  he  net  Derationed  the  request  "that  the  student* 
•houlil  transcribe  Melancthon'i  copy." 


UNIVERSITIES  IN  THE  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY.  265 

ing  barbarism  of  manners  that  prevails  around  us.*  But  I  must 
except  a  few  of  a  better  class,  who  have  been  my  hearers  thus  far,  and 
thank  them." 

As  at  the  schools,  so  also  at  the  universities,  Latin  was  the  chief 
object  of  attention.  And,  while  Greek  was  regarded  with  indifference, 
we  have  the  authority  of  Grohmann  for  the  assertion  that  a  special 
Professorship  of  Terence  was  founded  by  Frederick  the  Wise.  But 
we  have  a  truer  criterion  by  which  to  judge  of  the  limited  nature  of 
the  studies  of  that  period,  as  compared  with  the  wide  field  which  they 
cover  at  the  present  day,  in  the  then  almost  total  lack  of  academical 
apparatus  and  equipments.  The  only  exception  was  to  be  found  in 
the  case  of  libraries ;  but,  how  meager  and  insufficient  all  collections 
of  books  must  have  been  at  that  time,  when  books  were  few  in  num- 
ber and  very  costly,  will  appear  from  the  fund,  for  example,  which 
was  assigned  to  the  Wittenberg  library ;  it  yielded  annually  but  one 
hundred  gulden,  (about  $63,)  with  which,  "for  the  profit  of  the  uni- 
versity and  chiefly  of  the  poorer  students  therein,  the  library  may  be 
adorned  and  enriched  with  books  in  all  the  faculties  and  in  every  art, 
as  well  in  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  tongues."  f 

Of  other  apparatus,  such  as  collections  in  natural  history,  anatomi- 
cal museums,  botanical  gardens,  and  the  like,  we  find  no  mention ; 
and  the  less,  inasmuch  as  there  was  no  need  of  them  in  elucidation  of 

*  This  strong  expression  of  Melancthon's  agrees  throughout  with  many  of  his  addressee, 
delivered  to  the  students  on  the  annual  reading  of  the  university  statutes.    Take  an  extract, 
by  way  of  example,  from  the  address  of  the  year  1533:  "Quorundam  tanta  est  ferocitas,  ut 
contemptutn  disciplinae  et  legum,  furtitudinem  quandam  ewe  putent.    Jure  deplorant  omnes 
boni  viri  hoc  tempnre  nimis  laxatam  esse  d'n-ciplinam."    "The  barbarity  of  some  is  KO  great 
that  they  even  think  that  a  contempt  for  discipline  and  law  if  a  part  of  true  bravery."    And 
again  he  says,  in  the  address  of  1537:  ''Nunquam  jiiventustam  impatiens  legum  et  disciplinae 
fuit,  prnrsus  suo  arbitrio,  non  alieno  vult  vivere.    Noti  enim  hominum  sed  Cyclopum  hi 
mores  stint,  tolas  noctes  in  publico  tumultuari,  furiosis  clanioritnis  omnia  complere,  convici is, 
lapidum  jaclu,  armis  in  pacatos  adeoqne  inennes  atque  innocentev  hostilem   in   modum 
debacchori.  oppugnare  honestornm  civium  aedes,  eflringere  fores,  fenestras.  turbare  somnum 
puerperis  mist-risque  aegrotis  ac  senibus,  dissipare  tabernas  in  foro.  cnrrus  et  qnicquid 
occurrlt."    "  Never  were  onr  youth  so  impatient  of  laws  and  of  discipline,  so  determined  to 
live  after  their  own  wills  and  not  according  to  the  wills  of  others.    But  it  is  the  part,  not  of 
men,  but  of  Cyclops,  to  make  public  tumults  all  night ;  to  fill  whole  neighborhoods  with  furi- 
ous ouicries ;  to  make  bacchanalian  and  even  hostile  assaults  upon  the  unarmed  and  innocent 
With  insults,  throwing  stones,  and  even  with  weapons;  tolay  siege  to  the  dwellings  of  respect- 
able citizens  ;  to  break  in  their  doors  and  windows,  destroy  the  slumbers  of  women  in  child- 
bed, of  the  wretched,  the  sick,  and  the  aged  ;  to  demolish  the  booths  in  the  market-place,  car- 
riages, and  whatever  else  comes  in  the  way/' 

*  The  largest  salaries  then  received  by  any  of  the  professors  at  Wittenberg  amounted  to 
only  two  hundred  gulden.    The  third  medical  professor  had  but  eighty  gulden.    And  the 
annual  expenditure  of  the  entire  university  did  not  exceed  three  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
ninety-five  gulden.     And  yet  we  find  sumptuary  edicts  then  in  force,  which  forbade  the 
rector,  a  doctor,  Ac.,  to  entertain  more  than  one  hundred  and  twenty  guests  at  any  one  time. 
But  we  should  remember  that  a  cord  of  wood  could  then  be  bought  for  six  groschen,  a  hare 
for  two,  and  other  things  in  proportion.     "  For  board,  lodging,  and  government,  the  student 
paid  annually,  to  one  of  the  professors,  the  sum  of  thirty  gulden. 


206  UNIVERSITIES  IN  THE  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY. 

such  lectures  as  the  professors  ordinarily  gave.  When  Paul  Eber, 
the  theologian,  read  lectures  upon  anatomy,  he  made  no  use  of  dis- 
section. And  it  was  stated,  as  a  remarkable  event,  that  the  medical 
lecturer,  Schurf,  in  the  year  1526,  instituted  an  anatomical  analysis 
of  a  human  head.  For  it  was  not  until  some  years  after,  that  the 
special  enactment,  requiring  two  dissections  annually,  was  passed.  In 
Frankfort -on-the-Oder,  Eggeling  instituted  the  first  dissection  in 
1542.  But  much  earlier,  in  1482,  Pope  Sixtus  IV.  had  issued  a  brief, 
in  which  the  University  of  Tubingen  received  permission  to  dissect 
one  subject  every  third  or  fourth  year.  It  was  not,  however,  until 
the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  that  the  first  anatomical  museum 
was  founded  by  the  efforts  of  the  talented  Leonard  Fox  ;  and,  in  1569, 
the  medical  faculty  were  empowered  to  dissect  the  bodies  of  executed 
criminals.* 

The  earliest  mention  that  we  find  of  a  botanical  garden  at  Tubin- 
gen is  in  1652,  at  Wittenberg  in  1668.  Yet,  at  the  latter  place,  it 
appears  to  have  been  a  part  of  the  duty  of  Professor  Niemann,  in 
1624,  "to  take  medical  students,  twice  in  each  year,  on  a  botanizing 
tour,  (herbatum.)\ 

The  earliest  regulations  for  the  Tubingen  cabinet  of  natural  history 
are  of  the  year  1771. 

In  the  year  1603,  Professor  Joestelius,  at  Wittenberg,  asked  in  vain 
for  the  erection  of  an  observatory,  and  it  was  not  until  1752  that 
Tubingen  could  boast  of  one. 

In  the  following  pages  we  shall  see  how  there  grew  up  by  degrees 
a  strong  desire,  no  longer  to  teach  and  to  learn  a  traditional  science 
of  nature  from  books  alone,  but  to  question  nature  herself  directly, 
without  an  interpreter ;  meanwhile,  what  has  been  now  advanced 
respecting  academical  institutes  (apparatus,)  may  serve  to  point  in 
advance  to  the  period  when  a  true  realism  was  applied  to  the  investi- 
gation of  nature,  and  an  enlightened  humanism,  moving  in  language 
as  in  its  native  element,  penetrated  through  the  form  to  the  spirit  of 
the  ancient  classics. 

*The  following  inscription  was  placed  over  the  door  of  the  Wittenberg  anatomical  theater, 
where  executed  criminals  were  dissected  : — 

"Qui  vivi  nocuere  mali,  post  funera  prosunf, 

Et  petit  ex  ipsa  commoda  morle  salus." 
"  Here  wicked  men  are  found  at  last  in  useful  ways, 

And  here  death  shows  us  how  to  lengthen  out  our  days." 

•  As  early  as  1615,  the  University  of  Wittenberg  sentenced  a  student,  who  had  t>eeii  con- 
victed of  the  crime  of  dueling,  to  pay  a  fine  of  three  hundred  gulden,  hoping  with  the  money 
to  found  a  botanical  garden,  but  (he  project  failed  through  the  inability  of  the  student  to  pay 


VERBAL  REALISM. 

(Translated  for  the  American  Journal  of  Education,  from  the  German  of  Karl  von  Raumer.] 


THUS  we  perceive  that  the  circle  of  studies,  both  at  the  schools  and 
universities  of  that  period  (the  sixteenth  century,  and  thereabouts,) 
was  extremely  limited,  compared  with  that  of  the  present  day.  It 
is  abundantly  evident,  as  I  have  repeatedly  remarked,  that  all  the 
time  and  energy  of  youth  was  devoted  to  the  acquisition  and  the 
practice  of  Latin  eloquence.  A  many-years'  course  in  grammar  was 
submitted  to  for  the  sake  of  correctness  of  speech,  in  logic  for  the 
sake  of  precision  of  thought ;  and  history  was  taught  in  order  to  fur- 
nish the  material  for  the  display  of  rhetoric,  either  in  speaking  or  in 
writing.  Nothing  was  thought  of,  but  disputations,  declamations, 
and  the  acting  of  the  plays  of  Terence.  The  classics  were  read 
merely  for  the  purpose  of  gleaning  from  them  phrases  to  be  used  in 
constructing  Latin  sentences;  and,  provided  that  an  agreeable  fullness 
and  cadence  was  thereby  secured  to  the  expression,  but  little  heed 
was  given  to  the  contents.  Such  we  find  to  have  been  the  spirit  of 
education  among  the  Protestants,  equally  with  the  Jesuits ;  Trotzen- 
dorf  and  Sturm,  Wurtembergers  and  Saxons,  agreeing  herein  with 
the  Jesuit  general,  Claudius  di  Aquaviva. 

Nevertheless,  in  the  more  liberal-minded  Erasmus,  there  appeared 
indications  of  a  rebellion  against  this  universal  tendency:  with  him 
arose  a  new  type  of  culture,  which  may  be  appropriately  styled 
"verbal  realism."  This  we  will  now  endeavor  to  analyze,  in  order 
in  the  sequel  to  distinguish  it  more  clearly  from  "real  realism." 

Erasmus  demanded  of  the  grammarian  or  philologist  (and  it  would 
really  appear  self-evident,)  that  he  should  learn  many  things,  without 
which,  he  would  be  in  no  condition  to  understand  the  classics.  For 
instance,  he  insisted  upon  a  knowledge  of  geography,  arithmetic,  and 
natural  science.  He  did  not,  however,  exact  that  perfect  and  full  ac- 
quaintance with  these  topics  possessed  by  the  adept,  but  only  a  gen- 
eral knowledge  of  them  all,  which,  nevertheless,  was  a  great  advance 
on  the  profound  ignorance  which  had  hitherto  been  acquiesced  in. 

As  in  so  many  other  literary  aspirations  and  achievements,  Melane- 
thon,  in  this  matter  also,  followed  in  the  wake  of  Erasmus.  We  have 
seen  that,  even  while  at  Tubingen,  he  did  not  rest  contented  with  phi- 
lological pursuits  alone,  but  used  every  endeavor  to  acquire  universal 

No.  15.— [VoL.  V.,  No.  3.]— 42. 


268  VERBAL  REALISM. 

knowledge,  turning  his  attention  to  physics,  mathematics,  astronomy, 
history,  and  medicine,  and  all  his  life  he  remained  true  to  this  desire 
for  universal  culture. 

In  what  spirit  he  studied  all  these  sciences,  especially  the  natural, 
he  intimates  in  many  places.  Thus,  in  the  dedication  to  his  physics, 
addressed  to  Meienburg,  the  Mayor  of  Nordhausen,  he  says :  "  Al- 
though the  nature  of  things  can  not  be  absolutely  known,  nor  the 
marvelous  works  of  God  be  traced  to  their  original,  until  in  that 
future  life  we  shall  ourselves  listen  to  the  eternal  counsel  of  the  Fa- 
ther, Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  nevertheless,  even  amid  this  bur  present 
darkness,  every  gleam  and  every  hint  of  the  harmony  of  this  fair  crea- 
tion forms  a  step  toward  the  knowledge  of  God  and  toward  virtue, 
whereby  we  ourselves  shall  also  learn  to  love  and  maintain  order  and 
moderation  in  all  our  own  acts.  Since  it  is  evident  that  men  are  en- 
dowed by  their  Creator  with  faculties  fitted  for  the  contemplation  of 
nature,  they  must,  of  necessity,  take  delight  in  investigating  the  ele- 
ments, the  laws,  the  motions,  and  the  qualities  or  forces  of  the  vari- 
ous bodies,  by  which  they  are  surrounded."  "  The  uncertainty  which 
obtains  with  regard  to  so  much  in  nature,"  he  says  elsewhere,  "  should 
not  deter  us  from  our  search,  for  it  is  none  the  less  God's  will  that  we 
trace  out  his  footsteps  in  the  creation."  "  Let  us  prepare  ourselves," 
he  continues,  "  for  admission  to  that  enduring  and  eternal  Academy, 
where  all  the  imperfections  of  our  philosophy  shall  vanish  in  the  im- 
mediate presence  of  the  Master-Builder,  who  there  shall  Himself  show 
us  his  own  archetype  of  the  world." 

"  Many,"  he  proceeds  to  say,  "  will  smile  at  these  Aristotelian  be- 
ginnings ;  but  they  are  the  rudiments  of  what  is  destined,  one  day,  to 
become  a  perfected  philosophy.  Were  the  powers  of  men  on  a  great- 
er scale  than  we  find  them,  still  their  knowledge  must,  as  now,  pro- 
ceed from  small  beginnings.  In  such  a  plain  and  simple  manner 
might  Adam  once  have  taught  his  son,  Abel,  philosophy ;  pointing 
him  to  the  heavens,  the  stars,  the  land,  the  water,  teaching  him  of 
the  times  and  seasons,  and,  in  all  his  teachings,  directing  him  up  to 
God  the  Creator." 

Further  on  he  admonishes  the  learner,  with  an  intelligent  choice 
to  read  the  best  authors  on  physics,  to  avoid  all  controversy,  and  to 
make  use  of  a  faultless  Latin  style.  "For,"  he  says,  "he  who  takes 
pains  to  weigh  his  words  will  form  a  clear  conception  of  the  objects 
he  is  describing.  Where,  on  the  contrary,  a  person  coins  uncouth 
and  strange  words,  his  ideas  will  be  sure  to  be  crude  and  anomalous ; 
as  in  the  writings  of  Scotus  and  his  fellows,  you  will  not  merely  find 
the  language  corrupt,  but  likewise  that  vague  shadows  of  truth,  or  it 


VERBAL  REALISM.  269 

may  be  dreams,  have  been  summoned  up,  and  new  words  formed  to 
express  them." 

Then  he  relates  how  Paul  Eber,  in  connection  with  himself,  has 
projected  the  text-book  in  question,  upon  the  basis  of  Aristotle.  And 
he  adds  his  caution  against  the  course  of  those  who  deem  it  a  mark 
of  genius  to  make  a  parade  of  high-sounding  sentiments ;  for  "  the 
right  spirit  in  the  quest  of  truth  consists  in  the  love  of  truth."  Sci- 
ence must  be  applied  to  life.  "  The  church  too  is  benefitted  by  these 
physical  studies;  as,  for  instance,  we  have  often  to  speak  of  the 
harmony  of  the  creation,  so,  likewise,  of  the  derangement  of  this 
harmony,  and  the  evils  which  God  has  visited  upon  man  in  conse- 
quence of  the  fall."  While  preparing  his  psychology,  in  which  he 
treats  of  the  entire  nature  of  man,  he  sought  an  interview  with  the 
Nuremberg  doctors  of  medicine,  and  requested  the  celebrated  Leon- 
ard Fox  to  send  him  communications  upon  anatomy,  temperaments, 
&c.  His  enthusiasm  for  astronomy,  he  expresses  thus,  in  his  preface 
to  John  Sacrobusto's  book  on  the  sphere.  This  book  he  thinks  pecu- 
liarly adapted  to  schools,  "  because  the  author  understood  how,  from 
the  great  mass  of  astronomical  facts,  to  select  the  simplest  and  most 
essential."  Then  he  praises  the  study  of  astronomy,  and  quotes,  with 
commendation,  Plato's  saying,  "  that  it  was  to  gaze  upon  the  stars  that 
eyes  were  given  to  men.  For  to  look  at  it,  the  eye  itself  would  seem 
to  bear  an  affinity  to  the  stars."  "  And  then  too,  the  perdurable  har- 
mony of  the  starry  heavens  bespeaks  a  God.  Thus,  philosophers,  who 
despised  astronomy,  were  atheists,  denying  our  immortality.  The  in- 
terpretation of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  the  conduct  of  life,  equally 
called  for  a  knowledge  of  astronomy.  What  would  become  of  men, 
had  they  no  chronology  for  the  past,  no  calendar  for  the  present  ? 
Neither  the  church  nor  the  state  could  stand  without  it."  And  further 
on,  he  lauds  the  Germans,  Purbach  and  Regiomontanus,  through 
whose  labors,  astronomy,  after  being  in  disrepute  for  centuries,  had  been 
again  brought  into  honor.  Thus  those  Epicurean  theologians,  who 
scorned  and  rejected,  not  astrology  alone,  but  a  firmly-based  scientific 
astronomy  also,  had  more  need  of  the  physician  than  the  geometer, 
to  be  cured  of  their  madness.  In  the  preface  to  his  edition  of  Ara- 
tus,  addressed  to  Hieronymus  Baumgartner,  he  says,  "  the  knowledge 
of  nature  we  must  learn  from  the  Greeks ;  Aratus  throws  light  upon 
much  in  the  Latin  poets."  And  against  the  enemies  of  mathematics, 
he  bears  the  following  testimony,  in  a  letter  to  Camerarius,  "  I  can 
only  laugh  over  your  anger  that  my  recommendation  of  mathematics 
has  been  condemned.  In  it  I  had  no  other  aim,  than  to  restore  to 
the  schools  the  right  use  of  this  science,  and  to  allure  vouth  to  the 


270  VERBAL  REALISM. 

study  of  it.  This  I  have  desired,  and  for  this  will  I  labor,  so  long  as 
any  opportunity  is  left  to  me  to  help  forward  the  cause  of  sound 
learning."  But  how  ill  it  must  have  fared  with  the  mathematics, 
when,  as  we  have  elsewhere  cited,  the  mathematical  professor  at  Wit- 
temberg,  lectured  upon  simple  numbers,  or  the  four  primary  elements 
of  arithmetic ;  this  fact,  of  itself,  forms  a  practical  comment  on  the 
entire  neglect  into  which  arithmetic  had  fallen  in  the  schools. 

But  much  as  Melancthon's  defense  of  astronomy  and  mathematics 
merits  our  approval,  yet  we  must  not  close  our  eyes  to  the  fact  that, 
he,  like  so  many  of  his  contemporaries,  was  a  firm  believer  in  the  su- 
perstitions of  astrology.*  In  support  of  this  belief,  he  cites  the  say- 
inp-  of  Aristotle,  that  "the  world  is  under  the  dominion  of  the  heav- 

O  * 

ens."  Neither  the  learned  treatise  of  Picus  di  Mirandola  against  as- 
trology, nor  Luther's  hearty  contempt  for  it,  could  ever  wean  him 
from  this  superstition,  as  is  evinced  by  the  practical  use  he  made  of  it 
throughout  his  life. 

In  common  with  many  eminent  astronomers  of  that  day,  he  ad- 
hered to  the  Ptolemaic  system, and  this,  although  his  friend  and  col- 
league, Erasmus  Reinhold,  was  among  the  first  to  recognize  the  claims 
of  Copernicus.  And  truly,  what  an  entire  change,  both  in  modes  of 
thought  as  well  as  in  text-books,  was  called  for  by  that  great  work  of 
Copernicus,  "On  the  revolutions  of  the  heavenly  bodies;"  for  it  re- 
quired every  work  on  astronomy  to  be  rewritten,  every  opinion,  and 
every  method  of  instruction,  to  be  reconsidered. 

Allusion  has  already  been  made,  in  another  part  of  this  work  to 
Luther's  earnest  and  lively  recommendation  of  the  study  of  the 
"real"  sciences,  such  as  history,  mathematics,  astronomy,  and  music. 

But,  despite  all  the  expostulations  of  Erasmus,  Melancthon,  and  Lu- 
ther, these  studies,  as  we  have  had  occasion  to  observe,  were  sadly 
neglected,  both  at  schools  and  universities ;  nor  did  they  begin  to  re- 
ceive a  gradually  increasing  attention  until  the  seventeenth  century. 

But  what  are  " reals,"  and  what  is  "realism?"  These  questions 
are  not  easy  to  answer,  even  after  all  that  we  have  said  in  elucidation 
of  them.  Our  task,  however,  will  be  simplified,  if  we  divest  our- 
selves of  the  views  and  conceptions  obtaining  on  this  subject  at  the 
present  day,  and  confine  our  thoughts  to  the  sixteenth  century.  The 
philologist  of  that  period  aimed,  in  the  study  of  the  classics,  at  a  two- 
fold object.  In  the  first  place,  he  applied  himself  merely  to  the  lan- 

*  He  thus  writes  of  his  son-in-law,  Sabinug :— "  Sabinus  is  of  a  head-strong  nature,  and  will 
not  listen  to  advice  ;  this  is  due  to  the  conjunction  of  Mars  and  Saturn,  at  his  nativity,  a  fact 
which  I  ought  to  have  taken  into  account,  when  he  asked  the  hand  of  my  daughter."  And, 
because  the  mathematician,  Hassfurt,  who  cast  his  nativity  when  he  was  a  boy,  had  predicted 
that  peril  would  befall  him  front  the  North  Sea,  and  the  Baltic,  he  declined  invitations 
h>th  to  Denmark  and  to  England. 


VERBAL  REALISM.  271 

guage  of  ancient  authors,  grammatically,  as  be  considered  its  ety- 
mological and  syntactical  forms;  critically,  as  he  scrutinized  the  accu- 
racy of  the  text;  and  aesthetically,  while  he  weighed  the  expression 
and  the  rhythm  of  the  prose  writer  or  the  meter  of  the  poet.  At  the 
same  time  he  read  both  prose  and  poetry,  with  constant  reference  to 
a  more  and  more  perfect  imitation  of  them,  both  in  speaking  and  in 
writing.  And,  secondly,  he  applied  himself  to  the  contents,  whatever 
they  might  be,  whether  they  related  to  war  or  to  peace,  to  affairs  of 
state,  to  nature,  art,  mythology,  etc.  This  study  of  the  contents  of 
an  author  was  afterward  styled  the  study  of  "  reals,"  to  distinguish  it 
from  that  of  language  alone.  Such  was  that  study  upon  which  Eras- 
mus and  Melancthon  laid  so  much  stress ;  but  it  was  nevertheless  by 
no  means  conducted  independently  of  the  ancients,  being  based  in 
great  part  upon  their  writings,  and  then,  in  turn,  used  as  indispens- 
able aids  in  their  interpretation. 

Let  the  reader  imagine  himself,  on  the  one  hand,  regarding  solely 
the  language  of  the  classics,  and  taking  their  subject  into  account 
only  where  this  is  required  to  throw  light  on  the  words ;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  penetrating  to  the  subject-matter  of  an  author,  and  giv- 
ing no  more  attention  to  the  phraseology  than  is  absolutely  necessary 
to  an  understanding  of  that  subject-matter.  In  this  latter  case,  his 
ideal  will  be  to  convert  the  language  into  a  perfectly  transparent  me- 
dium, and  to  read  the  classics  without  embarrassment,  as  though 
Greek  or  Latin  were  his  mother  tongue. 

Reading  the  classics  out  of  pure  regard  for  the  language,  belongs 
chiefly  to  the  professional  philologist.  This  study  of  language,  in  and 
for  itself,  might  be  called  pure  philology,  after  the  analogy  of  the 
pure  mathematics.  These  have  to  do,  for  instance,  with  unknown 
quantities,  with  numbers  in  the  absolute,  with  algebraic  formulae. 
And,  as  the  pure  mathematics  are  applied  to  astronomy,  optics,  acous- 
tics, etc.,  becoming  the  handmaid  to  these  sciences,  so  pure  philology 
ministers  to  the  purposes  of  the  historian,  the  archaeologist,  etc. 

This  contest  between  "  reals  "  and  "  verbals,"  had  presented  itself, 
as  we  have  seen,  to  the  minds,  both  of  Erasmus  and  Melancthon ; 
but  the  terms  "reals"  and  "reali^"  were  not,  so  far  as  I  can  learn, 
employed  by  either  of  them.  Nor  is  this  strange,  if  we  consider 
that  they  flourished  near  the  period  when  the  term  "  realism,"  intro- 
duced by  the  scholastics,  as  contrasted  with  "nominalism,"  had  a 
meaning  wholly  unlike  that  of  the  same  term  in  its  present  accepta- 
tion. 

When  this  term  first  began  to  change  its  original  meaning,  we  may 
gather  from  a  treatise  by  the  well-known  philologist,  Taubmann, 


272  VERBAL  REALISM. 

which  appeared  in  the  year  1614.  In  this  he  says,  "there  is  one 
thing  which  has  often  excited  my  surprise,  and  that  is,  if  any  one 
devotes  unusual  care  to  the  acquisition  of  a  graceful  and  elegant  style, 
young  men,  and  sometimes  even  the  teachers  of  young  men,  will  call 
him,  by  way  of  derision,  philologist,  critic,  and  grammarian,  or,  in  one 
word,  verbalist;  but  to  themselves  they  arrogate  the  new  name  of 
realists,  thereby  intimating  that  their  concern  is  with  things  alone, 
while  those  others,  wholly  absorbed  in  language,  overlook  the  matter 
spoken  of." 

It  will  be  observed  that  realists  are  here  contrasted,  not  with  hu- 
manists, but  with  verbalists.  Verba  valent  sicut  nummi.  Evidently, 
then,  the  realists  to  whom  Taiibmanu  alludes,  found  their  advantage  in 
fastening  upon  their  opponents  the  epithet  verbalists;  for  thereby 
they  branded  them  as  dealers  in  words,  who  pursued  the  shadow  and 
lost  the  substance.  In  our  day,  however,  the  tables  are  turned,  since 
the  verbalists  have  assumed  the  new  title  of  humanists,  and,  by  so  do- 
ing, have  given  the  realists,  in  no  vague  manner,  to  understand  that 
they  count  them  for  barbarians,  and,  as  such,  destitute  of  all  enno- 
bling culture. 

"  But,"  my  readers  may  ask,  "  what  is  to  be  understood  by  the  ex- 
pression '  verbal  realism  ? '  Is  it  not  a  contradiction  in  terms  ?  "  Ap- 
parently it  is ;  yet  we  shall  see,  in  the  sequel,  that  besides  the  general 
distinction  between  "  verbals  "  and  "  reals,"  there  also  subsists  a  two- 
fold division  of  realism  itself;  viz.,  into  verbal  and  real.  Some  in- 
dications of  this  latter  division  we  have  already  met,  in  the  close  of 
our  sketch  of  the  earlier  universities.  Here,  for  instance,  astronomy 
was  taught  without  an  observatory,  anatomy  without  dissections,  bota- 
ny without  herbals,  natural  philosophy  without  experiments,  all  from 
books, — Aristotle,  Pliny,  Aratus,  Galen,  etc., — and  this  knowledge 
was  then  made  use  of  in  turn  for  the  elucidation  of  the  same  books 
from  whence  it  was  drawn.  Such  was  "  verbal  realism "  in  those 
times,  and  such  is  it  likewise  in  our  day !  The  meaning  that  we  at- 
tach, on  the  other  hand,  to  the  phrase  "  real  realism,"  will  appear 
more  clearly  in  the  light  of  the  succeeding  chapter  upon  Lord  Bacon. 


LORD  BACON, 


HIS    PHILOSOPHY,    AND    ITS    INFLUENCE    UPON    EDUCATION. 

(Translated  from  the  German  of  Von  Raumer,  for  the  American  Journal  of  Education.) 


FRANCIS  BACON  was  born  at  London,  on  the  22d  of  January,  1561. 
His  father,  Nicholas  Bacon,  was  Lord  Keeper  of  the  Seal,  in  the  reign 
of  Queen  Elizabeth ;  his  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Anna 
Cook,  was  a  pious  and  highly  intellectual  lady,  well  versed  both  in 
the  Greek  and  Latin  classics.  When  quite  young,  Bacon  displayed 
such  a  mature  judgment,  that  Queen  Elizabeth,  who  took  great  pleas- 
ure in  conversing  with  him,  addressed  him  as  her  little  Keeper  of  the 
Seal.  When  not  quite  sixteen  years  of  age,  he  was  placed  at  Trinity 
College,  Cambridge.  His  principal  instructor  there  was  John  Whit- 
gift,  a  doctor  of  theology,  and  afterward  Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 
While  at  Cambridge,  he  bestowed  diligent  study  upon  Aristotle,  but 
with  all  his  regard  for  him,  he  conceived  a  distaste  for  his  doctrines ; 
and,  even  from  this  early  period,  we  may  date  the  commencement  of 
his  warfare  against  scholasticism. 

After  he  had  completed  his  education  at  the  university,  his  father, 
wishing  to  initiate  him  in  politics,  commended  him  to  the  charge  of 
Paulett,  English  ambassador  at  the  Court  of  France.  During  Ba- 
con's residence  at  Paris,  his  father  died,  leaving  but  a  moderate  prop- 
erty to  be  divided  between  himself  and  his  four  brothers.  In  after 
years,  his  brother  Anthony  bequeathed  him  an  independent  fortune. 

On  his  return  to  England,  he  applied  himself  with  ardor  to  the 
study  of  law,  and  was  soon  chosen  councilor  by  Elizabeth ;  but  she 
did  not  advance  him  to  any  higher  post  of  honor.  This  was  re- 
served for  James  I.,  who  made  him  Lord  High  Chancellor,  with  the 
titles  of  Verulam  and  Vice-Count  St.  Albans. 

He  married  the  daughter  of  a  wealthy  London  alderman,  whose 
name  was  Burnham,  by  whom,  however,  he  had  no  issue. 

Six  years  before  his  death,  he  was  deposed  from  his  office.  And 
that  he  had  been  guilty  of  misdemeanor  therein,  is,  alas !  but  too 
evident.  He  was  convicted  of  having  used  his  high  judicial  function 
in  the  service  of  bribery,  and  James  I.  could  do  no  more  than  miti- 
gate the  sentence  that  was  pronounced  against  him,  nor  could  he 


2Y4  LORD  BACON. 

ever  afterward  recover  the  influence  that  he  had  lost,  though  he  sought 
it  with  the  most  fulsome  flatteries. 

It  is  truly  painful  to  see  a  man  of  such  commanding  talents  sink 
into  such  depths  of  moral  degradation.  It  would  appear,  in  some 
instances,  as  if  an  over-exertion  of  the  intellectual  powers  operated  to 
the  injury  of  the  moral  nature  ;  since  constant  mental  labor  leaves  no 
time  for  self-consecration  and  self-conquest,  yea,  in  the  end,  destroys 
all  power  and  capacity  therefor, — so  much  does  such  labor  engross  the 
whole  man. 

But  the  closing  years  of  Bacon's  life  redounded  to  the  inestimable 
advantage  of  science ;  for  he  gave  his  undivided  attention  to  it,  after 
his  removal  from  the  service  of  the  state. 

lie  died  on  the  9th  of  April,  1626,  in  the  66th  year  of  his  age, 
having  lived  to  be  three  years  older  than  Shakspeare,  whom  he  sur- 
vived ten  years.  Seldom  have  two  such  eminent  men  lived  at  the 
same  time,  and  in  the  same  place, — men  of  such  vast,  and  yet  oppo- 
site endowments.  It  would  almost  appear  that,  in  Bacon,  the  genius 
of  prose,  in  Shakspeare,  of  poetry,  came  into  the  world  in  person  :  in 
one,  an  understanding,  the  highest,  clearest,  most  searching,  and  me- 
thodical ;  and,  in  the  other,  an  imagination  of  unbounded  creative 
capacity.  The  poet,  it  is  true,  manifested  a  keen  intellectual  insight, 
together  with  a  wonderfully  comprehensive  knowledge  of  human  na- 
ture ;  but  we  can  hardly  concede  to  Bacon  much  of  that  sense  of 
beauty  which  is  so  marked  an  attribute  of  the  poet.  Both  of 
them,  however,  were  alike  in  achieving  superior  fame  by  the  exercise 
of  their  understanding,  and  in  suffering  the  glory  of  that  fame  to  be 
tarnished  by  the  abuse  of  their  imagination.  How  far  justice  was 
meted  out  to  Bacon,  we  shall  be  better  able  to  judge  in  the  sequel. 

A  third  great  genius,  born  in  the  same  decade  with  Shakspeare  and 
Bacon  (1571,)  deserves  mention  here,  as  ranking  with  the  mightiest 
minds  that  the  world  ever  produced  ;  I  refer  to  Kepler.  But  what  a 
remarkable  contrast  does  the  mutual  non-intercourse  of  these  three 
giant  spirits  present  to  the  warm  and  living  fellowship  that  subsisted 
between  Luther  and  Melancthon.  It  is  as  though  they  had  not 
known  of  each  other's  existence.  Bacon,  notwithstanding  the  uni- 
versality of  his  writings,  has  no  where  made  mention  of  Shakspeare ; 
he  treats  of  dramatic  poetry,  but  utters  not  a  syllable  in  regard  to  the 
greatest  dramatist  "  that  ever  lived  in  the  tide  of  times,"  although 
this  one  was  even  his  fellow-citizen.  So,  likewise,  Bacon  treats  often 
of  astronomy,  and  introduces  Copernicus  and  Galileo,  but  Kepler 
never.  And  yet,  Kepler  must  have  been  known  to  him,  for,  in  the 
year  1618,  he  dedicated  his  great  work,  "Hurmonice  Mundi?  to  the 


LORD  DACON.  075 

self-same  King  James  whom  Bacon  revered  as  his  great  patron,  and, 
in  many  of  his  own  dedications,  had  styled  a  second  Solomon. 

Bacon's  works  have  appeared  in  repeated  editions,  both  in  separate 
treatises  and  in  a  collected  form.  Many  of  them  have  no  bearing 
upon  our  present  inquiry ;  such,  for  instance,  as  the  "Political 
Speeches"  the  "Essays,  Civil  and  Moral"  the  "History  of  the  Reign 
of  Henry  VII"  etc.  On  the  contrary,  his  philosophical  works 
proper  are  of  the  utmost  value  in  their  relation  to  the  science  of  ed- 
ucation, although,  on  a  cursory  glance,  it  may  not  appear  so.  What 
Bacon  advanced  directly  on  this  subject,  is  comparatively  unimport- 
ant; but  the  indirect  influence  which,  as  the  founder  of  the  inductive 
method  of  philosophizing  upon  nature,  or  " real  realism"  as  I  have 
elsewhere  styled  it,  he  exerted  upon  education,  this,  though  we  are 
unable  always  to  analyze  it,  is  nevertheless  invaluable.  The  reader 
will  therefore  follow  me  without  surprise,  if,  in  the  succeeding  pages, 
I  shall  appear  to  have  lost  sight  for  a  time,  of  the  purely  educational 
element. 

Bacon  has  himself  given  us  a  sketch  of  the  great  philosophical 
work,  which  he  designed  to  write,  and  parts  of  which  he  completed. 
The  work  was  called  "Instauratio  Magna"  and  it  was  divided 
into  six  parts.  The  first  part  was  an  encyclopedia  of  all  human 
learning,  whether  ancient  or  modern.  In  this  he  purposed,  especially, 
to  point  out  deficiencies,  and  suggest  new  subjects  of  inquiry.  This 
part  we  have ;  it  is  the  "De  dignitate  et  augmentis  scientiarum,'"  is 
in  nine  books,  and  is  the  best  known  of  all  his  works.  Some  portions 
of  it  are  completely  elaborated  ;  others  consist  of  a  more  or  less  thor- 
oughly meditated  plan.  The  second  part  of  the  "Instauratio  May- 
)ia,"  Bacon  published  under  the  title  of  "Novum  Organum,  Sive 
judicia  vera  de  interpretation  Naturae."  He  worked  upon  this  part 
for  many  years;  at  his  death,  there  were  found  twelve  different  elab- 
orations of  it.  It  is  a  collection  of  great  thoughts,  remarkable  for 
their  depth,  their  freshness,  and  the  extreme  nicety  with  which  they 
are  adjusted,  the  one  to  the  other, — and  all  are  intelligibly  expressed 
in  aphorisms,  whose  every  word  we  feel  has  been  carefully  weighed. 

The  third  part  of  the  "Instauratio  Magna.^  was  designed  to  pre- 
sent a  collection  of  the  facts  of  natural  history,  and  experimental  phi- 
losophy, or  "  Phenomena  universi :"  some  portions  of  this  were  com- 
pleted. In  the  fourth  part,  or  "  Scala  intellectus"  Bacon  gives  special 
applications  of  his  philosophy  in  examples  of  the  correct  method  of 
investigating  nature.  The  fifth,  or  "  Anticipationes  philosophies  secun- 
c?«,"  was  to  be  a  sketch  of  the  preparations  of  preceding  ages  for  the 
final  introduction  of  the  new  philosophy  ;  while  the  sixth  was  to  em- 


276  LORD  BACON. 

body  the  new  philosophy,  in  all  its  completeness  and  grandeur.  This 
crowning  part  of  the  whole  work  Bacon  left  wholly  untouched. 

We  shall  confine  our  attention,  at  the  present  time,  however,  chiefly 
to  the  two  first  and  completest  divisions  of  this  great  work,  viz.,  to 
the  "De  augmentis  scientiarum"  and  the  "Novum  Organum"  But, 
in  order  to  judge  Bacon  aright,  we  must  first  east  a  glance  at  the  in- 
tellectual character,  not  only  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived,  but  of  the 
centuries  just  preceding. 

We  have  seen  that,  in  those  centuries,  supreme  homage  was  paid 
to  the  word  alone  in  all  books,  in  disputations  and  declamations,  and 
that  thinking  men  displayed  neither  sense  nor  feeling  for  any  thing 
but  language,  deriving  from  this,  and  basing  upon  this,  all  their 
knowledge.  Every  avenue  to  nature,  to  a  direct  and  independent  in- 
vestigation of  the  external  world,  was  closed.  That  gifted  monk, 
Roger  Bacon,  a  most  worthy  predecessor  of  Lord  Bacon,  was,  in  the 
middle  ages,  regarded  as  a  magician ;  and,  as  a  magician,  suffered  per- 
secution, because  he  was  not  content  to  view  nature  through  the  eyes 
of  Aristotle,  choosing  rather  to  go  himself  to  the  fountain-head  and 
converse  with  her,  face  to  face.  He  maintained  that  men  ought  not 
to  be  satisfied  with  traditional  and  accepted  knowledge.  Reason  and 
experience  were  the  two  sources  of  science ;  but  experience  alone  was 
the  parent  of  a  well-grounded  certainty,  and  this  true  empiricism  had 
hitherto  been  wholly  neglected  by  most  scholars.  That  Roger  Bacon 
did  not  speak  of  experimental  knowledge,  as  a  blind  man  would  dis- 
course of  colors,  is  proved  by  some  remarkable  expressions  of  his,  an- 
ticipatory and  unambiguous,  upon  spectacles,  telescopes,  and  gun- 
powder. But  Roger  stood  alone  in  that  age  of  the  world,  like  a 
solitary  preacher  in  the  desert;  and  hence  it  was  that  he  was  re- 
garded with  wonder,  as  a  magician,  and  persecuted. 

But  that  which  showed  in  Roger  Bacon  as  mere  anticipation,  and 
obscure  prophecy,  appeared,  after  the'  lapse  of  three  hundred  years, 
full-formed  and  clear  in  Francis  Bacon.  Even  as  Luther  came  forth 
to  strip  off  the  thick  veil  of  human  traditions,  that  had  been  woven 
over  the  revelation  of  God  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  distorting  its  fea- 
tures, concealing  it,  and  even  burying  it  in  oblivion,  for  multitudes  of 
his  fellow  men,  so  did  Bacon  make  war  upon  the  traditions  and  pos- 
tulates of  men,  which  had  quite  darkened  over  the  revelation  of  God, 
in  the  material  world.  He  wished  men  no  longer  to  put  their  faith 
in  arbitrary  and  fanciful  glosses  upon  this  revelation,  but  to  go  them- 
selves directly  to  its  living  record. 

He  saw,  moreover,  that  the  more  sagacious  intellects  of  his  time 
were  wholly  divorced  from  nature,  and  wedded  to  books  alone ;  their 


LORD  BACON.  277 

energies  all  expended  upon  words,  and  belittled  by  the  endless  hair- 
splitting subtleties  of  logic.  He  perceived  that  the  physical  philoso- 
phy current  among  his  contemporaries,  was  gathered  from  Aristotle, 
or  his  disciples ;  and  that  it  no  where  rested  upon  the  solid  basis  of 
nature.  Men  read  in  books  what  authors  said  concerning  stones, 
plants,  animals,  and  the  like;  but  to  inspect  these  stones,  plants,  and 
animals,  with  their  own  eyes,  was  far  enough  from  their  thoughts. 
And  hence  were  they  compelled  to  defer  to  the  authority  of  these 
authors,  whether  they  would  or  no,  because  they  cherished  not  the 
remotest  idea  of  subjecting  these  descriptions  and  recitals  to  the  test 
of  actual  experiment.  Consider,  too,  that  such  test  was  the  more 
needed,  since  these  very  authors  had,  mostly  themselves,  received  their 
information  even  from  third  or  fourth  hands.  We  are  amazed  when 
we  read  the  farrago  of  incredible  and  impossible  stories,  in  which  the 
books  of  natural  history,  especially  those  of  the  middle  ages, 
abounded ;  when  we  contemplate,  for  example,  the  monsters  to  which 
we  are  introduced  in  the  zoologies  of  this  period,  or  the  marvelous 
virtues  which  were  foolishly  claimed  for  various  stones,  &c.  And 
even  if  these  books,  thus  treating  of  nature,  did  contain  many  things 
that  were  true,  yet  it  was  manifest,  that  progress  in  natural  science 
was  not  to  be  hoped  for,  so  long  as  men  remained  satisfied  with  their 
teachings.  And  how,  I  ask,  could  men  have  been  otherwise  than 
satisfied,  when  they  appeared  not  even  to  realize  the  existence  of  na- 
ture, the  mighty  fountain-head  of  all  authorities. 

Now,  from  this  unworthy  and  slavish  homage  and  deference  to  au- 
thors, authors  too,  mostly,  with  no  title  to  confidence-,  Bacon  purposed 
to  recall  men,  by  inviting  them  to  a  direct  communion  with  the  crea- 
tion around  them,  and  by  pointing  them  to  those  eternal  truths,  whose 
obligation  they  were  bound  humbly  to  acknowledge,  and  yet  whose 
claims  would  never  tarnish  their  honor. 

For  an  implicit  obedience  to  nature  is  attended  with  a  double  re- 
ward, viz.,  an  understanding  of  her  processes  and  dominion  over  her. 
"  Forsooth,"  he  says,  "  we  suffer  the  penalty  of  our  first  parents'  sin, 
and  yet  follow  in  their  footsteps.  They  desired  to  be  like  God,  and 
we,  their  posterity,  would  be  so  in  a  higher  degree.  For  we  create 
worlds,  direct  and  control  nature,  and,  in  short,  square  all  things  by 
the  measure  of  our  own  folly,  not  by  the  plummet  of  divine  wisdom, 
nor  as  we  find  them  in  reality.  I  know  not  whether,  for  this  result, 
we  are  forced  to  do  violence  to  nature  or  to  our  own  intelligence  the 
most ;  but  it  nevertheless  remains  true,  that  we  stamp  the  seal  of  our 
own  image  upon  the  creatures  and  the  works  of  God,  instead  of  care- 
fully searching  for,  and  acknowledging,  the  seal  of  the  Creator,  mani- 
6 


278  LORD  BACON. 

fest  in  them.  Therefore  have  we  lost,  the  second  time,  and  that  de- 
servedly, our  empire  over  the  creature ;  yea,  when,  after  and  notwith- 
standing the  fall,  there  was  left  to  us  some  title  to  dominion  over  the 
unwilling  creatures,  so  that  they  could  be  subjected  and  controlled, 
even  this  we  have  lost,  in  great  part,  through  .our  pride,  in  that  we 
have  desired  to  be  like  God,  and  to  follow  the  dictates  of  our  own 
reason  alone.  Now  then,  if  there  be  any  humility  in  the  presence 
of  the  Creator,  if  there  be  any  reverence  for,  and  exaltation  of,  his 
handiwork,  if  there  be  any  charity  toward  men,  any  desire  to  relieve 
the  woes  and  sufferings  of  humanity,  any  love  for  the  light  of  truth, 
any  hatred  toward  the  darkness  of  error, — I  would  beseech  men, 
again  and  again,  to  dismiss  altogether,  or  at  least  for  a  moment  to 
put  away,  their  absurd  and  intractable  theories,  which  give  to  assump- 
tions the  dignity  of  hypotheses,  dispense  with  experiment,  and  turn 
them  away  from  the  works  of  God.  Then  let  them  with  teachable 
spirit  approach  the  great  volume  of  the  creation,  patiently  decipher 
its  secret  characters,  and  converse  with  its  lofty  truths ;  so  shall  they 
leave  behind  the  delusive  echoes  of  prejudice,  and  dwell  within  the 
perpetual  outgoings  of  divine  wisdom.  This  is  that  speech,  and  lan- 
guage, whose  lines  have  gone  out  into  all  the  earth ;  and  no  confu- 
sion of  tongues  has  ever  befallen  it.  This  language  we  should  all 
strive  to  understand ;  first  condescending,  like  little  children,  to  master 
its  alphabet.'  "Our concern  is  not,"  he  says  in  another  place,  "with 
the  inward  delights  of  contemplation  alone,  but  with  all  human 
affairs  and  fortunes,  yea,  with  the  whole  range  of  man's  activity.  For 
man,  the  servant  and  interpreter  of  nature,  obtains  an  intelligent  do- 
minion over  her,  only  in  so  far  as  he  learns  her  goings  on  by  experi- 
ment or  observation ;  more  than  this,  he  neither  knows,  nor  can  he 
do.  For  his  utmost  power  is  inadequate  to  loosen  or  to  break  the 
established  sequence  of  causes ;  nor  is  it  possible  for  him  to  subjugate 
nature,  except  as  he  submits  to  her  bidding.  Hence,  the  twin  desires 
of  man  for  knowledge,  and  for  power,  coincide  in  one ;  and  therefore 
the  ill-success  of  his  operations  springs  mainly  from  his  ignorance  of 
their  essential  causes." 

"  This,  then,"  he  continues,  "  is  the  substance  of  the  whole  matter, 
that  we  should  fix  the  eyes  of  our  mind  upon  things  themselves,  and 
thereby  form  a  true  conception  of  them.  And  may  God  keep  us 
from  the  great  folly  of  counting  the  visions  of  our  own  fancy  for  the 
types  of  his  creation ;  nay,  rather  may  he  grant  us  the  privilege  of 
tracing  the  revelation  and  true  vision  of  that  seal  and  impress  which 
he  himself  has  stamped  upon  his  creatures."  In  another  place  Bacon 
entreats  men  "  for  a  little  space  to  abjure  all  traditional  and  inherited 


LORD  BACON.  279 

views  and  notions,  and  to  come  as  new-born  children,  with  open  and 
unworn  sense,  to  the  observation  of  nature.  For  it  is  no  less  true  in 
this  human  kingdom  of  knowledge  than  in  God's  kingdom  of  heaven, 
that  no  man  shall  enter  into  it  except  be  become  first  as  a  little  child  ! " 
Man  must  put  himself  again  in  direct,  close,  and  personal  contact  with 
nature,  and  no  longer  trust  to  the  confused,  uncertain,  and  arbitrary 
accounts  and  descriptions  of  her  historians  and  would-be  interpreters. 
From  a  clear  and  correct  observation  and  perception  of  objects,  their 
qualities,  powers,  etc.,  the  investigator  must  proceed,  step  by  step,  till 
he  arrives  at  axioms,  and  at  that  degree  of  insight,  that  will  enable 
him  to  interpret  the  laws,  and  analyze  the  processes  of  nature.  To 
this  end,  Bacon  proffers  to  us  his  new  method,  viz.,  the  method  of  in- 
duction. With  the  aid  of  this  method,  we  attain  to  an  insight  into 
the  connection  and  mutual  relation  of  the  laws  of  matter,  and  thus, 
according  to  him,  we  are  enabled,  through  this  knowledge,  to  make 
nature  subservient  to  our  will. 

"  Natural  philosophy,"  he  says  in  another  place,  "  is  either  specula- 
tive or  operative ;  the  one  is  concerned  with  the  invention  of  causes, 
the  other  with  the  invention  of  new  experiments.  Again,  speculative 
natural  philosophy,  or  theory,  is  divided  into  Physic  and  Metaphysic. 
Natural  history  describes  the  variety  of  things;  Physic,  the  causes,  but 
variable  or  respective  causes.  As,  for  instance,  it  seeks  to  know  why 
snow  is  white ;  but  Metaphysic  inquires  after  the  true  nature  of  white- 
ness, not  only  as  it  finds  this  quality  in  snow,  but  also  in  chalk,  silver, 
lilies,  <fec.  Thus  Metaphysic  mounts,  at  last,  to  the  knowledge  of  es- 
sential forms,  or  absolute  differences, — the  Ideas  of  Plato.  These  forms 
constitute  the  ultimate  aim  of  science.  Physic  leads,  through  ac- 
quaintance with  immediate  causes,  to  Mechanic ;  but  Metaphysic,  by 
virtue  of  dealing  with  ultimate  forms,  leads  to  Magic.  Thus  me- 
chanic and  Magic  carry  into  practice  what  Physic  and  Metaphysic  ad- 
vance as  theory.  The  knowledge  of  occult  forms  brings  the  power  to 
work  marvels." 

Natural  philosophy  Bacon  compares  to  a  "  pyramid,  whose  basis  is 
Natural  History ;  the  stage  next  the  basis,  is  Physic  branching  into 
Practical  Mechanic ;  the  stage  next  the  vertical  point,  is  Metaphysic. 
As  for  the  vertical  point,  '•Opus  quod  operatur  Deus a principio  usque 
ad  finemj  the  summary  law  of  nature,  we  know  not  whether  man's 
inquiry  can  attain  unto  it." 

Thus  have  we  given  a  very  general  sketch  of  the  positive  side  of  the 
Baconian  philosophy.  Its  gradations  are  as  follows:  beginning  at 
observation  and  experiment,  it  lays  down,  by  a  process  of  induc- 
tion, higher  and  higher  axioms,  till  at  last  it  penetrates  to  essential 


I 
280  LORD  BACON. 

forms,  increasing  insight  adding  ever  new  vigor  and  breadth  to 
experiment. 

But  Bacon  well  knew  that  many  obstacles  stood  in  the  way  of  the 
reception  of  his  new  philosophy,  and  that  he  must  first  remove  these 
obstacles.  The  greater  portion  of  his  "Novum  Organum"  is  accord- 
ingly occupied  with  polemics. 

Idols  and  false  notions,  he  says  here,  govern  the  human  under- 
standing to  that  degree  that,  before  the  introduction  of  any  positive 
system  of  truth,  they  must  all  be  cleared  away,  and  men  be  warned 
against  them.  There  are  four  kinds  of  idols. 

O 

Idols  of  the  Tribe ;  or  generic,  and  founded  in  the  universal  nature 
of  mankind. 

Idols  of  the  Cave ;  or  specific,  growing  out  of  the  diversities  of 
individual  character. 

Idols  of  the  Forum  ;  or  such  as  proceed  from  the  social  relations 
of  men. 

Idols  of  the  Theater ;  or  those  which  have  been  forced  into  the 
human  mind  by  successive  schools  of  philosophy,  creating,  as  it  were, 
fictitious  or  scenic  representations  of  life. 

I  will  now  extract,  from  Bacon's  exposition  of  these  various  idols, 
some  remarks,  bearing  upon  education.  "  It  is  false,"  he  says,  "  to 
assert  that  our  senses  are  the  ultimate  measure  of  the  world ;  all  the 
perceptions  of  the  senses,  as  well  as  all  the  conceptions  of  the  mind, 
find  their  correspondences  in  the  nature  of  man,  not  in  the  being  of 
the  universe.  The  human  understanding  receives  the  rays  that 
stream  from  created  objects,  as  an  uneven  mirror,  which  mingles  its 
own  nature  with  that  of  the  object  it  reflects,  giving  to  them  false 
shapes  and  colors." 

Bacon  here  disclaims  that  absolute  knowledge  of  objects,  which  pene- 
trates to  the  essence  of  their  being ;  for  such  all-sufficient  knowledge 
is  the  prerogative  of  God  alone.  Our  point  of  view  is  forever  outside 
of  the  center  of  the  universe.  But  yet  he  does  not  appear  to  realize 
the  intimate  connection  of  this  view  with  the  fall  of  man,  and  the 
conditions  affixed,  in  consequence  thereof,  to  human  learning.  For 
even  were  the  knowledge  possible  to  man  radical  and  complete,  yet  it 
reaches  only  to  the  border-land,  beyond  which  lie  the  inscrutable 
mysteries  of  the  Deity.  These  mysteries  man  can  prefigure  and  be- 
lieve, but  never  fathom. 

"The  human  intellect  is  led  by  its  very  essence  to  assume  a  greater 
order  and  equality  in  nature  than  it  actually  finds."  In  another 
place  he  says,  "  The  light  of  the  understanding  is  not  a  clear  light, 
but  it  is  clouded  by  the  will  and  the  affections.  Hence  man  rejects 


LORD  BACON.  281 

that  which  is  difficult,  because  it  calls  for  patient  inquiry ;  that  which 
is  moderate,  because  it  narrows  his  hopes,  <kc."  How  appropriate  is 
this  remark  in  the  education  of  the  young,  and  how  little  is  instruc- 
tion based  upon  just  views  of  the  relation  between  the  will  and  the 
understanding,  and  upon  the  taste  or  distaste  of  pupils  for  given  pur- 
suits ;  and  how  evident  it  is,  that  the  will  must  be  animated  by  the 
conscience,  where  the  gifts  of  intellect  have  been  sparingly  bestowed  ! 

"  Some  minds  are  lost  in  admiration  of  antiquity,  others  in  the  pas- 
sion for  novelty,  but  only  the  select  few  are  so  well  balanced  as  to 
keep  a  medium  course,  and  neither  to  pull  down  that  which  has  been 
skilfully  built  up  by  the  ancients,  nor  to  despise  that  which  has  been 
well  done  by  the  moderns." 

This  remark  should  serve  to  encourage  teachers,  especially  at  the 
present  day,  when  a  superstitious  reverence  for  antiquity  is  engaged 
in  active  conflict  with  a  superstitious  regard  for  whatsoever  is  new. 
Further  on,  Bacon  attacks  the  various  philosophies  which  have  been 
in  vogue  at  different  periods.  "  The  devotees  of  science  have  been 
either  empiricists  or  dogmatists.  The  empiricist,  like  ants,  have 
heaped  up  only  that  which  they  could  put  to  use;  and  the  dogmat- 
ists, like  spiders,  have  spun  threads  out  of  their  own  bowels.  The 
bees,  on  the  contrary,  hold  a  course  midway  between  these  two ;  for 
they  sip  of  the  flowers  of  the  field  and  garden,  and  the  nature  of 
these  they  change  and  distil,  by  virtue  of  the  force  that  is  in  them. 
So  a  true  philosophy  is  not  effective  alone,  or  chiefly,  by  the  power  of 
thought  which  it  contains,  nor  does  it  proceed  out  of  a  memory  filled 
with  the  results  of  observation  and  experiment,  but  all  its  stores  are 
changed  and  assimilated  by  the  understanding."  He  likewise  cen- 
sures "  an  undue  respect  for  authorities,  and  that  too  common  error 
of  opinion,  that  nothing  new  remains  to  be  found  out."  He  con- 
demns sin  as  the  bane  of  all  knowledge.  He  says,  "  men  have  entered 
into  a  desire  of  learning  and  knowledge,  not  for  the  benefit  and  use 
of  their  fellows,  but  from  a  natural  curiosity  and  inquisitive  Appetite, 
for  victory  of  wit  and  contradiction,  or  for  lucre  and  profession." 
Most  sharply  does  he  castigate  liars.  "  Knowledge  is  nothing  else 
than  a  representation  of  truth  ;  for  the  truth  of  being  and  the  truth 
of  knowing  are  one,  differing  no  more  than  the  direct  beam  and  the 
beam  reflected." 

Highly  instructive  to  us  also  are  his  repeated  attacks  upon  the 
Greeks.  "The  wisdom  of  the  Greeks,"  he  says,  "was  rhetorical,  ex- 
pended itself  upon  words,  and  had  little  to  do  with  the  search  after 
truth."  Their  philosophers,  according  to  him,  even  Plato  and  Aris- 
totle, were  altogether  sophists  ;  a  few  of  the  graver  and  more  earnest 


282  LORD  BACON. 

spirits  of  an  earlier  period,  like  Empedocles,  Anaxagoras,  &c.,  ex- 
cepted.  True,  indeed,  was  that  saying  of  the  Egyptian  priests, 
"the  Greeks  continue  children  forever,  having  neither  an  antiquity 
of  science,  nor  a  science  of  antiquity.  For  they  have  the  nature  of 
boys,  inasmuch  as  they  are  full  of  loquacity,  but  incapable  of  repro- 
duction, and  their  wisdom  is  therefore  rich  in  words  but  poor  in 
deeds." 

Elsewhere,  he  says,  "  To  speak  truly,  '  antiquitas  seculi,  juventus 
mundi,'  and  these  times  are  the  ancient  times,  when  the  world  is  an- 
cient. Hence  those  elder  generations  fell  short  of  many  of  our  pres- 
ent knowledges ;  they  knew  but  a  small  part  of  the  world,  and  but  a 
brief  period  of  history ;  we,  on  the  contrary,  are  acquainted  with  a 
far  greater  extent  of  the  old  world,  besides  having  uncovered  a  new 
hemisphere,  and  we  look  back  and  survey  long  periods  of  history." 

This  passage  is  the  embodiment  of  that  ultra  anti-classical  view, 
against  which,  in  Bacon's  own  day,  Bodley,  and,  in  our  own  times, 
Goethe,  have  so  earnestly  protested.  How  prejudicial  to  the  cause 
of  education  it  must  be  we  can  readily  imagine,  for  it  sounds  in  our 
ears  with  the  authority  of  a  voice  from  the  past,  cheering  on  our  nar- 
row-minded realists  in  their  opposition  to  the  study  of  the  ancients. 

But  though  it  is  not  possible  for  us  entirely  to  exculpate  Bacon  in 
this  his  judgment  of  antiquity,  yet,  in  strict  justice,  we  ought  to  make 
all  due  allowance  for  his  point  of  view.  His  was  the  philosophy  of 
nature;  a  knowledge  of  nature,  and  power  over  her  by  virtue  of  that 
knowledge,  were  his  aim.  "  What  have  the  ancients  done  in  this 
particular,"  he  asked ;  but  gave  no  thought  to  Homer,  Sophocles, 
Demosthenes,  and  Phidias;  and  seeing,  as  in  a  vision,  the  air-pumps, 
electric  telegraphs,  and  steam-engines,  the  seventy-eight  thousand 
species  of  animals,  the  seventy-eight  thousand  species  of  plants,  of  our 
day, — seeing  all  these  rewards  of  knowledge  and  power,  which  were 
to  flow  from  the  adoption  of  his  method,  he  looked  upon  the  ancients 
with  indtflference.  But  even  from  this  point  of  view,  he  should  have 
conceded  to  them  far  more  than  he  did.  It  is  enough  that  we  men- 
tion the  determinations  of  latitude  and  longitude,  the  length  of  a 
meridian,  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes ;  enough  that  we  speak  of 
the  great  Hipparchus,  of  Archimedes,  and  Apollonius  of  Perga,  of 
Hippocrates,  of  Aristotle's  "  History  of  Animals,"  and  the  "  Garden  of 
Plants"  of  Theophrastus.  And  how  much  more  could  I  bring  for- 
ward in  proof  of  the  greatness  of  the  Greeks,  even  in  natural  philos- 
ophy !  And,  more  than  all,  what  shall  we  say  of  those  great  funda- 
mental thoughts,  which  have  tested  the  human  intellect  for  more  than 
two  thousand  years  ? 


LORD  BACON.  283 

Bacon's  hostility  to  Aristotle  was  mainly  to  be  ascribed  to  the 
scholastics,  who  called  themselves  his  disciples,  though  their  master's 
works  were  not  known  to  them,  save  through  the  medium  of  unfaith- 
ful translations.  He  concedes  to  them  "  sharp  wit "  indeed,  but  adds 
"  that  it  only  worked  upon  itself,  as  the  spider  worketh  her  web,  and 
brought  forth  mere  cobwebs  of  learning,  and  nothing  more." 

But  we  find  him  no  more  favorable  to  the  anti-scholastics,  whom 
we  may  style  the  philologists  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centu- 
ries. "  At  the  time  of  Martin  Luther,  an  affected  study  of  eloquence 
began  to  flourish.  There  arose  a  great  enmity  and  opposition  to  the 
scholastics,  because  they  considered  no  whit  the  pureness  of  their 
style,  but  took  the  liberty  to  coin  and  frame  new  and  barbarous  terms 
of  art,  to  express  their  own  sense,  and  to  avoid  circuit  of  speech. 
This  enmity  speedily  ended  in  producing  the  opposite  extreme  ;  for 
men  began  to  hunt  more  after  words  than  matter,  and  more  after  the 
choiceness  of  the  phrase,  and  the  round  and  clean  composition  of  the 
sentence,  than  after  the  weight  of  matter,  soundness  of  argument, 
life  of  invention,  or  depth  of  judgment.  Then  did  Sturmius  spend 
such  infinite  and  curious  pains  upon  Cicero  and  Hermogenes.  Then 
did  Erasmus  take  occasion  to  make  the  scoffing  echo,  'Decem  annos 
consumpsi  in  legendo  Cicerone,'  and  the  echo  answered  in  Greek, 
'  'Ovs,'  asine."  "  In  sum,"  he  concludes,  "  the  whole  inclination  and 
bent  of  those  times  was  rather  toward  copla  than  weight." 

We  have  now  sufficiently  characterized  Bacon's  polemics.  The  fore- 
going paragraph  proves  that  he  regarded  what  the  philologists  of  the 
sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  styled  realism,  as  wholly  distinct 
from  the  realism  that  his  philosophy  required.  This  latter  I  have 
ventured  to  call  "  real  realism,"  in  contrast  with  the  verbal  realism  of 
the  philologists,  who  knew  roses  and  wine  only  as  they  were  described 
in  the  verses  of  Anacreon  and  Horace. 

Though  there  were  many  before  Bacon,  especially  artists  and  crafts- 
men, who  lived  in  communion  with  nature,  and  who,  in  manifold 
ways,  transfigured  and  idealized  her,  and  unveiled  her  glory ;  and 
though  their  sense  for  nature  was,  in  a  measure,  highly  cultivated,  so 
that  they  attained  to  a  practical  understanding  of  her  ways,  yet  this 
understanding  of  theirs  was,  so  to  speak,  at  its  highest,  merely  in- 
stinctive; for  it  led  them  to  no  scientific  deductions,  and  yielded 
them  no  thoughtful,  sure,  and  legitimate  dominion  over  her. 

To  the  scholars  of  that  day  Bacon's  doctrine  was  wholly  new.  It 
summoned  them  to  leave  for  a  while  their  books,  which  had  been 
their  vital  element, — 

"And  with  untrammeled  thought 
To  talk  with  nature,  face  to  face." 


284  LORD  BACON. 

Thus  Bacon  was  the  father  of  the  modern  i enlists,  and,  as  I  shall 
take  occasion  to  show  hereafter,  of  realistic  principles  of  instruction. 
Traces,  moreover,  are  to  be  found  in  him  of  the  harsh  and  repulsive 
features  which  characterize  our  modern  matter-of-fact  philosophy. 
As  an  instance  in  point,  consider  the  sentence  which  he  pronounced 
against  the  ancients ;  how  he  weighed  them  in  the  scales  of  his  own 
philosophy,  and  found  them  wanting;  how  low  an  estimate  he  set 
upon  what  they  did  bring  to  pass,  counting  it  all  as  the  result  of  pure 
accident,  because  not  arrived  at  by  means  of  systematic  induction. 
The  exquisite  sense  of  beauty,  and  the  high  culture  of  art  of  the  an- 
cients, seemed,  in  fact,  to  have  been  wholly  ignored  by  the  prosaic 
Bacon,  as  it  is  by  the  realists  of  the  present  age. 

His  method  itself,  likewise,  and  still  more  that  which  by  virtue  of 
this  method  he  accomplished,  in  the  way  of  observation  and  experi- 
ment, are  open  to  many  objections.  He  tells  us  that  he  is  about  to 
wed  the  human  intellect  to  nature,  and  on  this  announcement  we 
look  to  see  a  joyful  marriage  and  a  union  of  love.  But,  instead  of 
this,  he  presents  us  with  a  slow  and  wearisome  plan  of  a  siege,  for  the 
reduction  of  the  stronghold  of  nature,  whom  he  apparently  desires  us 
to  starve  into  a  surrender.  For  proof  of  this  we  need  only  turn  to 
his  "History  of  the  Winds?  written  upon  this  plan,  to  say  nothing 
of  numerous  kindred  paragraphs,  scattered  throughout  the  second 
book  of  his  "Novum  Organum."  He  had  evidently  convinced  him- 
self that,  with  the  aid  of  his  method  of  induction,  men  could  as  in- 
telligently and  surely  advance  to  the  accomplishment  of  their  aims,  in 
the  subjection  of  nature,  as  an  able  general  predicts,  to  a  certainty, 
that  a  fortress,  to  which  he  has  laid  siege,  will  surrender  within  a 
given  time.  If  earlier  observers,  without  such  method,  had  made 
any  progress  in  the  investigation  of  nature,  this,  according  to  Bacon, 
should  be  ascribed  to  accident.  "  But  this  method  makes  us  inde- 
pendent of  accident,  for  it  is  all-comprehending  and  infallible.  Nay, 
it  is  a  way  in  which  the  blind  can  not  err,  a  way  too  which  places 
the  man  of  humble  capacity  on  a  level  with  the  genius." 

These  words  appear  addressed  to  us  by  Pestalozzi  and  the  Pesta- 
lozzians.  But  such  a  view  is  derogatory  to  the  gifts  which  God  has 
lavished  upon  his  chosen  children.  What  though  Bacon,  by  the  use 
of  his  method,  has  built  a  solid  waggon  track  to  Helicon  ?  The  soar- 
ing intellects  of  a  Kepler  and  a  Galileo  need  no  such  beaten  course; 
they  arc  already  upon  the  mountain-top,  before  the  waggoners  are 
ready  to  set  forth. 

This  anti-genial  element  of  the  Baconian  method  Goethe  has 
treated  with  a  well-merited  severity.  When  a  man  of  fertile  imagin- 


LORD  BACOJC.  285 

ation  and  keen  insight  fixes  his  attention  upon  one  important  fact, 
seizes  the  law  revealed  therein,  and  holds  fast  that  law,  the  results 
that  he  brings  to  pass  are  more  far-reaching  in  their  scope  and  influ- 
ence, than  when  an  adust  and  hackneyed  plodder,  wearys  himself 
through  long  years  in  a  methodical  heaping  together  of  myriads  of 
isolated  and  less  important  facts,  without  once  detecting  the  charac- 
ter and  essence  of  the  simplest  of  them  all.  For  consider  how  truth 
flashed  in  upon  the  mind  of  Galileo,  while  watching  the  vibrations 
of  a  pendant  chandelier,  "  a  striking  proof,"  says  Goethe,  "  that  for 
the  man  of  genius,  one  fact  is  better  than  a  thousand."  For,  accord- 
ing to  him,  in  scientific  researches  every  thing  depends  on  what  may 
be  styled  the  "aperc;u,"  or  the  instantaneous,  intuitive  recognition  of 
the  principle  that  underlies  a  given  phenomenon. 

But  some  one  will  ask,  "  do  you  then  reject  Bacon's  method  of  in- 
duction in  all  its  particulars  ?"  By  no  means.  It  is  only  this  idea 
of  an  equalizing  scale  applied  to  the  mind,  and  his  view  that  there  is 
no  other  road  to  knowledge  than  the  one  that  he  has  marked  out, 
that  merit  our  reproof. 

In  fact,  Bacon  himself,  with  a  most  happy  inconsistency,  often  em- 
ploys expressions  that  disarm  all  attack.  For  instance,  take  the  fol- 
lowing :  "  When  a  man  brings  to  the  contemplation  of  nature  an  open 
sense  and  a  mind  that  is  unentangled  by  the  prejudices  of  tradition, 
he  needs  no  such  method."  The  favorites  of  fortune,  the  miracle- 
workers,  as  Luther  calls  them,  are  gifted  with  this  unclouded  vision  ; 
to  this  class  Goethe  himself  belonged.  With  a  lively  sensibility,  a 
refined  organism,  and  a  passionate  love  for  nature,  he  needed  not  that 
any  should  say  to  him,  '  open  thine  eyes  and  look  around  thee.' 
To  him,  the  author  of  the  lines, 

"  Nature  is  good  and  kind 
Who  Clasps  Jne  to  her  breast," 

a  marriage  between  the  soul  and  the  outward  world  was  already  a 
settled  fact.  "They  that  are  whole  need  not  a  physician."  But 
these  miracle-workers  are,  alas,  too  rare;  and  most  men  must  make 
use  of  a  method  which  shall  stimulate  their  sluggish  spirits  into  life 
and  energy. 

As  it  regards  the  manner  in  which  Bacon  illustrated  his  method, 
as  in  the  " History  of  the  Winds"  so  severely  commented  upon  by 
Goethe,  he  should  be  judged,  in  a  measure,  by  the  general  tone  of 
natural  science  in  his  own  age.  To  Goethe's  eloquent  apology  for 
"  apercus"  or  intuitive  perceptions,  Bacon  might  have  replied,  "  your 
principles  underlying  phenomena,  are  what  I  have  denominated 
'  forms,'  which  I  nevertheless  can  not  unveil  by  means  of  a  single 


286  LORD  BACON. 

fact  taken  symbolically,  but  only  by  induction,  by  a  comparison  of 
many  facts,  representing  the  varied  shapes  of  one  and  the  same 
Proteus." 

In  short,  despite  the  objectionable  manner  in  which  Bacon,  here 
and  there,  endeavored,  in  the  concrete,  to  maintain,  realize,  and  prove 
the  deep  and  solid  foundation-principles  which  he  advanced,  the 
truth  of  those  principles  remains  yet  unassailed;  and,  like  a  vital  germ, 
they  have  grown,  and  are  bearing  fruit  even  to  the  present  day. 
Bacon  originated  no  school,  but  something  greater  and  wider  in  its 
scope.  He  was  the  founder  of  the  direct  mode  of  questioning  na- 
ture, a  mode  open  alike  to  all,  whatever  their  talent  or  abilities.  He 
was,  as  we  have  before  intimated,  the  creator  of  the  practical  experi- 
mentalism  of  the  present  day,  which  explores  the  world  for  material 
to  work  up  into  manufactured  fabrics,  and  to  him  may  be  ascribed 
the  present  prevailing  tendency,  of  the  English  nation  especially,  to 
utilitarianism,  to  that  perfect  subjection  of  nature,  by  the  aid  of 
science,  that  will  lead  men  finally  to  a  true  rational  magic. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  * 

I  have  now  endeavored  to  present  a  brief  abstract  of  Bacon's  phi- 
losophy. I  have  also  occasionally  adverted  to  the  influence  which  it 
has  exerted  upon  mental  culture,  and,  as  a  consequence,  upon  meth- 
ods of  instruction ;  an  influence  which,  at  the  distance  of  two  centu- 
ries, is  still  in  the  ascendant.  But  there  are  also  many  passages  in 
the  "  De  augmentis  scientiarum"  which  have  a  direct  bearing  upon 
education.  Of  this  nature  is  the  second  chapter  of  the  Sixth  Book, 
in  which  he  treats  of  "  prudentia  traditiva,"  or  knowledge  delivered, 
and  characterizes  various  methods  of  teaching.  He  gives  the  prefer- 
ence to  the  genetic  method,  where  the  teacher  "  transplants  knowl- 
edge into  the  scholar's  mind,  as  it  grew  in  his  own."  Whatever  is 
imparted  in  this  way,  will  take  root,  flourish,  and  bear  fruit.  He 
commends  aphorisms :  "  For  representing  a  knowledge  broken,  they  do 
invite  men  to  inquire  farther ;  whereas  systems,  carrying  a  show  of  a 
total,  do  secure  men  as  if  they  were  at  farthest."  "  Methods  should 
vary  according  to  the  subject  to  be  taught,  for  in  knowledge  itself 
there  is  great  diversity.'' 

In  one  place  he  treats  most  strenuously  and  earnestly  of  the  im- 
portance of  education.  "A  gardener,"  he  says,  "  takes  more  pains 
with  the  young  than  with  the  full-grown  plant;  and  men  commonly 
find  it  needful,  in  any  undertaking,  to  begin  well.  We  give  scarce 
a  thought  to  our  teachers,  and  care  little  for  what  they  may  be,  and 
yet  we  are  forever  complaining,  because  rulers  are  rigid  in  the  matter 


LORD  BACON.  287 

of  laws  and  penalties,  but  indifferent  to  the  right  training  of  the 
young." 

To  this  Bacon  adds  a  panegyric  upon  the  schools  of  the  Jesuits, 
by  way  of  introduction  to  another  paragraph  on  education.  It  is  as 
follows : — 

"As  it  regards  teaching,  this  is  the  sum  of  all  direction  :  take  ex- 
ample by  the  schools  of  the  Jesuits ;  for  better  do  not  exist.  How- 
ever, I  will  add,  according  to  my  wont,  a  few  scattered  thoughts  on 
this  head.  Collegiate  training  for  young  men  and  boys  excels,  in  my 
opinion,  that  of  the  family  or  of  the  school.  For  not  only  are  greater 
incentives  to  action  to  be  found  at  colleges,  but  there  too  the  young 
have  ever  before  their  eyes  men  of  dignified  bearing  and  superior 
scholarship,  who  command  their  respect,  and  whom  they  grow  insens- 
ibly to  imitate.  In  short,  there  is  hardly  a  particular  in  which  col- 
leges do  not  excel.  In  regard  to  the  course  and  order  of  instruction, 
my  chief  counsel  would  be  to  avoid  all  digests  and  epitomes  of  learn- 
ing ;  for  they  are  a  species  of  imposture,  giving  men  the  means  to 
make  a  show  of  learning,  who  have  it  not.  Moreover,  the  natural 
bent  of  individual  minds  should  be  so  far  encouraged,  that  a  scholar, 
who  shall  learn  all  that  is  required  of  him,  may  be  allowed  time  in 
which  to  pursue  a  favorite  study.  And  furthermore,  it  is  worth 
while  to  consider,  and  I  think  this  point  has  not  hitherto  received  the 
attention  that  its  importance  demands,  that  there  are  two  distinct 
modes  of  training  the  mind  to  a  free,  and  appropriate  use  of  its  fac- 
ulties. The  one  begins  with  the  easiest,  and  so  proceeds  to  the  more 
difficult ;  the  other,  at  the  outset,  presses  the  pupil  with  the  more 
difficult  tasks,  and,  after  he  has  mastered  these,  turns  him  to  pleas- 
anter  and  easier  ones :  for  it  is  one  method  to  practice  swimming 
with  bladders,  and  another  to  practice  dancing  with  heavy  shoes. 
It  is  beyond  all  estimate,  how  much  a  judicious  blending  of  these 
two  methods  will  profit  both  the  mental  and  the  bodily  powers.  And 
so  to  select  and  assign  topics  of  instruction,  as  to  adapt  them  to  the 
individual  capabilities  of  the  pupils, — this,  too,  requires  a  special  ex- 
perience and  judgment.  A  close  observation  and  an  accurate  knowl- 
edge of  the  different  natures  of  pupils  is  due  from  teachers  to  the  pa- 
rents of  these  pupils,  that  they  may  choose  an  occupation  in  life  for 
their  sons  accordingly.  And  note  further,  that  not  only  does  every 
one  make  more  rapid  progress  in  those  studies  to  which  his  nature 
inclines  him,  but  again  that  a  natural  disinclination,  in  whatever  di- 
rection, may  be  overcome  by  the  help  of  special  studies.  For  in- 
stance, if  a  boy  has  a  light,  inattentive,  and  inconstant  spirit,  so  that 
he  is  easily  diverted,  and  his  attention  can  not  be  readily  fixed,  he 


288  LORD  BACON. 

will  find  advantage  in  the  mathematics,  in  which  a  demonstration 
must  be  commenced  anew  whenever  the  thoughts  wander  even  for  a 
moment. 

These  cnutions  respecting  mental  training  may  not,  at  the  first 
glance,  appear  to  abound  either  in  weight  or  wisdom ;  but,  acted  on, 
they  are  both  fruitful  and  efficient.  For  as  the  wronging  or  cherish- 
ing of  seeds  or  young  plants  is  that,  that  is  most  important  to  their 
thriving,  and  as  it  was  noted  that  the  first  six  kings,  being  in  truth 
as  tutors  of  the  state  of  Rome  in  the  infancy  thereof,  was  the  princi- 
pal cause  of  the  eminent  greatness  of  that  state  which  followed ;  so 
the  culture  and  manurance  of  minds  in  youth  hath  such  a  forcible, 
though  unseen  operation,  as  hardly  any  length  of  time  or  contention 
of  labor  can  countervail  it  afterward.  And  it  is  not  amiss  to  observe 
how  small  and  mean  faculties,  gotten  by  education,  yet  when  they 
fall  into  great  men  or  great  matters,  do  work  great  and  important 
effects,  whereof  I  will  give  a  notable  example.  And  the  rather,  as  I 
find  that  the  Jesuits  also  have  not  neglected  the  cultivation  of  these 
lesser  graces  of  the  scholar,  in  which,  as  it  seems  to  me,  they  have 
shown  sound  judgment.  I  speak  of  that  art  which,  followed  for  a 
livelihood,  brings  reproach,  but,  used  in  education,  does  the  best  of 
service, — T  mean  the  acting  of  plays.  This  strengthens  the  memory, 
gives  volume  to  the  voice,  power  to  the  expression,  ease  to  the  bear- 
ing, grace  to  the  gestures,  and  imparts  a  wonderful  degree  of  self- 
confidence,  thus  thoroughly  fitting  young  men  for  the  demands  of  a 
public  career.  Tacitus  relates  that  a  certain  stage-player,  Vibulenus, 
by  his  faculty  of  playing,  put  the  Panonnian  armies  into  an  extreme 
tumult  and  combustion.  For  there  arising  a  mutiny  among  them, 
upon  the  death  of  Augustus  Caesar,  Bltesus,  the  lieutenant,  had  com- 
mitted some  mutineers,  which  were  suddenly  rescued ;  whereupon 
Vibulenus  got  to  be  heard  speak,  which  he  did  in  this  manner: 
*  These  poor  innocent  wretches,  appointed  to  cruel  death,  you  have 
restored  to  behold  the  light ;  but  who  shall  restore  my  brother  to  me, 
or  life  unto  my  brother,  that  was  sent  hither  in  message  from  the  le- 
gions of  Germany,  to  treat  of  the  common  cause  ?  And  he  hath 
murdered  him  this  last  night  by  some  of  his  fencers  and  ruffians,  that 
he  hath  about  him  for  his  executioners  upon  soldiers.  Answer,  Blae- 
BUS,  what  is  done  with  his  body  ?  The  mortalest  enemies  do  not 
deny  burial ;  when  I  have  performed  my  last  duties  to  the  corpse, 
with  kisses,  with  tears,  command  me  to  be  slain  besides  him,  so  that 
these  my  fellows,  for  our  good  meaning,  and  our  true  hearts  to  the 
legions,  may  have  leave  to  bury  us.'  With  which  speech  he  put  the 
army  into  an  infinite  fury  and  uproar ;  whereas  truth  was,  he  had  no 


LORD  BACON.  280 

brother,  neither  was  there  any  such  matter,  but  he  played  it  merely 
as  if  he  had  been  upon  the  stage." 

It  should  be  understood,  however,  that  this  passage  on  education 
is  isolated,  and  by  no  means  in  connection  with  the  general  phi- 
losophical system  of  Bacon.  It  is  surprising  that  the  man  who  said, 
"  It  is  no  less  true  in  this  human  kingdom  of  knowledge  than  in  God's 
kingdom  of  heaven,  that  no  man  shall  enter  into  it,  except  he  become 
first  as  a  little  child,"  did  not  adhere  to  this  sentiment,  and  carry  it 
into  all  his  speculations.  When  he  taught  that  "  men  must  abjure 
all  traditional  and  inherited  views  and  notions,  so  that  with  an  open 
and  unworn  sense  they  might  come  to  the  observation  of  nature,"  why 
did  he  not  apply  his  doctrine  to  that  class,  who  know  nothing  by  tra- 
dition, and  who  have  nothing  to  unlearn, — I  mean  to  children  ?  Why 
did  he  not  build  anew  the  science  of  education  upon  the  solid  basis 
of  realism  ?  Instead  of  this,  we  find  nothing  but  an  ill-assorted  far- 
rago of  good,  bad,  and  indifferent.  I  have  already  expressed  my 
disapproval  of  the  pernicious  influence  of  the  educational  tenets  of 
the  Jesuits,  which  Bacon  so  highly  recommends,  especially  their  pri- 
mum  mobile,  the  principle  of  emulation.  Much  might  be  urged  also 
against  some  of  the  features  of  seminaries  and  colleges.  His  advoca- 
cy of  theatrical  representations  in  schools  is,  singularly  enough,  sup- 
ported by  the  above  example  from  Tacitus  ;  which,  more  nearly  consid- 
ered, is  truly  hideous,  an  example  of  a  stage-player,  who,  in  the  reign 
of  Tiberius,  with  the  aid  of  surpassing  eloquence,  palmed  off  upon 
the  Pannonian  legions  a  wholesale  lie,  and  so  instigated  them  to  a 
rebellion  against  their  general.  But  he  forgot  to  add,  that  Drusus 
most  fitly  recompensed  the  ill-omened  orator  for  his  all  too  potent 
speech  with  the  loss  of  his  head.  Why  did  not  Bacon,  keen  as  he 
ordinarily  proved  himself  in  argument,  rather  use  this  example  to 
condemn  theatrical  representations  in  schools,  inasmuch  as  these  rep- 
resentations very  often  pass  from  a  mimic  jest  into  a  too  serious  fa- 
miliarity with  lies  and  deceit  ? 

Meanwhile  some  of  his  views  in  the  passage  above  quoted,  as, 
against  over  hasty  methods  of  imparting  instruction,  in  favor  of  a  ju- 
dicious interchange  between  the  easier  and  the  more  difficult  branch- 
es of  learning,  and  the  like,  are  timely  and  encouraging. 

But,  though  these  doctrines  insure  their  own  reception,  we  ought 
not  too  hastily  to  conclude  that  Bacon's  highest  claims  in  the  cause 
of  education  are  based  upon  them.  These  claims  proceed  much 
rather  from  the  fact,  which  I  can  not  too  often  repeat,  that/he  was  the 
first  to  break  out  of  the  beaten  track,  and  to  address  scholars,  who 

lived  and  moved  in  the  languages  and  writings  of  antiquity,  vca,  who 

s 


290  L°RD  BACON. 

were  mostly  echoes  of  the  old  Greeks  and  Romans,  and  who  had  no 
higher  ambition  than  to  be  so, — to  address  them  in  such  language  as 
the  following :  "Be  not  wrapped  up  in  the  past,  there  is  an  actual 
present  lying  all  about  you ;  look  up  and  behold  it  in  its  grandeur. 
Turn  away  from  the  broken  cisterns  of  traditional  science,  and  quaff 
the  pure  waters  that  flow  sparkling  and  fresh  forever  from  the  un- 
fathomable fountain  of  the  creation.  Go  to  nature  and  listen  to  her 
many  voices,  consider  "her  ways  and  learn  her  doings;  so  shall  you 
bend  her  to  your  will.  For  knowledge  is  power." 

These  doctrines  have  exerted  an  incalculable  influence,  especially 
in  England,  where  theoretical  and  practical  natural  philosophy  are,  in 
the  manner  indicated  by  Bacon,  united,  and  where  this  union  has 
been  marvelously  fruitful  of  results.  Their  influence,  moreover,  may 
be  traced,  at  quite  an  early  period,  in  the  department  of  education. 
The  first  teacher  who  imbibed  the  views  of  Bacon  was,  most  proba- 
bly, Ratich.  But  we  have  the  distinct  acknowledgment  from 
that  most  eminent  of  the  teachers  of  the  seventeenth  century,  Co- 
menius,  of  his  indebtedness  to  Bacon.  In  the  year  1633,  he  brought 
out  a  work  upon  natural  philosophy  ;  and,  in  the  preface  to  this  work, 
lie  adverted  to  his  own  obligations  to  Bacon.  He  here  called  the 
" Instauratio  Magna"  "  a  most  admirable  book.  I  regard  it  as  the 
most  brilliant  of  the  philosophical  works  of  the  present  century.  I  am 
disappointed,  however,  that  the  keen-eyed  Verulam,  after  furnishing 
us  with  the  true  key  to  nature,  has  not  himself  opened  her  mysteries, 
but  has  only  showed  us  by  a  few  examples  how  they  may  be  opened, 
and  so  left  the  task  to  future  generations."  In  another  paragraph  he 
says :  "  Do  not  we,  as  well  as  the  ancients,  live  in  the  garden  of  na- 
ture? Why  then  should  not  we,  as  well  as  they,  use  our  eyes  and 
our  ears  ?  Why  must  we  learn  the  works  of  nature  from  any  other 
teachers  than  these,  our  senses  ?  Why,  I  ask,  shall  we  not  throw 
aside  our  dead  books,  and  read  in  that  living  volume  around  us,  in 
which  vastly  more  is  contained  than  it  is  possible  for  any  man  to  re- 
cord ;  especially  too  that  the  pleasure  and  the  profit  to  come  from  its 
perusal  are  both  so  much  the  greater?  In  experience  too,  we  are  so 
many  centuries  in  advance  of  Aristotle." 

With  this  eminent  example  of  Bacon's  influence  in  the  department 
of  instruction,  I  shall  close.  Were  I  to  cite  additional  instances,  1 
should  be  compelled  to  anticipate  much  of  the  following  history.  In 
this,  the  connection  of  our  modern  realists,  their  schools  of  industry, 
polytechnic  schools,  and  the  like,  with  the  doctrines  of  Bacon,  will  be 
BO  abundantly  and  so  repeatedly  demonstrated,  as  to  justify  me  in 
btyling  him  the  founder  and  originator  of  modern  realism,  and  of 
lealistic  principles  of  instruction. 


THE  REAL  SCHOOLS  OF  GERMANY. 

[Translated  from  the  German  of  Karl  von  Raumer  for  this  Journal.] 


DURING  the  seventeenth  century,  pedagogical  realism  gained  more 
and  more  ground  in  the  schools  of  learning,  as  is  shown  by  the  in- 
troduction of  the  school-books  of  Comenius.  These  were  brought 
into  the  gymnasium  at  Hersfield,  in  1649.  In  the  Dantzic  Gymna- 
sium, according  to  the  plan  of  study  for  1653,  the  Vestibulum  and 
Janua  of  Comenius  were  to  be  read ;  in  those  of  Stargard  and  Nu- 
remberg, the  Orbis  Pictus. 

In  the  use  of  these  books,  however,  the  thing  sought  for  appears 

to  have  been  a  copia  vocabulorum,  with  especial  regard  to  the  speak- 

"ing  of  Latin.     The  pictures  were  used  rather  as  a  mnemonic  help  for 

fixing  the  words  in  the  memory,  than  according  to  the  idea  of  Co- 

menius,  as  means  of  becoming  acquainted  with  the  things  themselves. 

The  things,  however,  imperceptibly  asserted  their  proper  place. 
Feuerlein  remarks,  that  complaint  had  been  made  of  the  want  of  a 
good  vocabulary  or  nomenclator;  and  about  the  Orbis  Sensualium 
of  Comenius,  which  up  to  that  time  had  been  almost  the  only  work 
of  the  kind.  This  contained  the  Latin  of  tailors,  weavers,  shoemak- 
ers, cooks,  and  butlers,  unlatin  phrases  and  barbarisms ;  and,  on  tho 
other  hand,  lacked  the  most  necessary  words,  particles,  <fec.*  The 
Libellus  memorialis  of  Cellarius  was  introduced  in  the  place  of  the 
Orbis  Pictus,  to  remedy  this  defect.  But  this  school-book,  which  was 
of  printed  matter  only,  gave  no  better  satisfaction ;  men  had  become 
used  to  the  pictures  of  Comenius,  and  to  his  world  of  real  things. 
Thus,  Feuerlein  says  :  "  men  might  set  about  some  wood-cuts  or  cop- 
per-plates, in  which  the  several  things  which  youth  were  learning 
might  at  least  be  placed  in  effiyie  before  their  eyes,  and  under  each, 
what  they  are,  or  for  what  they  are  used,  mignt  be  written  ;  of  which 
they  might  memorize  the  Latin  names,  and  thus  might  fix  words  in 
their  memories  in  relation  to  which  they  did  not  know  what  the  thing 
is,  or  what  the  word  means.  *  *  *  Besides,  it  would  not  be  a 

*  Feuerlein  relates  that  when  a  scholar  asked  Conrector  Manner.  "  Master,  what  is  the 
Latin  for  Kugel-Hopflein  7  "  (a  sort  of  cake.)  he  answered,  "  You  fool,  do  you  suppose  that 
Cicero  ever  ate  a  Kugel-Hopflein  ?  "  That  is,  where  is  the  use  of  learning  Latin  word* 
which  do  not  appear  in  the  classiest 


292  THE  REAL  SCHOOLS  OF  GERMANY. 

bad  plan,"  he  continues,  "  to  take  some  of  the  boys,  from  time  to 
time,  upon  walks  into  the  fields  and  gardens,  to  forges,  saw  mills,  pa- 
per mills,  <kc.,  or  to  workshops  of  all  kinds ;  to  show  them  the  tools, 
and  tell  them  what  are  their  names,  and  what  is  done  with  them ; 
and  then  to  ask  them  what  are  the  Latin  names  of  this  or  that,  which 
they  see  in  aubatanlia  before  their  eyes ;  or  to  tell  them  to  them. 
This  would  not  only  impress  the  words  much  better  upon  their  memo- 
ries, while  they  would  not  otherwise  learn  them  without  vexation, 
since  they  do  not  understand  them  in  German,  or  know  what  the  thing 
is ;  but  also  this  knowledge  would  serve  a  good  turn  in  every-day  life ; 
in  which  the  educated  man  often  appears  so  ignorant  and  ill-informed 
upon  subjects  which  are  always  coming  up  in  ordinary  conversation." 

Something  of  life  was  beginning  to  make  itself  felt  all  through  the 
schools. 

Although  the  Orbis  Pictux  was  disused  in  the  Nuremberg  Gym- 
nasium, the  Vestibulum  of  Comenius  was  yet  retained  there  in  the  two 
lowest  classes.  In  the  same  direction  was  tending  most  of  the  realist 
instruction  in  mathematics,  which  is  called,  in  the  plan  of  study  given 
by  Feuerlein,  mathesis  ju venilis,  and  which  passed  through  five  classes. 

•Sturm's  class-book,*  which  was  used  for  this  purpose,  is  largely  fur- 
nished with  copper-plates,  and  includes  general  mathematics,  practi- 
cal arithmetic,  theoretical  and  practical  geometry,  (field  surveying, 
measuring  altitudes,  and  stereometry,)  optics,  military  and  civil  archi- 
tecture, cosmography,  chronology,  dialing,  mechanics,  and,  last  of  all, 
chiromancy!  The  elements  of  these  studies  are  contained  upon 
seventy-nine  folio  pages.  Feuerlein  praises  highly  Sturm's  mathe- 
matical method  ;  one  would  think  one  was  listening  to  a  scholar  of 
Pestalozzi.  "  In  it,"  he  says,  "  there  is  no  learning  by  rote  of  the 
one-times-one,  as  is  customary  in  the  German  schools,  without  under- 
standing it;  but  they  learn  themselves  to  make  it,  and  to  fix  their 
understanding  on  it  with  reason  and  good  apprehension  of  it.  Here 
is  learned  the  6io<n,  the  basis  of  the  rules,  why  they  do  so  and  so; 
in  the  German  schools  only  the  on  is  taught ;  how  to  proceed,  with- 
out knowing  the  basis  of  the  proceedings,  the  why.  In  the  latter 
case  the  work  would  seem  to  be  almost  entirely  one  of  memory, 
rather  than  of  reason."  He  then  goes  on  to  praise  it, — and  this  is 
what  we  have  special  regard  to ;  that  the  boys  "  learn  so  skillfully  to 
use  the  compasses,  the  square,  the  measuring-rod,  (kc.,  and  that,  after 
a  few  exercises,  they  learn,  quickly  and  neatly,  to  estimate  by  the  eye 
alone,  the  size  of  a  table,  a  window,  a  room,  a  house,  (fee." 

•  The  title  is :  "  Johannia  Chrislophori  Stiirmii  molhesia  compendiaria  site  tyrocinin 
mathrmatica."  I  have  before  me  the  sixth  edition  In  folio,  Coburg,  1714  ;  edited  by  Sturm'i 
win.  I/eonhard  ChriMoph  Sturm. 


THE  REAL  SCHOOLS  OF  GERMANY.  293 

According  to  Sturm's  preface  to  his  book,  it  was  introduced  into 
various  German  gymnasiums. 

Pastor  Semler,  of  Halle,  went  still  one  step  further.*  In  1739, 
he  published  an  account  called  "Upon  the  Mathematical,  Mechanical, 
and  Agricultural  Real  School  in  the  city  of  Halle,  approved  and  re- 
opened by  the  royal  Prussian  government  of  the  Duchy  of  Magde- 
burg, and  the  Berlin  royal  society  of  sciences."! 

So  far  as  I  know,  this  is  the  first  time  that  the  name  and  the  idea 
of  the  real  school  appear.  Besides  religious  instruction,  according  to 
Semler,  youth  are  to  be  instructed  in  knowledge  which  is  useful  and 
entirely  indispensable  in  every-day  life;  and,  in  particular,  all  visible 
things  are  to  be  shown  to  them,  whether  in  nature  or  by  means  of  all 
manner  of  pictures.  "A  description  of  Rome  in  a  book,"  he  says, 
"  gives  the  faintest  notion  of  the  city ;  a  more  lively  one  is  given  by 
an  oral  description,  from  one  who  has  lived  long  in  Rome ;  the  live- 
liness of  this  impression  is  increased  by  copper-plates,  paintings,  or 
models  ;  but  to  see  the  city  with  one's  own  eyes  gives  a  most  perfect 
knowledge.  His  rule  has  been,  for  forty  years,  Non  scholce  sed  vita: 
discendum.  In  real  life  is  needed  a  knowledge  of  weight,  size,  of 
the  use  of  circles  and  lines,  of  the  almanac,  astronomy,  and  geogra- 
phy. There  is  also  needed :  "  Knowledge  of  some  physical  thing?, , 
such  as  metals,  minerals,  common  stones,  and  precious  stones,  woods,  | 
colors,  drawings,  farming,  gardening,  book-keeping,  something  of' 
anatomy  and  regimen,  the  most  necessary  parts  of  police  regulations, 
the  history  of  the  country,  from  the  Halle  Chronicle  and  other  au- 
thors ;  the  map  of  all  Germany,  and  those  of  the  Duchy  of  Mag- 
deburg, and  of  the  cities  and  towns  lying  about  Halle,  which  will 
be  the  subject  of  conversation  very  often  in  daily  life ;  for  this  sort  of 
knowledge  is  much  more  important  than  to  know  in  what  part  of  the 
world  are  Dublin,  Astrakhan,  and  Adrianople." 

We  have  here  not  only  an  enumeration  of  most  of  the  real  sub- 
jects which  were  afterward  taught  in  the  real  schools,  but  also  the 
fundamental  principle  appears  here  which  was  the  leading  one  of 
Rousseau  and  Pestalozzi ;  that,  first  of  all,  that  must  be  learned 
which  is  required  by  the  immediate  present,  by  daily  life. 

Among  the  professors  at  Halle,  Semler  mentions  Chr.  Thomasius, 
Cellarius,  Hofmann  the  physician,  and  the  philosopher  Wolf,  as  those 
who  approved  his  principles.  In  1706,  he  presented  his  school  pro-  j 

•  Christoph  Semler.  a  Lutheran  preacher,  was  born  in  Halle,  in  1669  ;  read  lectures  there , 
in  1697  became  a  magistrate,  in  1699  inspector  of  the  poor  schools ;  was  principal  deacon  of 
the  church  of  St.  Ulrich,  and  member  of  the  Berlin  Academy  of  Sciences.  He  died  in  1740 
Jocher  says,  "  He  was  a  man  of  great  science  in  mechanics  and  mathematics." 

t  This  appeared  in  the  '•ITatlf  Advertiser,"  from  which  it  was  taken  for  the  "Ada  Historic^ 
Ecclesiaatica,"  (1740,  Vol.  XIX.,  p.  J9&) 


294  THE  REAL  SCHOOLS  OF  GERMANY. 

posals  to  the  government  of  Magdeburg,  which  entered  into  them 
with  approval.  The  Berlin  society  of  sciences,  being  applied  to  by 
that  government  upon  the  subject,  answered  on  the  loth  of  Decem- 
ber, 1706 ;  that  provided  schools  were  established  for  the  training  up 
of  state  and  church  officers,  it  would  be  well  for  such  boys  as  now 
attend  only  the  German  schools,  "  to  be  instructed  in  an  actual  me- 
chanical school,  so  that  their  understandings  and  senses  might  be 
more  developed  ;  and  especially  that  they  might  become  acquainted 
with  common  materials  and  subjects,  their  value  and  price,  with  the 
common  proportions  of  circles,  lines,  angles,  and  weight,  as  well  as 
with  different  sizes  and  their  measurement,  with  weighing,  and  upon 
opportunity  with  the  simple  microscope,  for  the  better  understanding 
of  the  constituents  of  bodies  ;  and  with  the  use  of  other  useful  in- 
struments, together  with  tools  and  levers  ;  to  the  end  that  this  knowl- 
edge might  serve  them  for  improved  understanding  and  practices, 
and  to  the  invention  of  new  and  useful  modes  of  using  them.  Thus 
it  can  be  seen  that  there  would  be  attained  by  such  scholars,  good 
proportions  in  their  work,  a  steady  hand,  and  the  like  advantages, 
such  as  are  derived  from  a  more  intelligent  use  of  the  outward  senses, 
which  are  the  foundation  of  all  the  skill  which  nature  can  offer  and 
practice  can  perfect." 

Sernler,  now  assisted  by  the  city,  caused  twelve  poor  boys  to  be  in- 
structed in  his  house,  by  a  "  literary  man,  well  experienced  in  mathe- 
matics, mechanics,  and  agriculture;"  but  his  plan  lasted  only  for  a 
year  and  a  half.  In  this  course  of  instruction,  "sixty-three  single 
objects  were  displayed  before  their  eyes,"  chiefly  by  models.*  In 
1738,  these  ocular  demonstrations  were  resumed.  These  were  placed' 
before  the  scholars,  says  Semler,  "  to  see,  not  exotic  things  and  ob- 
jects of  curiosity,  but  only  things  daily  necessary,  and  such  as  pos- 
sess the  most  immediate  utility  in  every  day  life.  By  this  method, 
the  schools,  which  have  been  verbal  schools  hitherto,  will  become 
real  schools,  since  information  will  be  given  in  them  no  more  by 
means  purely  abstract,  universal,  and  intellectual.  The  elementary 
information  of  little  children  should  be  given  to  them  without  books, 
from  things  themselves.''  Books  should  merely  serve  for  repetition, 
and  the  ideas  of  things  are  to  be  adjoined  to  words.  The  schools, 
hitherto  rooms  of  martyrdom,  will,  by  the  introduction  of  realities 
into  them,  become  real  pleasure  rooms.  Semler  was  seventy  years 
old  when  he  wrote  these  words.  It  would  be  an  error  to  consider 
him,  from  what  has  above  been  said,  an  entirely  earthly-minded  ma- 

*  Sometimes  by  very  strange  ones.    Thus  there  was  a  machine  "  which  demonstrated  the 
true  reason  of  the  rise  and  fall  or  the  tide." 


THE  REAL  SCHOOLS  OF  GERMANY.  203 

terialist  realist,  as  so  many  of  his  successors  were.  He  did  not  desire 
to  remain  permanently  in  the  realm  of  the  material,  but,  as  he  says, 
"  to  ascend  from  the  creature  to  the  Creator ; "  and  he  prays  for  the 
gift  of  enlightened  eyes,  which  may  penetrate  within  the  penetralia 
of  the  creature.  lu  conclusion,  the  pious  old  man,  with  the  Psalm- 
ist, praises  the  works  of  God.  "  Blessed  is  he,"  he  says,  "  who  knows 
them  holily  ;  and  twice  blessed,  he  who  holily  takes  pleasure  in  them, 
and  thanks  him  for  them,  from  the  bottom  of  his  heart."* 

It  has  been  remarked  that  in  Francke's  school  there  were  various 
real  studies,  as  botany,  turning,  and  the  like.  Should  not  Semler, 
brought  into  such  close  communion  with  Francke,  as  teacher  in  the 
University  of  Halle,  and  as  preacher  and  instructor  of  the  German 
schools,  have  had  an  influence  upon  the  improvements  in  teaching  in 
the  Psedagogium  and  Orphan-house  by  his  pedagogical  realism  ?  It 
is  worthy  of  remark,  that  from  Francke's  school  came  Johann  Julius 
Hecker,  who,  in  1747,  established  the  first  important  real  school  in 
Berlin  ;  as  did  his  successor  in  the  same  school,  Johann  Elias  Silbers- 
chlag. 

In  treating  of  the  stronger  and  stronger  growth  of  realism,  a  dis- 
tinction of  it  must  be  made,  into  two  kinds.  On  the  one  hand,  real 
studios,  before  entirely  suppressed  by  the  study  of  language,  began 
to  be  more  correctly  estimated,  and  attempts  were  made  to  introduce 
them  into  the  learned  schools.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  the  convic- 
tion grew,  that  in  these  schools  the  instruction  was  proper  for  such 
boys  as  were  intended  for  the  learned  professions,  and  only  for  sach, 
and  that  all  other  scholars  were  obliged  to  learn,  and  that  in  a  super- 
ficial manner,  things  which  could  be  of  no  use  to  them  in  after  life. 
It  was  clear  that,  for  scholars  not  intending  a  life  of  study,  real  knowl- 
edge was  far  more  valuable  than  a  mere  purposeless  beginning  with 
Latin.  The  answer  of  the  Berlin  academy  in  the  matter  of  Semler 
shows  as  much.  Rector  Gesner,  of  Rotenburg,  in  1720,  wrote  to  the 
same  effect :  "  The  one  class,  who  will  not  study,  but  will  become 
tradesmen,  merchants,  or  soldiers,  must  be  instructed  in  writing,  arith- 
metic, writing  letters,  geography,  description  of  the  world,  and  his- 
tory. The  other  class  may  be  trained  for  studying."  Schottgen, 
rector  in  Dresden,  wrote,  in  1742,  a  "Humble  proposal  for  the  special 
class  in  public  city  schools.11  In  these  schools,  he  says,  every  one  is 
arranged  with  a  view  to  the  learning  of  Latin,  and  children,  "  who 
are  to  remain  without  Latin,"  are  entirely  forgotten.  They  are  forced 
to  learn  Donatus  and  the  grammar,  which  are  useless  for  them ;  and 

'  I  have,  up  to  this  time,  been  unable  to  learn  further  particulars  about  Semler.  Schulz, 
("Rhenish  Gazette,"  March  and  April,  1812,  p.  159.)  speaks  cursorily  of  •'  Semler's  sad  expe- 
riences at  Halle." 


296  THE  REAL  SCHOOLS  OF  GERMANY. 

they  do  not  study  what  would  be  useful  to  mechanics,  artists,  or  mer- 
chants. Of  what  use  will  it  be  to  such,  to  have  learned  anthrax,  colax, 
&c.  ?  State  and  country  need,  not  only  people  who  know  Latin,  but 
others  also.  For  these  reasons  he  advises  to  organize  a  special  class 
for  such.  "  My  proposal,"  he  says,  with  resignation,  "  is  already  re- 
jected before  it  has  been  brought  to  light.  But,  if  what  there  is  in  it 
is  not  yet  ripe,  we  will  wait  until  the  time  comes  for  it." 

Rector  Henzky  of  Prenzlau,  already  mentioned,  wrote,  in  1751,  a 
treatise  "•That  real  schools  can  and  must  become  common  ;"  and  the 
learned  and  cautious  Joh.  Matthias  Gesner  expressed  himself  thus : 
"  It  is  a  common  fault  of  most  of  our  schools,  that  in  them  provision 
is  made  only  for  such  as  intend  to  become  what  are  called  learned 
men  by  profession ;  and  thus  a  complete  acquaintance  with  Latin  is 
required  of  all  young  people,  without  any  distinction.  On  the  con- 
trary, those  things  are  for  the  most  part  neglected,  which  would  be 
indispensable,  or  at  least  useful,  in  common  civil  life,  in  the  arts  and 
professions,  at  court  and  in  war.  *  *  *  A  well-organized  gym- 
nasium should,  on  the  contrary,  be  so  arranged  that  youth,  of  every 
extraction,  age,  character,  and  distinction,  may  find  their  account  there, 
and  be  taught  in  them  for  the  common  good.  Youth  may  be,  with 
reference  to  their  future  life,  divided  into  three  classes.  1.  Those  who 
are  to  learn  trades,  arts,  or  to  be  merchants ;  2.  Those  who  are  to  seek 
their  fortune  at  court  or  in  war ;  and,  3.  Those  who  are  to  remain  stu- 
dents, and  to  go  to  the  university."* 

Thus  many  wise  men  demanded  that  regard  should  be  had,  not 
only  exclusively  and  uniformly  to  the  education  of  students,  but  also 
to  that  of  children  who  were  "  to  remain  without  Latin."  But  the 
question  how  to  bring  this  to  pass,  was  a  difficult  one  to  answer. 

According  to  Gesner's  view,  each  gymnasium  must  solve  the  prob- 
lem of  educating  all  these  entirely  different  classes  of  children.  But 
it  is  evident  how  difficult  of  solution  it  must  have  been ;  and  how 
great  was  the  danger,  that  the  endeavor  to  comply  with  the  most  vari- 
ous requirements,  would  result  in  satisfying  none  of  them,  and  be- 
coming quite  characterless. 

But  why  such  mixed  schools?  asked  others.  Would  it  not  be 
better  to  erect  separate  institutions,  perhaps  not  for  every  pursuit  not 
literary,  but  for  them  all  together  ?  These  questions  may  have  be- 
come more  important,  as  the  confusion  in  the  gymnasium  from  their 
attempt  to  attain  different  ends  increased,  and  the  conviction  grew, 

'.I  M.  Gefiirr,  Minor  German  Works,  p.  305.  As  these  appeared  ill  1756,  Gesner's 
"Thoughts  on  the  Organization  <if  a  Gymnasium,"  from  which  the  extract  in  the  text  is 
taken,  must  have  been  written  before  that  time.  Ilia  plan  of  a  gymnasium  includes  those 
three  classes,  for  the  accommodation  of  pupils. 


THE  REAL  SCHOOLS  OF  GERMANY.  297 

that  each  school  should  have  but  one  principle,  one  aim,  one  char- 
acter. 

The  history  of  the  Berlin  real  school  is  very  instructive  in  this  con- 
nection, as  furnishing  a  series  of  attempts  to  unite  and  bring  into  har- 
mony with  each  other,  humanist  and  real  studies ;  the  instruction 
of  those  who  were  and  were  not  to  become  men  of  learning. 

O 

I  have  named  Julius  Hecker  as  the  founder  of  this  school.*  He 
was  appointed  preacher  at  the  Church  of  the  Trinity,  in  Berlin,  in 
1739,  and  at  the  same  time  became  instructor  of  the  German  schools 
belonging  to  the  parish.  He  considered  institutions  of  instruction 
the  seed-beds  of  the  state,  from  which  the  young,  like  trees  from  a 
nursery,  could  be  transplanted  into  their  proper  places.  He  there- 
fore wished  for  schools  which  should  prepare  for  learned  studies ;  and 
others  which  should  train  for  the  position  of  citizens,  artisans,  sol- 
diers, and  land-owners  ;  and  others  for  farmers  and  day-laborers.  In 
accordance  with  this  view,  he  organized  the  real  school,  which  he  es- 
tablished in  1747.  It  consisted  of  three  schools,  partly  subordinated 
and  in  part  co-ordinate ;  of  the  German  school,  the  Latin  school,  and 
the  real  school  proper.  Scholars  from  the  Latin  and  German  schools 
might  receive  instruction  in  the  real  school  also.  In  the  latter  were 
taught  arithmetic,  geometry,  mechanics,  architecture,  drawing,  and 
the  knowledge  of  nature.  A  knowledge  of  the  human  body  was  espe- 
cially taught,  then  plants  and  minerals,  and  instruction  was  given  in 
the  cultivation  of  mulberry  trees  and  silk-worms,  and  the  scholars 
were  taught  by  being  taken  to  workshops.  Among  the  classes  were 
a  manufacturing  class,  an  architectural  class,  an  agricultural  class,  a 
book-keeping  class,  and  a  mining  class.f 

The  organization  of  the  Latin  school  presents  nothing  particular. 
The  pupils  were  taught  weekly,  Latin  twelve  hours,  French  and  other 
languages  five  hours;  and  the  boys  received  besides  various  kinds  of 
real  instruction,  and  were  overwhelmed  with  lessons.  Except  from 
twelve  to  one,  instruction  was  given  from  seven  in  the  morning  to 
seven  at  night. 

In  1753,  J.  F.  Halm  became  teacher  of  the  real  school ;  who 
taught  by  means  of  intuition,  after  Semler's  manner.  For  this  pur- 
pose a  large  collection  of  real  objects  was  used,  among  which  were 
models  of  buildings,  ships,  chests,  plows,  churns,  columns  of  the  differ- 
ent orders,  pictorial  representations  of  an  entire  Roman  triumphal 
procession,  collections  of  merchandise,  a  miniature  shop,  a  pharma- 

*  The  information  here  following  is  mostly  from  Principal  Schulz's  "History  of  the  Real 
School  in  Berlin."    See  Uiesterweg's  "Rheiniache  VlCUter,"  Vein. XXV.  and  XXVI..  ISli 

*  In  1713.  a  boarding-house  was  attached  to  the  school,  in  which  the  first  boarder  was  Fried- 
rich  Nicolai. 


298  THE  REAL  SCHOOLS  OF  GERMANY. 

cological  collection,  specimens  of  leather,  &c.,  <fec.  There  was  also  a 
botanical  garden  adapted  to  the  real  school,  and  a  plantation  of  mul- 
berries. 

Hecker  and  Halm  laid  their  pedagogical  views  before  the  public. 
The  former,  among  other  works,  wrote,  in  1749,  one  entitled  "A  sin- 
cere proposal  how  the  Latin  tongue  may  be  maintained  in  worth  and 
honor."*  He  says,  "  it  is  in  vain  that  we  strive  to  keep  the  Latin  upon 
its  ancient  throne ;  juridical  and  medicinal  examinations  and  exam- 
inations of  candidates  show  into  what  a  low  estate  it  has  fallen." 
His  advice  is,  to  pursue  real  studies  until  the  eleventh  or  twelfth  year, 
and  then  to  begin  Latin. 

Halm  wrote,  "How  to  collect  in  real  schools  what  is  necessary  and 
useful  of  languages,  arts,  and  sciences,  1753."  He  advised  to  give 
children  not  only  oral  descriptions,  but  also  to  show  them  things 
themselves,  either  in  their  natural  form  or  in  models  and  pictures. 
From  his  treatise  will  appear  the  connection  between  the  specimens 
of  leather  above  mentioned,  and  the  class  in  manufacturing.  "  In 
the  class  in  manufactures,"  he  says,  "  they  began  at  Christmas  with 
the  art  of  working  in  leather.  To  pursue  this  study  in  a  manner  to 
make  it  useful  and  practical  in  future  life,  a  collection  of  all  kinds  of 
leather  is  necessary.  There  might  be  shown  to  youth  for  instruction, 
more  than  ninety  kinds  of  leather,  each  piece  perhaps  as  large  as  an 
octavo  page.  Among  these  might  be  all  kinds  of  sole-leather,  calves' 
leather,  and  that  of  cows,  horses,  and  sheep ;  similar  pieces  of  goat- 
skin, deerskin,  doeskin,  buckskin,  Cordovan,  Morocco,  Russia,  and 
other  kinds." 

Julius  Hecker  died  in  1768;  and  Halm  had  left  the  school  in 
1759. 

From  the  foregoing  it  seems  clear,  that  there  had  not  been  enough 
difference,  in  the  real  schools,  between  the  studies  of  those  who  were 
to  be  students  and  of  those  who  were  not ;  between  literary  studies 
and  real  studies.  This  occasioned  the  unheard  of  number  of  eleven 
hours  of  study  daily  ;  which  was  made  necessary  by  the  crowd  of  ob- 
jects of  instruction.  It  however  also  appears,  from  the  same,  that 
Hecker  not  only  was  true  to  his  "chief  principle,  non  scholai  sed  vitce 
discendum,  but  that  he  pushed  it  from  a  misunderstanding,  even  to 
caricatures. 

The  school  should  prepare  well  for  life,  but  should  not  anticipate 
it ;  it  should  not  undertake  to  teach  what  life  only  teaches  or  can 
teach.  Halm's  words,  above  quoted,  "At  Christmas  we  began  with 
the  art  of  working  in  leather,"  must  appear  silly  to  every  intelligent 

*  Ancient  and  Modern  Schools,  collected  by  Biedermann,  1752,  Part  VI. 


THE  REAL  SCHOOLS  OP  GERMANY.  299 

man.  Is  this  the  meaning  of  the  wise  maxim,  non  scholce  sed 
viice  discendum  ?  Had  the  real  idea  of  life  become  wholly  lost  iu 
that  hard  and  dead  period  ? 

After  the  death  of  Hecker,  Johann  Elias  Silberschlag,  known  as  a 
mathematician  and  naturalist,  became  director  of  the  institution.* 
He  seems  to  have  in  view  a  more  popular  distinction  of  the  three  in- 
stitutions here  united  under  the  common  name  of  "  real  school."  He 
gave  to  the  three  the  names  of  Piedagogium,  art  school,  and  Ger- 
man or  artisans'  school. 

The  German  school  was  the  elementary  school  for  all,  but  had  also 
an  especial  class  in  trades.  In  the  art  school,  the  students  laid  the 
foundation  of  a  knowledge  of  mathematics,  Latin,  and  French,  al- 
though this  school  was  particularly  intended  for  workmen,  farmers, 
and  others  not  proposing  to  study.  The  teachers  of  mathematics  in 
this  school  gave  as  rules,  "Axioms  and  theorems  which  did  not  require 
theoretical  acuteness  ; "  these  being  needed  in  the  Psedagogium.  In 
this  there  were  two  theoretical-mathematical  classes ;  in  the  lower  of 
which  arithmetic  was  taught,  in  the  other  algebra.  The  other  studies 
of  the  Psedagogium  were  the  usual  ones  of  the  higher  gymnasium 
class.  Silberschlag  leaving  in  1784,  Andreas  Jacob  Hecker  succeeded 
him  in  his  office.  An  education  for  special  pursuits  was  more  and 
more  aimed  at  in  the  artisans'  school ;  there  were  given  in  it  special 
lectures  to  future  miners  and  smelters,  and  particularly  for  those  pre- 
paring to  become  practical  geometers,  artillerists,  foresters,  farmers, 
merchants,  <fcc.  Some  hours  weekly  were  even  devoted  to  instruction 
in  German  ;  "  in  order  to  make  those,  who  shall  wish  in  future  to  en- 
gage as  secretaries  to  high  boards  of  authorities  in  the  country,  bet- 
ter acquainted  with  the  course  of  business."  Thus  the  real  school 
of  arts  was  a  gathering  of  the  most  dissimilar  schools  for  special  pur- 
suits. "  The  idea  rises  of  necessity,"  says  the  historian  of  the  school, 
"  that  where  the  endeavor  is  to  reach  every  one,  but  little  will  be 
actually  attained.  And  this  was  the  fact  with  our  real  school." 

During  the  same  time,  the  Predagogium,  under  Hecker,  acquired 
more  the  peculiar  character  of  a  literary  school.  In  1797,  on  the  oc- 
casion of  its  fiftieth  annivewary  festival,  it  took  the  name  of  the  Fried- 
rich  "Wilhelm's  Gymnasium;"  and,  in  the  year  1811,  it  was  finally 
separated  from  the  real  school,  in  respect  to  its  teachers  and  its  lec- 
tures.f  Long  and  hard  experience  had  at  last  brought  the  convic- 
tion that  the  previous  close  connection  of  the  two  institutions  was  a 
mesalliance,  by  which  both  lost  their  independence  of  character. 

*  It  is  characteristic  of  the  man,  that  he  was  at  the  same  time  aconsistorial  counselor  and 
high  counselor  of  public  buildings. 

t  That  is,  from  the  real  school  in  its  more  proper  sense;  the  school  of  arts  of  Silbere- 
chlac. 


t 

300  THE  REAL  SCHOOLS  OF  GERMANY. 

The  purposes  of  the  two  institutions  being  so  different,  it  was  nec- 
essary that  the  teaching  in  real  studies  in  the  gymnasium  must  be 
entirely  distinct  from  that  in  the  real  schools ;  and  the  instruction 
in  language  in  the  real  school  from  that  in  the  gymnasium.  There 
must  be  a  distinction  in  selection,  method,  and  design. 

One  observation  suggests  itself  here.  Gymnasiums  are,  as  to  their 
instruction,  really  and  clearly  distinct  universities,  in  this;  that  they 
look  only  to  the  general  education,  as  the  foundation  for  instruc- 
tion in  all  vocations,  while  the  universities  are  characterized  by  study 
in  the  faculties,  and  thus  prepare  for  the  entrance  into  real  life.  It 
was  with  justice  that  great  displeasure  was  manifested,  when,  at  the 
end  of  the  last  century,  a  master  required  that  future  jurists,  in  the 
gymnasium,  should  study,  instead  of  Tacitus  and  Virgil,  the  institu- 
tions of  Heineccius.  The  gymnasium  knows  no  professional  studies, 
and  should  know  of  none  ;  lest  it  should  forcibly  communicate,  to  im- 
mature boys,  a  professional  education  without  any  real  basis. 

Does  this  same  distinction  apply  to  real  schools  ?  was  it  not  the 
greatest  of  mistakes,  that  in  the  Berlin  school  direct  instruction  was 
given  for  miners,  farmers,  <kc.,  &c.  ? 

Such  a  purpose  was  that  of  the  excellent  Spilleke,  who  assumed 
the  direction  of  the  real  school  in  1820.*  His  opinion  was,  that  this 
school  should,  in  its  higher  classes,  "give  or  at  least  introduce  to  such 
an  education  as,  without  pretending  to  thorough  classic  studies,  should 
prepare  for  the  higher  relations  of  society ;  but  a  more  special  pre- 
paration, such  as  was  aimed  at  in  earlier  times  in  this  part  of  the 
school,  is  not  proper." 

If  we  understand  Spilleke  here,  he  suggests  new  questions.  If  the 
real  schools  must  correspond  with  the  gymnasiums,  how  must  those 
real  studies  be  organized  which  correspond  with  the  universities ;  in 
which  the  real  scholars  intend  to  finish  their  studies? 

Are  our  polytechnic  schools  and  higher  industrial  schools  true 
"real"  universities?  Do  they,  by  virtue  of  the  great  variety  of  their 
studies  in  arts  and  trades,  become  divided  into  parts  which  corres- 
pond to  the  faculties  of  the  universities?  Or  are  such  "real1'  uni- 
versities not  practicable,  and  must  thereto  a  special  school  for  each 
trade,  because  most  occupations  have  some  peculiar  elements  in  their 
life  ?  The  miner  must  ultimately  be  trained  in  the  mine,  the  sailor 
on  the  sea,  the  farmer  in  the  country;  but  all  three  can  receive  their 
general  preparatory  training  in  the  same  real  school.  And  indeed, 

•  A.  J.  Hecker  died  in  1819,  and  was  followed  by  Bernard!,  who  died  the  next  year.  After 
htm  came  Hpilleke,  who  wax  succeeded,  nfter  his  death,  in  1841,  by  F.  Ranke,  distinguished 
both  an  an  educator  and  a  man  or  learning. 


THE  REAL  SCHOOLS  OF  GERMANY.  301 

if  students  of  many  arts  and  trades  should  enjoy  primary  instruction, 
whether  carried  more  or  less  far,  should  not  this  be  followed  by  a 
purely  practical  study  and  drill  in  the  pursuit,  under  the  guidance  of 
skillful  masters ;  and  should  not  their  more  complete  artistic  or  sci- 
entific training  come  after  these  years  of  apprenticeship '? 

But  I  must  not  too  far  transgress  my  limits  as  a  historian.  When 
rector  Schottgen,  in  1742,  published  his  "Modest  proposal,"  for  making 
suitable  provision  for  the  instruction  of  children  who  are  not  to  study 
Latin,  he  hopelessly  added,  as  we  have  seen,  "My  proposal  is  already 
rejected,  before  it  has  been  brought  into  the  light."  But  encouraging 
himself,  he  went  on :  "But  yet,  if  what  is  proposed  therein  is  not  yet 
ripe,  we  will  wait  until  its  time  shall  come." 

The  old  rector  prophesied  rightly.  One  century  after  he  wrote, 
there  were,  in  the  Prussian  states  alone,  forty-two  real  institutions,  to 
one  hundred  and  twenty -six  gymnasiums. 

[To  enable  our  readers,  who  may  not  have  access  to  Bache's  "Edu- 
cation in  Europe"  or  to  Barnard's  "National  Education  m  Europe" 
we  transfer  from  the  latter  the  following  account  of  a  Real  School, 
and  Art  Institute  of  our  day,  in  Prussia,  a»  compared  with  a  Gynasiura 
of  the  highest  grade. — ED.] 

FREDERICK    WILLIAM    OVM.tASlUM    OF    BERMX. 

This  institution  dates  from  1797,  and  was  at  first  an  appendage  to  the  "  real 
school"  of  Mr,  Ilecker.  It  is  now  a  royal  institution,  and  is  independent  of  tlw? 
real  school,  except  so  far  that  it  has  the  same  director,  and  that  the  preparatory 
classes  are  in  the  real  school,  in  which,  or  in  other  equivalent  schools,  the  pupils 
are  taught  until  ten  years  of  age.  The  qualifications  for  admission  are  those  con- 
tained in  the  general  account  of  the  gymnasia.  This  gymnasium  had,  in  1837, 
four  hundred  and  thirty-seven  pupils,  divided  into  m\  classes,  and  instructed  by 
fourteen  teachers  and  six  assistants.  The  second  and  third  classes  are  subdivided 
into  two  parts,  called  upper  and  lower,  pursuing  different  courses,  and  both  divi- 
sions of  the  third  class  are  again  subdivided  into  two  others,  for  the  convenience 
of  instruction.  The  course  in  each  class  occupies  a  year,  except  in  the  firet,  which 
is  of  two  years.  Pupils  who  enter  in  the  lowest  class,  and  go  regularly  through 
the  studies,  will  thus  remain  nine  years  in  the  gymnasium.  The  numbers  of  the 
several  classes  in  1837  were,  in  the  first,  fifty -four  5  in  the  upper  second,  thirty- 
two;  lower  second,  forty-seven;  upper  third  division,  first,  or  A,  thirty-six; 
second  division,  or  B,  thirty-six ;  lower  third,  division  first,  or  A,  thirty-eight ; 
division  second,  or  B,  thirty -two ;  fourth  class,  fifty -five  ;  fifth,  fifty -seven  ;  and 
sixth,  fifty.  Each  division  averages,  therefore,  nearly  forty-four  pupils,  who  are 
at  one  time  under  the  charge  of  one  teacher.  One  hundred  and  eight  were 
admitted  during  the  year,  and  the  same  number  left  the  gymnasium ;  of  these, 
twenty-one  received  the  certificate  of  maturity  to  pass  to  the  university,  viz.,  ten 
who  intend  to  study  law,  three  medicine,  five  theology,  one  theology  and  philo- 
logy, one  philosophy,  and  one  political  economy,  finance,  &c.,  (cameralistic.)  Of 
these  all  but  five  were  two  years  in  the  first  class ;  out  of  this  number  two  were 
two  years  and  a  half  in  the  first  class,  and  three  more  had  been  in  the  gymnasium 
less  than  two  years,  having  entered  it  in  the  first  class.  The  average  age  at  leav- 
ing the  gymnasium  was  nearly  nineteen  years,  and  the  greatest  and  least,  respec- 
tively, twenty-two  and  between  sixteen  and  seventeen  years.  It  appears,  thus, 
that  ou  the  average,  the  pupils  actually  enter  at  k-n,  and  remain  nine  years,  as 
required  by  rule. 

The  subjects  of  instruction  are  Latin,  Greek,  German,  French,  religious  instruc- 


302  FREDERICK  WILLIAM  GVMNASIUM  OF  BERLIN. 

tion,  mathematics,  (including  arithmetic,  algebra,  and  geometry,)  natural  philoso- 
phy and  natural  history,  history,  geography,  writing,  drawing,  vocal  music,  and 
Hebrew  for  theologians. 

The  numbers  attached  to  the  names  of  the  different  classes,  in  the  following 
programme,  show  the  number  of  hours  of  study  per  week  in  the  regular  branches 
in  which  the  division  of  classes  takes  place.  In  like  manner,  the  numbers  attached 
to  the  several  subjects  of  study  show  how  many  hours  are  occupied  per  week  in 
each  of  the  subjects  by  the  several  classes. 

SIXTH   CLASS,   THIRTY    HOURS. 

Latin.  Inflections  of  nouns.  &c.  Comparisons.  Conjugation  of  the  indicative  moods  of 
regular  and  of  some  irregular  verbs.  Translation  from  Uliime's  elementary  book.  Exercises 
from  Illume.  Exlemporalia.  Ten  hours. 

German.  Etymology  and  syntax.  Exercises  in  writing  upon  subjects  previously  narrated. 
Exercises  in  orthography,  reading,  and  declaiming.  Four  hours. 

French.  Etymology,  to  include  the  auxiliary  verbs,  in  Herrmann's  grammar.  Oral  and 
wr.tlen  exercises.  Heading  and  translation.  Exercises  on  the  rules  from  the  grammar. 
Three  hours. 

Religion.  Bible  history  of  the  Old  Testament.  Committing  to  memory  selected  verses. 
Two  hours. 

Geography.  Delineation  of  the  outlines  of  Europe,  Africa,  Asia,  and  America,  from  deter- 
minate points  given.  Divisions  of  the  countries,  with  their  principal  cities,  rivers,  and  moun- 
tains. Two  hours. 

Arithmetic.  The  four  ground  rules,  with  denominate  whole  numbers.  Their  applications. 
Four  hours. 

Writing.  Elements  of  round  and  running  hand.  Dictation.  Writing  from  copy  slips. 
Three  hours. 

Drawing.    Exercises  in  drawing  lines.    Two  hours. 

FIFTH    CLASS,   TWENTY-KINK    HOURS. 

Latin.  Etymology.  Use  of  the  prepositions.  The  accusative  before  an  infinitive,  prac- 
ticed orally  and  in  writing,  and  extempore,  and  iu  exercises.  Translation  from  Blume's 
reader.  Ten  hours. 

German.     Parsing,  reading,  and  declamation.     Exercises  on  narrations.     Four  hours. 

French.  Etymology,  by  oral  and  written  exercises.  Easier  stories  from  Herrmann's 
reader.  Three  hours. 

lleligian.  Explanation  of  the  gospels,  according  to  St.  Matthew  and  St.  Luke.  Commit- 
lini:  to  memory  the  principal  facts.  Two  hours. 

Gtugraphy.  Review  ol  the  last  year's  course.  Rivers  and  mountains  of  Europe,  and 
chief  towns,  in  connection.  Two  hours. 

ArilhmKtic.     Review  of  the  preceding     Fractions     Four  hours. 

Writing.    Running  hand  from  copy  slips.    Two  hours. 

Drawing.    Drawing  from  bodies,  terminated  by  planes  and  straight  lines.    Two  hours. 

FOURTH    CLASS,    TWENTY-EIGHT   HOURS. 

Latin.  Review  of  etymology.  The  principal  rules  enforced  by  oral  and  written  exercises 
and  txtemporalia  Translation  from  Jacob's  reader  and  Corn.  Nepos.  Ten  hours. 

Herman.  Compositions  on  subjects  previously  read.  Declamation.  Reading  from  Ka- 
lisch's  reader.  Parsing.  Three  hours. 

French.  Review  of  etymology.  Irregular  verbs.  Reciprocal  verbs.  Anecdotes  and  nar- 
rations from  Herrmann's  grammar,  and  committing  the  principal  to  memory.  Two  hours. 

Religion.  Gospel,  according  to  St.  Matthew,  explained.  Verses  and  psalms  committed  to 
memory.  Two  hours. 

Geography.  Political  geography  of  Germany,  and  of  the  rest  of  Europe.  Review  of  the 
geography  of  the  other  parts  of  the  world.  Three  hours. 

Arithmetic.  Review  of  fractions.  Simple  and  compound  proportion.  Partnership. 
S.mple  interest.  Three  hours. 

Geometry.    Knowledge  of  forms,  treated  inductively.    One  hour. 

Writing.    Running  hand,  from  copy  slips.    Two  hours. 

Dratting.     from  bodies  bounded  by  curved  lines.    Two  hours. 

LOWER   THIRD   CLASS,   THIRTY    HOURS. 

Latin.  Syntax.  Rules  of  cases  from  Zumpt.  Exercises  and  extemporalia.  Inflections 
formerly  learned  reviewed.  Cornelius  Nepos  Eight  hours. 

Greek.  Etymology,  from  Ituttmann's  grammar  to  regular  verbs,  included.  Translation 
from  Greek  into  German  from  Jacob's,  from  German  into  Greek  from  Hess's  exercises. 
S.x  hours. 

German.     Compositions  in  narration  and  description.     Declamation.    Two  hours. 

French.  Ri  petition  of  inflections,  and  exercises  by  extemporalia  and  in  writing.  Trans- 
lation of  the  fables  from  Ili-rrmaiin's  reading  book,  2d  course.  Two  hours 

Religion.    Morals,  and  Christian  faith.    Two  hours. 

Geography.     Physical  geography     Europe  and  the  other  parts  of  the  world.    Two  hours 

Hislnry.     <;•  in  r.ii  view  of  aiic.ent  and  modern  history.     Two  hours. 

Mathematics.  Legeudre'sgeometry,  book  1.  Decimals.  Algebra.  Square  ami  cube  root. 
Four  hours. 

Draieing.     Introduction  to  landscape  drawing.    Two  hours. 

rPPKR   THIRD   CLASS,   THIRTY    HOURS. 

Latin.  DM  tion  I.  8vnlax.  from  Zumpt.  Review  of  the  preceding  course.  Oral  exer- 
cises iu  construction  of  sentences.  Written  exerci*es  and  extemporulia.  Cwear  Bell.  Gall 


FREDERICK  WILLIAM  GYMNASIUM  OF  BERLIN.  393 

books  1.2,  and  7,  in  part.  Ovid's  Metamorphoses,  extracts  from  books  7  and  6.  Prosody, 
rules  from  Zumpl.  Ten  hours. 

Ureek.  Uieisiun  1.  Etymology,  from  Butlmann's  grammar.  Oral  and  wr, lien  exercise* 
and  exit  niporaha.  Jacob's  reader.  Six  hours. 

(i-,man  Examination  of  exercises  on  hiblorical  subjects.  Pott.cal  seltctions  for  dtcla- 
mat  ion.  Two  hours. 

t-'rrnch.    Exercists  in  translation.     Written  exercises.     Extemporal  a.    Two  hours. 

Religion.  Principal  passages  from  the  gospels  gone  over.  General  view  ol  the  Old  Testa- 
in.  in  writings  Two  hours. 


LOWER   SECOND   CLASS,    THIRTY-ONE    HOURS. 

Latin.  Extracts  from  Livy  and  Cccsar  de  Hell.  Civ.  Review  of  Bell.  Gall.,  books  2  and 
3.  Synmx.  Exercises  and  extemporaha.  Committing  to  memory  exercises  Irom  Livy  and 
'.'. ,'-.,!•  Ovid  s  Metamorphoses,  books  11  to  14.  Eight  hours. 

</,'•/.-.  Homer's  Odys.,  11,  12,  13,  and  14.  Exercises  on  the  dialects.  Xenophon's  Anab. 
1.  2.  and  part  of  3.  Excerpts  from  the  grammar  reviewed.  Exercises  and  exltmporaha. 
Syntax.  S  .\  hours. 

Hebrew.  Grammar,  ending  with  irregular  vtrbs.  Easier  parts  of  historical  books  of 
Scr  jnure  translated.  Vocabulary  learned  by  rote.  Exercises  011  regular  and  irregular  verb? 
out  01  the  recitation  room.  Two  hours. 

Herman.    Correction  of  written  exercises  and  essays.    Exercises  on  delivery.     Two  hours 

t'retich.    Voltaire's  ('harks  XII.    Exercises  and  extemporaha.    Two  hours. 

Religion  Explanation  of  the  princ.pal  parts  of  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  with  hi.slor.cul 
sketches,  and  a  view  of  the  life  of  early  Christian  communities.  Two  hours. 

Histury.  Roman  history,  from  the  Punic  Wars.  History  of  the  middle  ages  concluded. 
General  view  oi  history.  Three  hours. 

Mathematics.  Geometry  to  proportions  and  simple  figures.  Elements  of  algebra.  Loga- 
r.lhins.  Four  hours. 

Natural  Iliatary.    Mineralogy.    Botany,  especially  of  native  plants.    Two  hours. 

UPPER   SECOND   CLASS,   THIRTY-TWO    HOURS. 

Latin.  Cicero's  Orations,  pro.  Rose.  Amer.,  de  Ainic..  de  Seneclute.  Livy,  books  22  to 
20,  inclusive.  Virgil's  jEneid,  books  I  and  2.  Some  eclogues  and  excerpts  irom  Georg.cs. 
txercises  and  extemporaha.  Ninehours. 

Ureek.  Homer's  Iliad,  books  4  to  11,  inclusive.  Arrian  Alex,  expedition,  books  1  and  ii. 
Hun  MI  mifs  grammar,  with  exercises  and  extemporaha.  Six  hours. 

ll-i'i'ir.  Books  of  Judges  and  of  Ruth,  with  exercises  of  syntax.  Easy  exercises,  anil 
coinm.ttiug  vocabulary  to  memory  out  of  the  class-room.  Two  hours. 

Uennan.     Essays.     Delivery.    Two  hours. 

}-'reiich.t  Excerpts  from  Herrmann  and  Briichner's  manual  of  the  more  recent  French 
litt-rainre.  Two  hours. 

Itr.ligiun.     Christian  faith  and  morals.    Two  hours. 

Histury.    Rev.ew  of  ancient  history  and  geography,  using  the  Latin  language.    Three  hours. 

Mathematics.  Arithmetical  geometry  and  plane  trigonometry.  Algebraic  exercises.  Poly- 
gons Stereometry.  S.mple  and  quadratic  equations.  Four  hours. 

Physics.    General  physics.    Electr.city  and  magnetism.    Two  hours. 

FIRST   CLASS,    THIRTY-ONE    HOURS. 

Latin.  Horace's  Odes,  books  3  and  4.  Cicero  against  Verres.  Tacitus,  Annals,  books  11 
and  12.  and  extracts  from  3  to  6.  Cicero,  Tusc.  quest.  Extempore  translations  from  Ger- 
man into  Latin.  Exercises.  Declamation.  Eight  hours. 

Greek.  Homers  Iliad,  book  16,  Odyssey,  books  9  to  16,  inclusive.  Hippias  Major,  Char- 
m.des,  and  Gorsias  of  Plato,  (excerpts.)  Sophocles'  Ed:p.  tyr.  and  Antigone.  Grammatical 
exercises.  Buttmann's  grammar.  Six  hours. 

Ililunr.  Second  book  of  Kaigs.  Genesis.  Psalms,  61  to  100.  Grammatical  criticisms 
of  hislor.cal  exct  rpls,  or  of  psalms,  as  an  exercise  at  home.  Two  hours. 

German.  Criticism  of  compositions.  General  grammar,  and  history  of  the  German  gram- 
mar and  literature.  One  hour. 

French.    Selections  irom  Scribe  and  Delavigne.    Exercises  and  extemporalia     Two  hours. 

Religiun.    History  of  the  Christian  church,  to  the  times  of  Gregory  VII.    Two  hours. 

Hintury.    Modern  history,  and  review.    Three  hours. 

Miilheinalici.  Plane  trigonometry  and  application  of  algtbra  to  geometry.  Algebra. 
Mensuration  and  runic  sect. ons.  Binomial  theorem.  Exponential  and  trigon.  functions. 
Four  hours 

Physics.    Physical  geography.    Mechanics.    Two  hours 

Phtlvsuphy.     Propaedeutics.     Logic.     One  hour. 


and  all  the  pupils  do  not,  ol  course,  take  part  in  this  stage  of  the  instruction.  The  course 
of  four  hours  jur  week,  two  lor  soprano  and  alto,  one  lor  tenor  and  buss,  and  one  lor  tl 
union  of  the  four  parts.  The  proficiency  is  ind  caled  by  the  fact,  that  the  pupils  perlon 
Very  creditably  such  coinpos.tious  as  Haydn's  -  Crtat.on  "  and  Handel's  "  M. s=i?h." 


304  FREDERICK  WILLIAM  GYMNASIUM  OP  BERLIN. 

The  cxtcmporalia  spoken  of  in  tlic  courses  of  language,  consist  of  written 
translations  inudc  on  the  spot  by  the  pupils  into  a  foreign  language,  of  sentences 
spoken  in  the  vernacular  by  the  teacher.  These  sentences  are,  of  course,  adapted 
to  the  progress  of  the  pupil,  and  are  prepared  beforehand  by  the  teacher  who 
renders  them,  especially  in  the  early  purts  of  the  course,  the  application  of  the 
rules  of  grammar  on  which  the  pupil  is  engaged,  or  of  peculiarities  of  idiom  to 
which  his  attention  is  called. 

In  the  classical  course,  the  oral  and  written  exercises  are  varied  in  their  relative 
proportions  to  euch  other.  The  translation  from  Latin  or  Greek  into  German, 
and  vice  versa,  the  grammatical  exercises,  Latin  compositions  or  essays,  the  ex- 
U'liipornlia  before  explained,  the  practice  in  versification,  &c.,  arc  varied  in  amount 
in  the  different  classes,  according  to  the  views  of  the  instructor. 

One  characteristic  difference  between  the  classical  instruction  in  the  higher 
classes  and  in  those  of  similar  schools  in  England  and  our  country,  is  that,  in  gen- 
eral, it  supposes  the  grammatical  minutia?  to  have  been  fully  impressed  in  the 
lower  classes,  and  discusses  philological  questions,  varieties  of  reading  and  collate- 
ral subjects  of  antiquities,  history,  biography,  and  geography.  The  students 
receive  much  oral  instruction,  which  they  are  required  to  record.  The  same  is 
the  practice  to  even  a  greater  extent  in  the  other  departments  of  instruction,  and 
the  students  thus  acquire  a  facility  in  taking  notes  which  they  turn  to  good 
account  in  the  university  lectures,  and  which  strikes  a  stranger  with  surprise  on 
first  witnessing  it. 

Most  of  the  pupils  in  this  class  of  schools  begin  their  classical  course  at  nine  or 
ten  years  of  age,  and  yet,  judging  by  the  progress  shown  in  the  programme  of 
the  first  class,  and  by  the  scholars  which  the  universities  of  northern  Germany 
turn  out,  and  which  are,  in  fact,  formed  in  the  gymnasia,  the  proficiency  is  all 
that  can  be  desired.  It  is  what  a  youth  of  nineteen  issuing  from  one  of  our  col- 
leges would  be  proud  of,  and  clearly  proves  that  the  classics  are  not  begun  too 
late. 

The  mother  tongue  and  French  are  both  taught  in  these  institutions,  in  combi- 
nation with  the  classical  studies.  These  languages  are  not  merely  entered  upon 
the  programme,  but  are  actually  more  or  less  thoroughly  taught,  according  to  the 
time  which  is  allotted  and  the  skill  of  the  teacher.  The  course  of  German  would 
seem  calculated  to  make  both  writers  and  speakers,  and,  probably,  if  the  demand 
for  the  latter  were  equal  to  that  of  the  former,  this  would  prove  true  in  the  latter 
case,  as  it  docs  in  the  former. 

The  religious  characteristic  of  these  schools  is  a  striking  one,  and  important  in 
its  effects.  The  Bible  is  taught  rather  than  a  particular  creed,  though  from  the 
fnct  that  the  pupils  are  nearly  all  of  one  creed,  this  forbearance  is  not  essential, 
and  is  not  always  exercised.  The  separation  of  religious  from  other  instruction 
can  but  have  a  most  injurious  tendency,  and  their  connection,  as  in  these  schools, 
on  the  contrary,  a  happy  influence.  Religious  knowledge  is  classed  with  the 
sciences  in  the  formal  division  of  the  subjects  of  study. 

Hie  courses  of  physics  of  the  Frederick  William  gymnasium  are  exceedingly 
well  calculated  to  fullfil  their  object,  to  give  general  ideas  of  natural  phenomena, 
without  going  into  what  may  be  considered  technical  minutice  ;  in  the  latter  school 
physics  is  connected  with  an  excellent  course  of  physical  geography.  It  seems  to 
me  doubtful  whether,  in  the  natural  history  course,  more  than  a  general  outline 
of  the  subject,  is  necessary,  with  the  prosecution,  practically,  of  such  branches  as 
the  locality  of  the  institution  may  render  applicable  for  improving  the  habits  of 
observation  and  discrimination.  The  scientific  details  of  the  different  branches 
belong  rather  to  special  purposes  of  study  than  to  general  education.  The  expe- 
rience of  these  institutions  may,  however,  be  appealed  to  as  proving  the  entire 
compatibility  of  such  instruction  with  an  otherwise  sound  system,  and  the  .entire 
possibility  of  accomplishing  it  without  neglecting  other  more  important  branches. 

Drawing  and  vocul  music,  which  form  parts  of  the  regular  courses  of  all  these 
institutions,  have  not  yet  found  their  way  into  the  systems  of  other  nations  on  the 
same  footing  with  the  regular  studies.  As  a  part  of  physical  training,  they  nre  im- 
portant, nnd  as  oflVring  a  relief  from  severer  pursuits,  further  re-commend  them- 
selves in  this  connection. 


ROY\L  REAL  SCHOOL  OF  BERLIN.  395 

The  Frederick  William  Gymnasium  is  regarded  by  Dr.  Bache  us  a 
fair  specimen  of  this  class  of  schools  in  Prussia ;  in  the  organization  and 
instruction  of  which  a  good  degree  of  liberty  is  tolerated  by  the  govern- 
ment, to  enable  them  the  better  to  meet  the  peculiar  circumstances  of 
each  province,  and  the  peculiar  views  of  each  director. 

The  Royal  Real  School,  and  City  Trade  School  of  Berlin,  furnish  a 
course  of  instruction  of  the  same  general  value  for  mental  discipline,  but 
better  calculated  for  that  class  of  pupils  who  are  destined  in  life,  not  for 
what  are  designated  as  the  learned  profession,  but  for  tradesmen  and  me- 
chanics. There  is  less  of  verbal  knowledge  but  more  of  mathematics 
and  their  application  to  the  arts  ;  and  the  whole  is  so  arranged  as  to  fa- 
cilitate the  acquisition  of  those  mental  habits  which  are  favorable  to 
the  highest  practical  success. 

ROYAL  REAL  SCHOOL  OF  BERLIN. 

The  Royal  Real  School  of  Berlin  was  founded  as  early  as  1747,  by  Counsellor 
Ileckt-r.  At  the  period  in  which  this  school  was  founded,  Latin  and  Greek  were 
t!u  exclusive  objects  of  study  in  the  learned  schools,  and  the  avowed  purpose  of 
th  8  establishment  was  that  "not  mere  words  should  be  taught  to  the  pupils,  but 
roul.ties,  explanations  being  made  to  them  from  nature,  from  models  and  plans, 
an  I  of  subjects  calculated  to  be  useful  in  after-life."  Hence  the  school  was  called 
a  "  real  school,"  and  preserves  this  name,  indicative  of  the  great  educational 
reform  which  it  was  intended  to  promote,  and  the  success  of  which  has  been, 
though  slow,  most  certain. 

Tli--  successor  of  Hecker,  in  1769,  divided  this  flourishing  school  into  three  de- 
p.ii-t-iients,  the  pedagogium,  or  learned  school,  the  school  of  arts,  and  the  German 
sch'i  V. :  the  whole  establishment  still  retaining  the  title  of  real  school.  The  first 
nitu.'d  department  was  subsequently  separated  from  the  others,  constituting  the 
Fiv.k-rick  William  gymnasium ;  the  school  of  arts,  and  the  German,  or  elemen- 
t  try  school,  .remain  combined  under  the  title  qf  the  royal  real  school.  The  same 
dir.-etor,  however,  still  presides  over  the  gymnasium  and  the  real  school. 

Tli.t  question  has  been  much  agitated,  whether  the  modern  languages  should  be 
c  insidered  in  these  schools  as  the  substitutes  for  the  ancient  in  intellectual  educa- 
t  on.  or  whether  mathematics  and  its  kindred  branches  should  be  regarded  in  this 
l.ght.  Whether  the  original  principle  of  the  "  realities"  on  which  the  schools 
wer\.-  founded,  was  to  be  adhered  to,  or  the  still  older  of  verbal  knowledge,  only 
w.th  a  change  of  languages,  to  be  substituted  for  it.  In  this  school  the  languages 
will  be  found  at  present  to  occupy  a  large  share  of  attention,  while  in  the  similar 
in*t  tution,  a  description  of  which  follows  this,  the  sciences  have  the  pre- 
p  Hi  teranee. 

In  the- royal  real  school  the  branches  of  instruction  are — religion,  Latin,  French, 
English,  German,  physics,  natural  history,  chemistry,  history,  geography,  draw- 
in?,  writing,  and  vocal  music.  The  Latin  is  retained  as  practically  useful  in  some 
branches  of  trade,  as  in  pharmacy,  as  aiding  in  the  nomenclature  of  natural  his- 
tory, and  as  preventing  a  separation  in  the  classes  of  this  school  and  that  of  the 
gytmiiisium,  which  would  debar  the  pupils  from  passing  from  the  former  to  the 
1  itt  T  in  the  upper  classes.  It  must  be  admitted  that,  for  all  purposes  but  the  last, 
it  occupies  an  unnecessary  degree  of  attention,  especially  in  the  middle  classes. 

Th:-  following  table  shows  the  distribution  of  time  among  the  courses.  There 
are  seven  classes  in  numerical  order,  but  ten,  in  fact,  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth 
b.'ing  divided  into  two ;  the  lower  fourth  is  again,  on  account  of  its  numbers,  sub- 
divided into  two  parallel  sections.  Of  these,  the  seventh,  sixth,  and  fifth  are  ele- 
mentary classes,  the  pupils  entering  the  seventh  at  between  five  and  seven  years  of 
age.  In  the  annexed  table  the  number  of  hours  of  recitation  per  week  of  each 
class  in  the  several  subjects  is  stated,  and  the  vertical  column  separating  the  ele- 
mentary classes  from  the  others,  contains  the  sum  of  the  hours  devoted  to  each 
branch  in  the  higher  classes,  excluding  the  lower  section  of  the  fourth  class, 
which  has  not  a  distinct  course  from  that  of  the  other  division. 

T 


306 


ROYAL  REAL  SCHOOL  OF  BERLIN. 


TABLE  SHOWING  THE  NUMBER  OF  HOURS  OF  RECITATION    PER  WEEK,  OF  EACH  CLASS, 
IN  TUP.  SUBJECTS  TAUGHT  IN  THE  ROVAL  REAL  SCHOOL  OF  BERLIN. 


teuton  or  STUDY. 

First  Class. 

« 

u 

— 
I 

Third  Class,  A. 

Third  Class,  B. 

Fourth  Class,  A. 

Fourth  Class,  B.  I.  > 
Fourth  Class,  B.  II.  J 

Sum  of  the  hours  in  the 
seven  upper  classes. 

Fifth  Class,  A. 

K 

| 

0 

£ 

S 

5 

8 

3 
3 

2 
2 

4 

| 

B 

€ 
'. 
m 

10 

2 
6 

2 
2 

6 

i 

c 

• 

i 

10 

2 

6 

8 

Proportion  of  other 
studies  to  German 
in  the 

CO 

H 

71 
•• 

1 

£  5 

if 

s  . 

n* 
°B!? 

il 
C£ 

?* 

12 
il 

L»ltin        

4 
4 
2 
3 

2 
6 
3 
2 
2 

3 

2 
2 

•1 
4 
S 
3 

2 
6 
2 
2 
2 

3 

2 
4 

4 
4 
2 
3 

2 
5 
2 
2 
2 

3 
2 
3 

5 
S 

4 

2 
6 
2 
2 
2 
3 
2 

2 
2 

6 
3 

3 

2 

7 

3 
2 

2 
2 
2 

5 
4 

4 

2 
6 

3 

2 

2 
2 
2 

6 
4 

4 

2 

4 

3 
2 

2 
2 
S 

28 
22 
6 
20 

12 
35 
9 
8 
8 
9 
15 

12 
4 
15 

4 

s 

2 
4 

2 
2 

4 

1.4 
1.1 
0.3 
1.0 

0.6 
1.7 
0.4 
0.4 
0.4 
0.4 
0.7 

0.6 
0.2 
0.7 

2.9 
0.7 

0.8 

0.6 
1.1 
O.lt 
0.2f 

0.5 
0.3 

0.4 
0.3 
0.6 

3 

0.9 

1.0 

0.8 
1.6 
0.1 
0.2 

0.5 
0.7 

0.4 
0.3 
0.6 

French    

German    

Religion.  

Mathematics,*  .... 
Natural  History,  .  . 
Physics,  

Chemistry,    

GeoerraDhv.  . 

History,  

Drawing  .  , 

Writing,  

Sin<rinop.  .  . 

Total,  

36 

;5c, 

35 

35 

::-,> 

32 

32 

•J« 

-Jf, 

-,'r, 

26 

Pupils  who  enter  this  school  between  five  and  seven  years  of  age,  and  go  regu- 
larly through  the  elementary  classes,  are  prepared  at  ten  to  pass  to  its  higher 
classes,  or  to  enter  the  lowest  of  the  gymnasium.  It  is  thus  after  the  fifth  class 
that  a  comparison  of  the  two  institutions  must  begin.  The  studies  of  the  real 
sch(K)l  proper,  and  of  the  gymnasium,  have  exactly  the  same  elementary  basis, 
and  they  remain  so  far  parallel  to  each  other  that  a  pupil,  by  taking  extra  instruc- 
tion in  Greek,  may  pass  from  the  lower  third  class  of  the  former  to  the  lower  third 
of  the'  latter.  This  fact  alone  is  sufficient  to  show  that  the  real  schools  must  be 
institutions  for  secondary  instruction,  since  the  pupils  have  yet  three  classes  to  pass 
through  after  reaching  the  point  just  referred  to.  It  serves  also  to  separate  the 
real  schools  from  the  higher  burgher  schools,  since  the  extreme  limit  of  the 
courses  of  the  latter,  with  the  same  assistance  in  regard  to  Greek,  only  enables 
thj  pupil  to  reach  the  lower  third  class  of  the  gymnasium.  In  general,  a  pupil 
would  terminate  his  studies  in  the  real  school  at  between  sixteen  and  eighteen 
years  of  age.  The  difference  between  the  subjects  of  instruction  in  the  real 
school  and  the  Frederick  William  gymnasium,  consists  in  the  omission  in  the 
former  of  Greek,  Hebrew,  and  philosophy,  and  the  introduction  of  English  and 
chemistry.  The  relative  proportions  of  time  occupied  in  the  same  subjects  in  the 
two  schools,  will  be  seen  by  comparing  the  two  columns  next  on  the  right  of  the 
niiiiiliiTs  for  the  seventh  class,  in  the  table  just  given.  The  first  of  these  columns 
contains  the  proportion  of  the  number  of  hours  per  week  devoted  to  the  different 
subjects  in  the  six  classes  of  the  real  school  above  the  elementary,  the  number  of 
hours  devoted  to  the  German  being  taken  as  unity ;  and  the  second,  the  same 
proportion  for  six  classes  of  the  gymnasium,  beginning  with  the  lowest,  the  same 
lumber  of  hours  being  taken  as  the  unit,  as  in  the  preceding  column.  To  bring 
the  natural  history  and  physics  into  comparison,  I  have  taken  the  numbers  for  the 

•  Including  arithmetic.  Ri-omeiry.  algebra,  ami  trigonometry, 
t  TlieHf  numbers  include  the  t  Wire  course. 


ROYAL  REAL  SCHOOL  OF  BERLIN.  30? 

upper  classes  of  the  gymnasium  in  which  these  branches  are  taught.  Of  the 
courses  common  to  the  two  schools,  those  to  which  nearly  equal  attention  if  paid 
in  both  institutions,  are — the  religious  instruction,  the  German,  geography  and 
history,  writing,  and  vocal  music.  The  French,  mathematics,  physics,  and  nat- 
ural history,  predominate  in  the  real  school,  the  Latin  in  the  gymnasium.  The 
effect  of  reckoning  the  first,  second,  and  upper  third  classes  of  the  gymnasium, 
docs  not  materially  change  the  proportionate  numbers  of  the  eours**  which  are 
common  to  the  two  schools,  except  as  to  Latin  and  mathematics.  To  show  this, 
the  column  on  the  extreme  right  of  the  table  is  introduced,  containing  the  pro- 
portions for  all  the  nine  classes  of  the  Frederick  William  gymnasium. 

There  were,  in  1838,  five  hundred  and  ten  pupils  in  this  real  school,  under  the 
charge  of  fourteen  regular  or  class  masters,  teaching  several  subjects  in  the  lower 
classes,  and  of  six  other  teachers.  Each  of  the  eleven  class  divisions  thus  aver- 
ages about  forty-six,  who  are  under  the  cliarge  of  one  teacher  at  a  time. 

The  elementary  course  in  the  real  school  is  similar  to  that  described  in  the 
burgher  schools,  beginning  with  the  phonic  method  of  reading,  the  explanations 
of  all  the  words  and  sentences  being  required  at  the  same  time  that  the  mechani- 
cal part  of  reading  is  learned.  Written  and  mental  arithmetic  are  taught  together 
in  the  lowest  class.  The  religious  instruction  consists  of  Bible  stories  adapted  to 
their  age ;  and  verses  are  committed  to  improve  the  memory  of  words.  The  ex- 
ercises of  induction  are  practiced,  but  in  a  way  not  equal  to  that  with  objects, 
introduced  by  Dr.  Mayo  in  England.  Some  of  the  pupils  are  able  to  enter  the 
gymnasium  after  going  through  the  two  lowest  classes. 

In  regard  to  the  real  classes  proper,  as  I  propose  to  enter  into  the  particulars  of 
the  course  of  study  of  the  trade  school,  I  shall  here  merely  make  a  few  remarks 
upon  two  of  the  branches  studied  in  them,  namely,  French  and  drawing.  The 
remarks  in  regard  to  the  French  will  serve  to  show  how  great  a  latitude 
a  teacher  is  allowed  in  the  arrangement  of  his  methods,  the  result  of  which 
is,  that  those  who  have  talent  are  interested  in  improving  their  art  by  observation 
and  experiment.  The  French  teacher  to  whom  I  allude  had  been  able  to  secure 
the  speaking,  as  well  as  the  reading,  of  French  from  his  pupils.  From  the  very 
beginning  of  the  course  this  had  been  a  point  attended  to,  and  translation  from 
French  into  German  had  been  accompanied  by  that  from  German  into  French : 
the  conversation  on  the  business  of  the  class-room  was  in  French.  The  pupils 
were  exercised  especially  in  the  idioms  of  the  language  in  short  extempore  sen- 
tences, and  the  differences  of  structure  of  the  French  and  their  own  language 
were  often  brought  before  them,  and  the  difficulties  resulting  from  them  antici- 
pated. Difficult  words  and  sentences  were  noted  by  the  pupils.  Declamation 
was  practiced  to  encourage  a  habit  of  distinct  and  deliberate  speaking,  and  to 
secure  a  correct  pronunciation.  The  chief  burthen  of  the  instruction  was  oral. 
Without  the  stimulus  of  change  of  places,  the  classes  under  this  gentleman's  in- 
struction were  entirely  alive  to  the  instruction,  and  apparently  earnestly  engaged 
in  the  performance  of  a  duty  which  interested  them.  If  such  methods  should 
fail  in  communicating  a  greater  amount  of  knowledge  than  less  lively  ones,  which 
I  belive  can  not  be  the  case,  they  will  serve,  at  least,  to  break  down  habits  of  in- 
tellectual sloth  to  promote  mental  activity,  the  great  aim  of  intellectual  education. 

The  drawing  department  of  this  school  is  superintended  by  a  teacher  who  has 
introduced  a  new  method  of  instruction,  particularly  adapted  to  the  purpose  for 
which  drawing  is  to  be  applied  in  common  life  and  in  the  arts ;  a  method  which 
is  found  to  enable  a  much  larger  proportion  of  the  pupils  to  make  adequate  pro- 
gress than  the  ordinary  one  of  copying  from  drawings.*  In  this  method  the  pupil 
begins  by  drawing  from  simple  geometrical  forms,  those  selected  being  obtained 
from  models  in  wood  or  plaster,  of  a  square  pillar,t  a  niche,  and  a  low  cylinder, 
(the  form  of  a  mill-stone.)  The  square  pillar  separates  in  joints,  affording  a  cube 
and  parallelepipeds  of  different  heights.  The  hemisphere  which  caps  the  niche 
may  be  removed,  leaving  the  concave  surface  of  its  cylindrical  part.  The  exer- 
cises of  the  pupil  ran  thus :  First,  to  place  upon  a  board,  or  upon  his  paper  or 

*  Mr.  Peter  Schmidt,  who  now.  in  his  old  age.  lias  received  from  the  government  a  pension 
in  n  turn  for  the  introduction  of  his  method,  and  the  instruction  in  it  of  a  certain  number  of 
teachers. 

*  Seven  and  a  half  inches  high,  and  one  inch  and  a  hall  in  ....  — .  _-re  section. 


308  CITY  TRADE  SCHOOL. 

slate,  a  point  vertically  nbove  another,  or  so  that  the  linos  joining  the  two  shall 
be  parallel  to  the  right  or  left  hand  edge  of  the  board,  paper,  or  slate.  Second, 
to  join  them.  Third,  to  place  a  point  horizontally  from  the  second,  and  at  a  dis- 
tance equal  to  that  between  the  first  and  second  points.  Fourth,  to  place  one 
vertically  over  the  third,  and  at  a  distance  equal  to  that  below  the  first,  and  to 
join  the  "third  and  fourth.  The  first  and  fourth  being  then  joined,  a  square  is 
fornied.  After  practice  in  this,  the  simple  elevation  of  the  cube  is  drawn.  Next, 
a  perspective,  by  the  use  of  a  small  frame  and  silk  threads,  such  as  is  common  in 
teaching  the  elements  of  this  subject,  and  by  means  of  which  the  pupil  acquires 
readily  a  knowledge  of  the  practice.  The  drawing  of  lines  in  various  positions, 
and  with  various  proportions,  terminates  this  division  of  the  subject.  The  niche 
and  cylinder  afford  a  similarly  graduated  series  of  lessons  on  the  drawing  of  curved 
lines,  and  the  drawing  of  lines  of  different  degrees  of  strength  and  of  shadows  is 
introduced.  This  is  accompanied  with  some  of  the  more  simple  rules  of  shadow 
and  shade.  More  difficult  exercises  of  perspective  follow  from  natural  object* 
and  from  works  of  art  or  mechanism,  according  to  the  direction  to  the  pupil's  at- 
tainments and  the  amount  of  taste  which  he  displays.  This  method  of  teaching 
has  been  introduced  quite  generally  in  Prussia,  and  with  the  best  results  as  to  the 
formation  of  accuracy  of  eye  and  of  hand. 

C1TT   TRADE    SCHOOL. 

The  City  Trade  School  was  founded  to  give  a  more  appropriate  education  for 
the  mechanic  arts  and  higher  trades  than  can  be  had  through  the  courses  of  clas- 
sical schools.  It  is  a  great  point  gained,  when  the  principal  is  admitted  that  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  education  are  suited  to  different  objects  in  life  ;  and  snch  an  ad- 
mission belongs  to  an  advanced  stage  of  education.  As  a  consequence  of  a  gen- 
eral sentiment  of  this  kind,  numerous  schools  for  the  appropriate  instruction  of 
those  not  intended  for  the  learned  professions  grow  up  by  the  side  of  the  others. 

The  city  of  Berlin  is  the  patron  of  the  trade  school  which  I  am  about  to  notice, 
as  the  king  is  of  the  real  school  already  spoken  of.  Its  stability  is  thus  secured, 
but  the  means  of  furnishing  it  with  the  necessary  materials  for  instruction  are 
liberally  provided.*  The  trade  school  is  a  day  school,  and  consists  of  five  classes, 
of  which  the  lowest  is  on  the  same  grade  as  to  age  and  qualification  at  admission, 
as  the  fourth  class  of  a  gymnasium.  It  is  assumed  that  at  twelve  years  of  age  it 
will  have  been  decided  whether  a  youth  is  to  enter  one  of  the  learned  professions, 
or  to  follow  a  mechanical  employment,  or  to  engage  in  trade,  but  the  higher  classes 
are  not  closed  against  pupils.-  Of  the  five  classes,  four  are  considered  necessary 
for  certain  pursuits  and  the  whole  five  for  others ;  the  courses  of  all  but  the  first 
class  last  one  year,  that  of  the  first,  two  years,  a  youth  leaving  the  school  at  from 
1 6  to  17  or  18  years  of  age,  according  to  circumstances.  During  the  year  1836-7, 
the  number  of  pupils  in  the  several  classes  were,  in  the  first  class,  eleven  ;  in  the 
second,  twenty-nine  ;  in  the  upper  third,  forty-three;  in  the  lower  third,  fifty- 
two  ;  in  the  fourth,  fifty ;  total,  one  hundred  and  eighty-five ;  from  which  num- 
bers it  appears  that  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  pupils  leave  the  school  without 
entering  the  first  class.  The  numberof  teachers  is  nineteen,  five  being  regular  or 
class  teachers,  and  fourteen  assistants.  The  director  gives  instruction. 

The  following  list  of  the  callings  to  which  pupils  from  this  school  have  gone  on 
leaving  it,  will  show  that  it  is  really  what  it  professes  to  be,  a  school  for  the  in- 
struction of  those  who  intend  to  follow  occupations  connected  with  "  commerce, 
the  useful  arts,  higher  trades,  building,  mining,  forestry,  agriculture,  and  military 
life ;"  and  further,  that  its  advantages  are  appreciated  by  the  class  for  whom  it  is 
intended.  The  list  includes  the  pupils  who  have  left  the  school  from  the  first  and 
second  classes,  in  the  years  1830, 1832, 1833  and  1837.  From  the  first  class,  two 
teachers,  five  architects,  one  chemist,  twenty-six  merchants,  one  machinest,  two 
calico-printers,  two  glass-workers,  one  cloth  manufacturer,  one  silk  manufacturer, 
one  miner,  thirteen  agriculturalists,  eight  apothecaries,  two  gardeners,  one  painter, 
one  mason,  one  carpenter,  one  tanner,  one  miller,  one  baker,  one  potter,  one 
•addler,  one  soap-boiler,  one  cabinet-maker,  two  soldiers,  one  musician,  five  to 

•  The  present  director  of  r»>'«-  ~-hool.  Mr.  Kloden,  tras  formryly  director  of  the  hither 
burgher  school  at  Puisuam,  ana  i*  one  of  the  mod  distinguished  teachers  in  his  line  in  Persia 


CITY  TRADE  SCHOOL  IN  BERLIN.  309 

public  offices,  one  to  the  trade  institution,  six  to  gymnasium.  From  the  second 
class,  forty-one  merchants,  one  teacher,  one  chemist,  ope  machines!,  one  ship-car- 
penter, nine  agriculturist,  one  sugar-refiner,  three  dyers,  one  tanner,  one  brewer, 
two  distillers,  one  miner,  two  lithographers,  one  dye-sinker,  three  apothecaries, 
one  dentist,  two  painters,  two  gardeners,  three  masons,  five  carpenters,  one  miller, 
four  bakers,  one  butcher,  one  to  the  trade  institution,  three  to  public  offices,  two 
to  a  gymnasium,  one  musician,  one  veterinary  surgeon,  one  soldier,  being  ninety 
from  the  first  class,  and  ninety-seven  from  the  second,  in  the  period  of  four  years. 

In  the  course  of  instruction,  the  sciences  and  kindred  branches  are  mode  the 
basis,  and  the  modern  languages  are  employed  as  auxiliaries,  the  ancient  languages 
being  entirely  omitted.  The  subjects  embraced  in  it  are  —  religious  instruction, 
German,  French,  English,  geography,  history,  mathematics,  physics,  chemistry, 
technology,  natural  history,  writing,  drawing,  and  vocal  music. 

The  courses  are  fully  laid  down  in  the  following  list,  beginning  with  the  studies 
of  the  lowest  or  fourth  class. 

FOURTH   CLASS. 

Religious  Instruction*  The  gospel  according  to  St.  Luke,  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostle* 
explained,  with  a  catechetical  development  of  the  truths  of  religion  and  ethical  applications. 
Two  hours  per  week. 

German.    Grammatical  exercises  in  writing.    Recital  of  poetical  pieces. 

French.  Grammatical  exercises.  Regular  ami  irregular  verbs.  Reading  from  Lauren'* 
Reader.  One  hour  of  conversation.  Four  hours. 

Arithmetic.  Mental  and  written,  including  proportions  and  fractions,  with  the  theory  of 
the  operations.  Four  hours. 

Geometry.    Introductory  course  of  forms.    Two  hours. 

Geography.    Elementary,  mathematical,  and  physical  geography.    Two  hours. 

Natural  History.  In  the  summer  term,  elements  of  botany,  with  excursions.  In  the  win- 
ter. the  external  characters  of  animals.  Two  hours. 

Physic*.  Introductory  instruction.  General  properties  of  bodies.  Forms  of  crystals, 
specific  gravity.  Ac.  Two  hours. 

Writing.    Two  hours. 

Drawing.    Outline  drawingand  shadows,  from  models  and  copy-boards.    Two  hours. 
usic.    Two  hours. 


LOWER   THIRD    CLASS. 

Religiout  Instruction.  The  Acts  of  the  A  post  lee  and  the  Epistles  read  and  explained. 
Two  hours. 

German.  Grammar  with  special  reference  to  orthography  and  etymology.  Written  exer- 
cises upon  narrations  made  by  the  teacher.  Delivery  of  poetical  pieces.  Four  hours. 

French.  Translation  from  French  into  German  from  Gredkrke's  Chrertomathy.  Grammar  ; 
irregular  verbs.  Extemporalia,  and  translations  from  German  into  French.  Fourhowrs. 

Arithmetic.    Partly  abstract,  partly  practical,  from  Diesterweg's  Instructor.    Four  hours. 

Geometry.  Determination  of  angles  in  triangles  and  polygons.  Equality  of  triangles. 
Dependanre  of  angles  and  sides  of  triangles.  Constructions.  Three  hours. 

Geography.    Physical  description  of  the  parts  of  the  earth,  except  Europe.    Two  hours. 

Natural  Hittory.  Mineralogy.  In  summer,  botany,  the  class  making  excursions  for  prac- 
tical exercise.  Man.  Three  hours. 

Physics.  General  properties  of  bodies  and  solids  in  particular.  Doctrines  of  heat  and 
their  application  to  natural  phenomena  and  the  arts.  Two  hours. 

Chemistry.  Introduction.  Atmospheric  air.  Experimental  illustrations  of  chemistry, 
applied  to  the  arts.  Two  hours. 

Writing.  Two  hours.  Architectural  and  topographical  draining.  Two  hours.  Drateing 
by  hand  lor  those  who  do  not  take  part  in  the  other.  Two  hours. 

Vocal  Music.    Two  hours. 

CPPER    THIRD    CLASS. 

Religiout  Instruction.    Christian  morals,  from  Luther's  Catechism.    Two  hours. 

German.  Simple  and  complex  sentences.  Compositions  on  special  subjects.  Poems  e«- 
Attained  and  committed.  Four  hours. 

French.  Translation  from  Gredicke's  Chrestomathy,  oral  and  in  writing.  Written  trans- 
lations from  Beauvais'  Introduction,  from  German  into  French.  Grammar,  examples  treated 
extempore.  Four  hours. 

Arithmetic.  Properties  of  numbers.  Powers.  Roots.  Decimal  fractions  Practical 
Arithmetic  from  Diesterweg.  Four  hours. 

Geometry.  Similar  figures.  Geometrical  proportion.  Exercises.  Mensuration  of  rectili- 
near figures.  Three  hours. 

Geography.  Physical  geography  of  Europe,  and  in  particular  of  Germany  and  Prussia. 
Two  hours. 

Natural  Hittory.  Continuation  of  the  mineralogy  of  the  lower  third  claw.  Review  in 
outline  of  znnlogy  and  the  natural  history  of  man  in  particular.  Botany,  with  excursions  ta 
summer.  Three  hours. 

*  Roman  Catholic  pupils  are  not  required  to  take  part  in  this  instruction,  which  is  comnm- 
nicaltd  by  a  Protestant  clergyman. 


310  CITY  TRADE  SCHOOL  IN  BERLIN. 

Phusict.    Electricity  and  magnetism,  w  it  n  experiments.    Two  hours. 
Chemistry.    Water  and  non-metallic  bodies,  with  experiments.    Two  hours. 
Writing     Two  hours.     Architectural  and  topographical  drawing.    Two  hours.     Some  of 
the  pupils  during  this  time  are  engaged  in  ornamental  drawing. 
Vocal  Music.    Two  hours. 

SECOND    CI.A8S. 

Rrligious  Instruction.  Explanation  of  the  first  three  gospels.  History  of  the  Christian 
religion  and  church  to  the  reformation.  Two  hours. 

Grrman.  Correction  of  exercises  written  at  home,  upon  subjects  assigned  by  the  teacher. 
Oral  and  written  exercises.  Introduction  to  the  history  of  German  poetry  Three  hours. 

French.  Grammar;  externporalia  for  the  application  of  the  rules.  Written  and  oral 
translations  from  German  into  French,  from  Beauvais'  Manual,  and  vice  versa,  from  Ideler 
and  Node's  Manual.  Four  hours. 

English  Exercises  in  reading  and  speaking.  Translation  into  German,  from  Burkhardt. 
Dictation.  Verbs.  Two  hours. 

Arithmetic.  Commercial  Arithmetic.  Algebra,  to  include  simple  and  quadratic  equa- 
tions. Logarithms.  Three  hours. 

Geometry.    Circles.     Analytical  and  plane  trigonometry.    Three  hours. 

Gtigraphy.  The  states  of  Europe,  with  special  reference  to  their  population,  manufac- 
tures and  commerce.  Two  hours. 

History.  Principal  events  of  the  history  of  the  middle  ages  and  of  later  times,  as  an  Intro- 
diiri  jcni  to  recent  history.  One  hour. 

Natural  History.     Mineralogy.     Physiology  of  plants.     Three  hours. 

Chemistry.    Metallic  bodies  and  their  compounds,  with  experiments.    Three  hours. 

Architectural,  topographical,  and  plain  drawing.  Drawing  with  instruments.  Introduc- 
tion to  India  ink  drawing.  Beginning  of  the  science  of  constructions.  Two  hours. 

Druwing.  From  copies,  and  from  plaster  and  other  models.  Two  hours.  This  kind  of 
drawing  may  be  learned  instead  of  the  above. 

I'ucal  Music.    Two  hours. 

FIRST    CLASS. 

Religious  Instruction.  History  of  the  Christian  religion  and  church  continued.  Refer- 
ences to  the  bible.  One  nour. 

German.  History  of  German  literature  to  recent  times.  Essays.  Exercises  of  delivery. 
Three  hours. 

French.  Reading  from  the  manual  of  Bnchner  and  Hermunn,  with  abstracts.  Classic 
authors  read.  Review  of  Grammar.  Exercises  at  home,  and  externporalia.  Free  delivery. 
Correction  of  exercises.  Four  hours. 

English.  Syntax,  with  written  and  extempore  exercises  from  Burkhardt.  Reading  of 
classic  authors.  Writing  of  letters.  Exercises  in  speaking. 

Arithmetic.  Algebra.  Simple  and  quadratic  equations.  Binomial  and  polynomial  theo- 
rems Higher  equations.  Commercial  arthmetic  continued.  Three  hours. 

Geometry.  Plane  trigonometry  and  its  applications.  Conic  sections.  Descriptive  Geome- 
try. Three  hours. 

'His'ory.  History  of  the  middle  ages.  Modern  history,  with  special  reference  to  the  prog- 
ress of  civilization,  of  inventions,  discoveries,  and  of  commerce  and  industry.  Three  hours. 

Natural  History.  In  summer,  botany,  the  principal  families,  according  to  the  natural  sys- 
tem. In  winter,  zoology.  The  pupils  are  taken,  for  the  purpose  of  examining  specimens  to 
thf  Royal  Museum. 

Phi/tics.  In  summer,  optics  with  experiments.  In  winter  the  system  of  the  world. 
Three  hours. 

Technology.  Chemical  and  mechanical  arts  and  trades,  described  and  illustrated  by  mo- 
dels Excursions  to  visit  the  principal  workshops.  Four  hours. 

Architectural  and  machine  drawing.  Two  hours.  Those  pupils  who  do  not  take  part  in 
this,  receive  lessons  in  ornamental  drawing  from  plaster  models. 

Vocal  Music.    Two  hours. 

The  pupils  of  this  class  are,  besides,  engaged  in  manipulating  in  the  laboratory  of  the  insti- 
tion  several  hours  each  week. 

The  courses  require  a  good  collection  of  apparatus  and  specimens  to  carry 
thorn  out,  and  this  school  is,  in  fact,  better  furnished  than  any  other  of  its  grade 
which  I  saw  in  Prussia,  besides  which,  its  collections  are  on  the  increase.  The 
facilities  for  the  courses  are  furnished  by  a  collection  of  mathematical  and  physical 
apparatus,  a  labratory,  with  a  tolerably  complete  chemical  apparatus  and  series  of 
tests,  a  collection  of  specimens  of  the  arts  and  manufactures  (or  technological  col- 
lection,) a  collection  of  dried  plants,  and  of  engravings  for  the  botanical  course, 
an  J  a  small  garden  for  the  same  use,  a  collection  of  minerals,  a  collection  of  insects, 
n  collection  in  comparative  anatomy,  a  series  of  engravings  for  the  drawing  course, 
and  of  plaster  models,  a  set  of  maps,  and  other  apparatus  for  geography,  some  as- 
tronomical instruments,  and  a  library.  The  pupils  are  taken  from  time  to  time, 
to  the  admirable  museum  attached  to  the  university  of  Berlin,  for  the  examination 
of  zoological  speeimens  especially. 

That  this  school  is  as  a  preparation  for  the  higher  occupations,  and  for  profcK- 
rons  not  ranking  among  the  learned,  the  equivalent  of  the  gymnasium  is  clearly 
shown  by  the  subject*  and  scope  of  its  courses,  and  by  the  age  of  its  pupils. 


CITY  TRADE  SCHOOL  IN  BERLIN 


311 


Some  of  these  occupations  require  no  higher  instruction,  others  that  the  pupils 
shall  pass  to  the  special  schools  introductory  to  them.  So  also,  many  of  the  pupils 
of  the  gymnasia  pass  at  once  into  active  life,  others  enter  the  university. 

The  class  of  schools  to  which  the  two  last  described  belong,  are  most  important 
in  their  influence.  In  many  countries,  an  elementary  education  is  the  limit  beyond 
which  those  intending  to  enter  the  lower  grades  of  the  occupations  enumerated  in 
connection  with  the  City  Trade  School  of  Berlin,  do  not  pass  ;  and  if  they  are  in- 
dined  to  have  a  better  education,  or  if  intending  to  embrace  a  higher  occupation, 
they  desire  to  be  better  instructed,  they  must  seek  instruction  in  the  classical 
schools.  The  training  of  these  schools  is,  however,  essentially  different  from  that 
required  by  the  tradesman  and  mechanic,  the  verbal  character  of  the  instruction 
is  not  calculated  to  produce  the  habits  of  mind  in  which  he  should  be  brought  up, 
and  the  knowledge  which  is  made  the  basis  of  mental  training  is  not  that  which 
lie  lias  chiefly  occasion  to  use.  Besides,  were  the  course  ever  so  well  adapted  to 
his  object,  the  time  at  which  he  must  leave  school  only  permits  him  to  follow  a 
part  of  it,  and  he  is  exposed  to  the  serious  evils  which  must  flow  from  being,  as  it 
were,  but  half  taught. 

In  fact,  however,  he  requires  a  very  different  school,  one  in  which  the  subjects 
of  instruction  are  adapted  to  his  destination,  while  they  give  him  an  adequate  in- 
tellectual culture ;  where  the  character  of  the  instruction  will  train  him  to  the 
habits  which  must,  in  a  very  considerable  degree,  determine  his  future  usefulness ; 
and  where  the  course  which  he  pursues  will  be  thorough,  as  far  as  it  goes,  and 
will  have  reached  before  he  leaves  the  school  the  standard  at  which  it  aims.  Such 
establishments  are  furnished  by  the  real  schools  of  Germany,  and  as  the  wants 
which  gave  rise  to  them  there,  are  strongly  felt  every  where,  this  class  of  institu- 
tions must  spread  extensively.  In  Germany  they  are,  as  has  been  seen,  no  new 
experiment,  but  have  stood  the  test  of  experience,  and  with  various  modifications 
to  adapt  them  to  differences  of  circumstances  or  of  views  in  education,  they  are 
spreading  in  that  country.  As  they  become  more  diffused,  and  have  employed  a 
greater  number  of  minds  in  their  organizationt  their  plans  will  no  doubt  be  more 
fully  developed. 

It  is  certainly  highly  creditable  to  Germany  that  its  "  gymnasia."  on  the  one 
hand,  and  its  ''real  schools"  on  the  other,  offer  such  excellent  models  of  secondary 
instruction  in  its  two  departments.  The  toleration  which  allows  these  dissimilar 
establishments  to  grow  up  side  by  side,  admitting  that  each,  though  good  for  its 
object,  is  not  a  substitute  for  the  other,  belongs  to  an  enlightened  state  of  senti- 
ment in  regard  to  education,  and  is  worthy  of  the  highest  commendation. 

DISTRIBUTION    OF   STUDIES    IX    THE   CITY    TRADE    SCHOOL   OF    BERLIN. 


xo.  c 

F  HOCKI 

PI»   WI 

tk. 

•UBJICTS  or  ixrraccnox. 

Pint 
CUu. 

Second 
Clui. 

Upper 
ThW 

CllM. 

Lower 
Third 
CUM. 

Fourth 
CUss. 

ToUL 

Religion,        

1 

2 

2 

2 

2 

9 

German,  

3 

3 

4 

4 

4 

18 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

20 

2 

2 

4 

Arithmetic            

3 

3 

4 

4 

4 

18 

3 

3 

3 

3 

2 

14 

2 

2 

2 

2 

8 

3 

1 

4 

Xatural  History,  

2 

3 

3 

3 

2 

13 

3 

2 

2 

2 

9 

3 

2 

2 

7 

Technology            

4 

4 

2 

2 

o 

6 

4 

4 

2 

2 

2 

14 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

10 

Total,  

34 

32 

32 

32 

28 

gj2  INSTITUTE  OF  ARTS  OF  BERLIN. 

In  Prussia,  every  trade  in  which  a  want  of  skill  may  jeopard  human 
life,  is  regulated  by  law;  and  before  its  exercise  can  be  commenced,  a 
license  is  required,  to  obtain  which  an  examination  must,  be  passed. 
This  requisition  of  the  law  is  considered  to  involve  a  reciprocal  obliga- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  government  to  afford  the  opportunity  of  obtain- 
ing the  necessary  knowledge,  and  schools  have  accordingly  been  estab- 
lished for  the  purpose.  Twenty  of  the  regencies  of  the  kingdom  already 
have  technical  schools  established  in  then),  where  instruction  is.  in  gert- 
eral,  given  at  the  expense  of  the  state,  or  province,  or  for  a  very  trifling 
remuneration;  and  it  is  the  intention  that  each  regency  shall  have  at 
least  one  such  school  within  its  limits.  When  there  is  a  burgher  school 
in  the  place  intended  as  the  locality  for  one  of  these  technical  schools, 
the  two  schools  are  connected  as  already  described :  at  Potsdam,  the 
special  technical  course  alone  being  given  in  a  separate  department. 
In  all  cases  the  government  supplies  the  apparatus  for  the  courses  ol 
mechanics,  physics,  and  chemistry ;  furnishes  the  requisite  engravings 
for  the  courses  of  drawing;  and  supplies  works  for  the  library  and  for 
instruction. 

The  most  promising  pupils  from  the  provincial  schools  usually  find 
places  at  the  central  Institute  at  Berlin,  which  is  in  fact  the  university 
of  arts.  There  is  a  special  school  for  ship-builders  at  Stettin,  in 
Pomerania. 

INSTITUTE  JPF    ARTS   OF   BERLIN. 

Tliis  institution  is  intended  to  impart  the  theoretical  knowledge  essential  to  im 
provement  in  the  arts,  and  such  practical  knowledge  as  can  be  acquired  to  advan- 
tage in  a  school.  It  is  supported  by  the  government,  and  has  also  a  legacy,  to  be 
expended  in  bursaries  at  the  school,  from  Baron  Von  Seydlitz.  The  institution  is 
under  the  charge  of  a  director,*  who  has  the  entire  control  of  the  funds,  of  the 
admissions  and  dismissions,  and  the  superintendence  of  the  instruction.  The  pro- 
fessors and  pupils  do  not  reside  in  the  establishment,  so  that  the  superintendence 
is  confined  to  study  hours.  There  are  assistant  professors,  who  prepare  the  lec- 
tures, and  conduct  a  part  of  the  exercises,  in  some  cases  reviewing  the  lessons  of 
the  professors  with  the  pupils.  Besides  these  officers  there  are  others,  who  have 
charge  of  the  admirable  collections  of  the  institution,  and  of  the  workshops, 
offices,  &c.  The  number  of  professors  is  eight,  and  of  repeaters,  two.  The  dis- 
cipline is  of  the  most  simple  character,  for  no  pupil  is  allowed  to  remain  in  con- 
nection with  the  institution  unless  his  conduct  and  progress  are  satisfactory.  There 
is  but  one  punishment  recognized,  namely,  dismission ;  and  even  a  want  of  punc- 
tuality is  visited  thus  severely. 

In  the  spring  of  every  year  the  regencies  advertise  that  applications  will  be  re- 
ceived for  admission  into  the  institute,  and  the  testimonials  of  the  candidates  who 
present  the  best  claims  are  forwarded  to  the  director  at  Berlin,  who  decides  finally 
upon  the  several  nominations.  The  pupils  from  the  provincial  schools  have,  in 
general,  the  preference  over  other  applicants.  At  the  same  time  notice  is  given 
by  the  president  of  the  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  National  Industry,  in  rela- 
tion to  the  bursaries  vacant  upon  the  Seydlitz  foundation.  The  qualifications  es- 
sential to  admission  ore — to  read  and  write  the  German  language  with  correctness 
and  facility,  and  to  be  thoroughly  acquainted  with  arithmetic  in  all  its  branches. 
The  candidate  must,  besides,  be  at  least  seventeen  years  of  age.  Certain  of  the 


•  The  director,  M.  Beuth.  is  aim  president  of  the  Royal  Technical  Commission  of  Prussia, 
•nd  ha*  the  distribution  «(  the  fund*  lor  the.  encouragement  of  industry,  amounting  to  about 
seventy-five  Ihoiixnud  dollars  annually.  M.  Heulh  isalsoa  privy  counsellor,  and  is  president 
of  the  Society  for  the  Encouragement  uf  National  Industry  in  1'rujKia. 


INSTITUTE  OF  ARTS  OF  BERLIN.  313 

pupils,  as  will  be  hereafter  more  fiilly  stated,  require  to  have  served  nn  appren- 
ticeship to  a  trade.  The  Seydlitz  bursar  must,  in  addition,  show — 1st.  That  their 
parents  were  not  artizans,*  relatives  of  the  founder  having  the  preference  over 
other  applicants.  2d.  That  they  have  been  apprenticed  to  a  trade,  if  they  intend 
to  follow  one  not  taught  in  the  institution.  3d.  They  must  enter  into  an  engage- 
ment that  if  they  leave  the  mechanical  career  they  will  pay  back  the  amount  of 
their  bursaries.  There  are  sixty  or  seventy  gratuitous  pupils  in  the  school  of 
whom  eighteen  are  upon  the  Seydlitz  foundation.  Forty  are  admitted  annually, 
this  number  having  been  adopted  because  it  is  found  that,  in  the  course  of  the 
first  month,  about  a  fourth  of  the  newly  admitted  pupils  fall  away  from  the  insti- 
tution. Each  bursar  receives  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  per  annum 
for  maintenance.  The  education  is  gratuitous.  The  regular  pupils  enter  on  the 
first  of  October,  but  the  director  is  authorized  to  admit,  at  his  pleasure,  applicants 
who  do  not  desire  to  become  bursars,  but  who  support  themselves,  receiving  gra- 
tuitously, however,  the  instruction  afforded  by  the  institution. 

The  education  of  the  pupils  is  either  solely  theoretical,  or  combines  theory  and 
practice,  according  to  the  calling  which  they  intend  to  follow.  The  first  division 
is  composed  of  students,  who  receive  theoretical  instruction  only,  and  who  are 
preparing  to  become  masons,  carpenters,  and  joiners.  They  are  supposed  to  have 
become  acquainted  with  the  practice  of  their  trade  before  entering  the  institution, 
being  required  to  have  served,  previously,  a  part  of  their  apprenticeship.  An  ex- 
cellent reason  is  assigned  for  this  rule,  namely,  that  on  leaving  the  school  such 
pupils  are  too  old  to  begin  their  apprenticeship  to  these  callings,  and  would,  if  they 
attempted  to  do  so,  find  the  first  beginnings  so  irksome  as  to  induce  them  to  seek 
other  employments,  and  thus  their  special  education  would  be  lost,  and  the  object 
of  the  school  defeated.  The  second  division  embraces  both  theoretical  and  prac- 
tical instruction,  and  consists  of  three  classes.  First,  the  stone-cutters,  engravers, 
lapidaries,  glass-cutters,  carvers  in  wood  and  ivory,  and  brass-founders.  Second, 
dyers  and  manufacturers  of  chemical  products.  Third,  machine-makers  and  me- 
chanicians. The  practical  instruction  is  different  for  each  of  these  three  classes. 

The  general  course  of  studies  last  two  years,  and  the  pupils  are  divided  into 
two  corresponding  classes.  The  first  class  is,  besides,  subdivided  into  two  sections. 
The  lower  or  second  class  is  taught  first ;  mechanical  drawing,  subdivided  into 
decorative  drawing,  including  designs  for  architectural  ornaments,  utensils,  vases, 
patterns  for  weaving,  <fcc.,  and  linear  drawing,  applied  to  civil  works,  to  handicrafts, 
and  to  machines.  Second,  modelling  in  clay,  plaster,  and  wax.  Third,  practical 
arithmetic.  Fourth,  geometry.  Fifth,  natural  philosophy.  Sixth,  chemistry. 
Seventh,  technology,  or  a  knowledge  of  the  materials,  processes,  and  products  of 
the  arts.  The  studies  of  the  lower  section  of  the  first  class  are  general,  while 
those  of  the  first  section  turn  more  particularly  upon  the  applications  of  science  to 
the  arts.  In  the  lower  section,  the  drawing,  modelling,  natural  philosophy,  and 
chemistry,  of  the  first  year,  are  continued ;  and,  in  addition,  descriptive  geometry, 
trigonometry,  stereometry,  mixed  mathematics,  mineralogy,  and  the  art  of  con- 
struction are  studied.  In  the  upper  or  first  section,  perspective,  stone-cutting, 
carpentry,  and  mechanics  applied  to  the  arts,  are  taught,  and  the  making  of  plans 
and  estimates  for  buildings,  workshops,  manufactories,  machines,  &e.  These 
are  common  to  all  pupils,  whatever  may  be  their  future  destination ;  but  beside 
them,  the  machinists  study,  during  the  latter  part  of  their  stay  at  the  institution, 
a  continuation  of  the  course  of  mechanics  and  mathematical  analysis.  The  ex- 
amples accompanying  the  instruction  in  regard  to  plans  and  estimates  are  adapted 
to  the  intended  pursuits  of  the  pupils. 

The  courses  of  practice  are  begun  by  the  pupils  already  enumerated  as  taking 
part  in  them,  at  different  periods  of  their  stay  in  the  institution.  The  future 
chemists  and  mechanics  must  have  completed  the  whole  range  of  studies  above 
mentioned,  as  common  to  all  the  pupils,  while  the  others  begin  their  practice  after 
having  completed  the  first  year's  course.  There  are  workshops  for  each  class  of 
pupils,  where  they  are  taught  the  practice  of  their  proposed  calling,  under  com- 
petent workmen.  There  are  two  foundries  for  bronze  castings,  one  for  small,  the 

*  The  object  of  M.  Von  Seydlitz  appears  to  have  been  to  counteract,  to  the  extent  of  hi« 
power,  the'tenilency  to  the  increaseof  the  learned  professions,  at  the  expense  of  the  mechanic 
arts,  bjr  an  inducement  to  a  course  exactly  contrary  to  the  usual  one. 


314  INSTITUTE  OF  ARTS  OF  BERLIN. 

other  for  large  castings,  and  the  work  turned  out  of  both  bears  a  high  characUr. 
A  specimen  of  this  work  is  retained  by  the  institution  in  a  beautiful  fountain, 
which  ornaments  one  of  the  courts  of  the  building.  The  models  for  castings  are 
made  in  the  establishment.  In  the  first  division  of  pupils,  in  reference  to  their 
callings,  there  are  usually  some  whose  art  is  connected  with  the  fine  arts  in  some 
of  its  branches,  and  these  have  an  opportunity  during  part  of  the  week  to  attend 
the  courses  of  the  Berlin  Academy.  The  future  chemists  work  for  half  the  year 
in  the  laboratory.  They  are  ohiefly  employed  in  chemical  analysis,  being  furnished 
\v.th  the  requisite  materials  for  practice  by  the  institution.  In  the  shops  for  the 
instruction  of  mechanics  are  machines  for  working  in  wood  and  the  metals,  a  steam- 
engine  of  four  horses'  power,  a  forge,  tools  in  great  variety,  lathes,  &c.  The  pupils 
have  the  use  of  all  necessary  implements,  according  to  their  progress,  and  are 
gradually  taught,  as  if  serving  a  regular  apprenticeship.  When  capable,  they  are 
enable  to  construct  machines  which  may  be  useful  to  them  subsequently,  as  a 
lathe,  or  machine  for  cutting  screws,  or  the  teeth  of  wheels,  &c.,  and  are  furnished 
with  all  the  materials  for  the  purpose,  the  machine  becoming  their  own  property. 
In  these  workshops,  also,  the  models  for  the  cabinet  of  the  school  are  made. 
This  is  by  far  the  most  complete  establishment  for  practice  which  I  met  with  in 
any  institution,  and  I  believe  the  practice  is  both  real  and  effectual.  It  involves, 
however,  an  expenditure  which  in  other  cases  it  has  not  been  practicable  to  com- 
mand. The  scale  of  the  whole  institution  is,  in  the  particular  of  expenditure, 
most  generous. 

This  is  one  specimen  of  the  various  plans  which  have  been  devised  to  give 
practical  knowledge  of  an  art  in  connection  with  theory  in  a  school.  It  is  first 
most  judiciously  laid  down  that  certain  trades  can  not  be  taught  to  advantage  in  a 
similar  connection,  but  that  the  practical  knowledge  must  be  acquired  by  an  ap- 
prenticeship antecedent  to  the  theoretical  studies.  There  are  besides,  however,  a 
large  number  of  trades,  the  practice  of  which  is  to  be  taught  in  the  institu- 
tion, and  requiring  a  very  considerable  expenditure  to  carry  out  the  design  pro- 
perly. This  could  not  be  attempted  in  a  school  less  munificently  endowed, 
and  requires  very  strict  regulations  to  carry  it  through  even  here.  The  habits  of 
a  school  workshop  are,  in  general,  not  those  of  a  real  manufactory,  where  the 
same  articles  are  made  to  be  sold  as  a  source  of  profit ;  hence,  though  the  practi- 
cal knowledge  may  be  acquired,  the  habits  of  work  are  not,  and  the  mechanic 
may  be  well  taught  but  not  well  trained.  At  the  private  school  of  Charonne, 
workshops  were  established,  giving  a  variety  of  occupation  to  the  pupils ;  but  the 
disposition  to  play  rather  than  to  work,  rendered  these  establishments  too  costly  to 
bi  supported  by  a  private  institution,  and  the  plan  adopted  instead  of  this,  was  to 
make  the  pupils  enter  a  regular  workshop  for  a  stated  number  of  hours,  to  work 
for  the  proprietor  or  lessee.  This  plan  remedies  one  evil,  but  introduces  another, 
that  as  the  machinist  takes  orders,  with  a  view  to  profit,  the  work  may  have  so 
little  variety  as  only  to  benefit  a  small  class  of  the  pupils.  The  pupils  at  Charonne 
are,  however,  under  different  circumstances  from  those  at  Berlin  ;  they  are  gen- 
erally younger,  and,  being  independent  of  the  school,  where  they  pay  for  their 
education,  are  not  under  the  same  restraint  as  in  the  other  institution ;  hence  the 
experience  of  the  one  school  does  not  apply  in  full  force  to  the  other.  At  Dres- 
den, in  a  school  somewhat  similar  to  that  of  Berlin,  a  different  mode  from  either 
of  those  just  mentioned  has  been  adopted.  An  arrangement  is  made  witli  a  num- 
ber of  mechanics,  of  different  occupations,  to  receive  pupils  from  the  schools  as 
apprentices,  allowing  them  the  privilege  of  attending,  during  certain  specified 
hours  of  the  day,  upon  the  theoretical  exercises  of  the  institution.  Where  such 
an  arrangement  can  be  made,  the  results  are  unexceptionable,  and  the  advantages 
likely  to  accrue  to  the  mechanic  arts,  from  the  union  of  theory  with  practice,  will 
offer  a  Btrong  inducement  to  liberally  disposed  mechanics  to  take  apprentices  upon 
these  terms.  Small  workshops,  connected  with  an  institution,  must  necessarily 
offer  inferior  advantages,  even  if  closely  regulated,  so  as  to  procure  the  greatest 
possible  amount  of  work  from  the  pupils  ;  this  should  not  be  done  for  the  sake  of 
the  profit,  but  to  give  him  genuinely  good  habits. 

The  difficulties  in  giving  practical  instruction  in  the  chemical  arts  are  not  to  be 
compared  with  those  under  discussion,  and  will  be  found  to  have  been  satisfactorily 
obviated  in  several  schools.  This  subject  will  receive  its  more  appropriate  discus- 
tion  in  connection  with  the  polytechnic  institution  of  Vienna,  where  the  chemical 


INSTITUTE  OF  ARTS  OF  BERLIN.  (]]5 

department,  at  least  as  far  as  manufacturing  chemistry  is  concerned,  is  generally 
recognized  as  having  produced  the  best  results  of  any  yet  established. 

Retaining  to  the  subject  of  the  theoretical  instruction  in  the  Berlin  institute  of 
arts,  the  following  statement  will  serve  to  show  the  succession  of  the  course,  with 
the  time  devoted  to  each : 

WINTER    COURSE. 
MONDAY. 

First  Class.  First  division— drawing  and  sketching  machines,  eight  A.  M.  to  twelve  o'clock. 
Discussion  of  machines,  estimates  of  power.  Ac  ,  two  P.  M.  to  five  P.  M.  Second  division — 
machine  drawing,  eight  to  ten.  Modelling  in  clay,  ten  to  twelve.  Physic*-,  two  to  five. 

Second  Class.  Machine  drawing,  eight  to  ten.  Modelling,  ten  to  twelve.  Elements  of 
geometry,  two  to  four.  Repetition  of  the  lecture,  four  to  five. 

TUESDAY. 

First  Class.  First  division— architectural  plans  and  estimates,  eight  to  twelve.  Practical 
instruction  iu  machinery,  two  to  five.  Second  division — ornamental  and  architectural  draw- 
ing, eight  to  twelve.  Trigonometry,  two  to  five. 

Second  Class.  Ornamental  and  architectural  drawing,  eight  to  twelve.  Physics,  two  to 
four.  Repetition  of  ihc  lecture,  four  to  five. 

WEDNESDAY. 

First  Class.  First  division — original  designs,  eight  to  twelve.  Discussion  of  machinery. 
Second  division— mineralogy,  eight  to  nine.  Machine  drawing,  nine  to  twelve.  Trigonome- 
try, two  to  five. 

Second  Class.  Machine  drawing,  eight  to  twelve.    Practical  arithmetic,  two  to  five. 


FRIDAY. 

First  Class.  First  division— architectural  plans,  eight  to  twelve.  Practical  instruction  in 
machinery,  two  to  five.  Second  division — machine  drawing,  eight  to  twelve.  Physics,  two 
to  five. 

Second  Class.  Machine  drawing,  eight  to  twelve.  Elementary  mathematics,  two  to  four. 
Repetition  of  the  lessons,  four  to  five. 

SATURDAY. 

First  Class.  First  division— perspective  and  stone-cutting,  eight  to  twelve.  Original  de- 
signs, two  to  five.  Second  division — mineralogy,  eight  to  nine.  Decorative  and  architectu- 
ral drawing,  nine  to  twelve.  Trigonometry,  two  to  five. 

Second  Class.  Decorative  and  architectural  drawing,  eight  to  twelve.  Practical  Arithme- 
tic, two  to  five. 

The  summer  term,  which  follows  this,  embraces  the  practical  instruction. 

SUMMER    TERM. 
MONDAY. 

First  Clans.  First  division — in  the  workshops  from  seven  A.  M.  to  twelve,  and  from  one 
until  seven  P.  M.  Second  division— machine  drawing,  eight  to  twelve.  Applied  mathemat- 
ics, two  to  five. 

Second  Class.  Machine  drawing,  eight  to  ten.  Modelling,  ten  to  twelve.  Chemistry,  two 
to  four.  Repetition,  four  to  five. 

TUESDAY. 

First  Class  First  division— analytical  dynamics,  eight  to  nine.  Drawing  of  machines  from 
original  designs,  nine  to  twelve.  Machinery,  two  to  five.  Second  division — decorative  and 
architectural  drawing,  eight  to  twelve.  Chemistry,  two  to  five. 

Second  Class.  Decorative  and  architectural  drawing,  eight  to  twelve.  Elementary  mathe- 
matics, two  to  four.  Repetition,  four  to  five. 

WEDNESDAY. 

First  doss  First  division— in  the  workshops  from  seven  to  twelve,  and  from  one  to  seven. 
Second  division— machine  drawing,  eight  to  ten.  Modelling,  ten  to  twelve.  Applied  mathe- 
matics, (wo  to  five. 

Second  Class.  Machine  drawing,  eight  to  twelve.  Practical  arithmetic,  two  to  four.  Ma- 
terials used  in  the  arts,  four  to  five. 

THURSDAY. 

First  Class.  First  division— in  the  workshops,  from  seven  to  twelve,  and  from  one  to 
seven.  Second  division— machine  drawing,  eight  to  ten.  Modelling,  ten  to  twelve.  Applied 
mathematics,  two  to  five. 

Second  Class  Decorative  and  archittctural  drawing,  eight  to  ten.  Modelling,  ten  to 
twelve.  Chemistry,  two  to  four.  Repetition  of  the  leston,  four  to  five. 


310  INSTITUTE  OF  ARTS  OF  BERLIN. 

FRIDAY. 

firtt  dots.  First  division — analytical  dynamics,  eight  to  nine.  Drawing  of  a  machine  for 
an  original  design,  nine  to  twelve.  Machinery,  two  lo  five.  Second  division— chemistry, 
eight  In  nine.  Applied  mathematics,  nine  to  twelve.  Chemistry,  two  to  five. 

Second  Claat.  Machine  drawing,  eight  to  twelve.  Elementary  mathematics,  two  to  four. 
Repetition  of  the  lesson,  four  to  five. 

SATURDAY. 

First  Class.  First  division — in  the  workshops,  from  seven  to  twelve,  and  from  one  to 
seven.  Second  division — decorative  and  architectural  drawing,  eight  to  twelve.  Applied 
mathematics,  two  to  five. 

Second  Class.  Decorative  and  architectural  drawing,  eight  to  twelve.  Practical  arithme- 
tic, two  to  four.  Materials  used  in  the  arts,  four  to  five. 

The  chemical  division  of  the  practical  classes  is  engaged  every  day  in  the  laboratory.  On 
Tuesday  and  Wednesday,  the  library  is  open  for  reading  from  five  to  eight,  P.  M. 

The  collections  for  carrying  out  the  various  branches  of  instruction  are  upon 
the  same  liberal  scale  with  the  other  parts  of  the  institution.  There  is  a  library 
of  works  on  architecture,  mechanics,  technology,  the  various  arts,  archeology,  <fcc., 
in  German,  French  and  English.  This  library  is  open  twice  a  week,  from  five  to 
eight  in  the  evening,  to  the  pupils  of  the  first  class  of  the  school,  and  to  such  me- 
chanics as  apply  for  the  use  of  it. 

There  is  a  rich  collection  of  drawings  of  new  and  useful  machines,  and  of  illus- 
trations of  the  different  courses,  belonging  to  the  institution.  Among  them  is  a 
splendid  work,  published  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Beuth,  entitled  Models  for 
Manufactures  and  Artisans,  (Vbrlegeblatter  for  Fabricanten  and  Handwerker,) 
containing  engravings  by  the  best  artists  of  Germany,  and  some  even  from  France 
and  England,  applicable  to  the  different  arts  and  to  architecture  and  engineering. 
Among  the  drawings  are  many  from  original  designs  by  Shenckel,  of  Berlin. 
There  is  a  second  useful  but  more  ordinary  series  of  engravings,  on  similar  sub- 
jects, also  executed  for  the  use  of  the  school.  These  works  are  distributed  to  the 
provincial  trade  schools,  and  presented  to  such  of  the  mechanics  of  Prussia  as 
have  especially  distinguished  themselves  in  their  vocations.  The  collection  of 
models  of  machinery  belonging  to  the  school  probably  ranks  next  in  extent  and 
value  to  that  at  the  Conservatory  of  Arts  of  Paris.  It  contains  models  of  such 
machines  as  are  not  readily  comprehended  by  drawings.  Most  of  them  are 
working  models,  and  many  were  made  in  the  workshops  of  the  school.  They 
are  constructed,  as  far  as  possible,  to  a  uniform  scale,  and  the  parts  of  the  models 
are  of  the  same  materials  as  in  the  actual  machine.  There  is  an  extensive  col- 
lection of  casts,  consisting  of  copies  of  statues,  basso-relievos,  utensils,  bronzes, 
and  vases  of  the  museums  of  Naples,  Rome,  and  Florence,  and  of  the  British 
Museum,  and  of  the  models  of  architectural  monuments  of  Greece,  Rome,  Pom- 
peii, &c.,  and  copies  of  models,  cameos,  and  similar  objects ;  those  specimens  only 
have  been  selected  which  are  not  in  the  collection  of  the  Academy  of  Fine  Arts 
of  Berlin,  to  which  the  pupils  of  the  Institute  of  Arts  have  access.  There  are 
good  collections  of  physical  and  chemical  apparatus,  of  minerals,  of  geological  and 
technological  specimens. 

The  instruction  is  afforded  in  part  by  the  lectures  of  the  professors,  aided  by 
text-books  specially  intended  for  the  school,  and  in  part  by  the  interrogations  of 
the  professors  and  of  the  assistants  and  repeaters.  At  the  close  of  the  first  year 
there  is  an  examination  to  determine  which  of  the  pupils  shall  be  permitted  to  go 
forward,  and  at  the  close  of  the  second  year  to  determine  which  shall  receive  the 
certificate  of  the  institute.  Although  the  pupils  who  come  from  the  provinces  are 
admitted  to  the  first  class  of  the  institute,  upon  their  presenting  a  testimonial  that 
they  have  gone  through  the  course  of  the  provincial  schools  satisfactorily,  it  fre- 
quently happens  that  they  are  obliged  to  retire  to  the  second,  especially  from  de- 
fective  knowledge  of  chemistry. 

The  cost  of  this  school  to  the  government  is  about  twelve  thousand  dollars  an- 
nually, exclusive  of  the  amount  expended  upon  the  practical  courses  and  upon  the 
collections — a  very  trifling  sum,  if  the  good  which  it  is  calculated  to  do  through- 
out the  country  is  considered. 


MONTAIGNE  ON  LEARNING  AND  EDUCATION. 

FROM    THE    GERMAN    OF    KARL   VOIf    RAl'MER. 


Montaigne's  thoughts  upon  learning  and  education  are  to  be  found 
in  the  first  book  of  his  Essays.  The  24th  chapter  of  this  book 
treats  upon  PEDANTRY,  and  the  26th  upon  the  EDUCATION  OF 
CHILDREN. 

These  two  chapters  merit  particular  attention  in  a  history  of  the 
science  of  teaching.  Whether  they  exerted  a  direct  influence  upon 
systems  of  instruction  in  Montaigne's  own  day,  I  know  not ;  it  is  cer- 
tain, however,  that  they  kindled  the  enthusiasm  of  two  individuals, 
who  became  signally  efficient  in  promoting  the  cause  of  education, 
namely  Locke  and  Rousseau. 

In  such  a  history,  we  are  naturally  led  to  notice  many  writers, 
who  are  more  or  less  strangers  to  the  spirit  of  Christianity  ;  but  it  is 
nevertheless  possible  to  learn  much  from  them. 

I  shall  now  make  a  few  extracts  from  the  25th  chapter  of  Montaigne, 
before  alluded  to,  on  the  education  of  children.  We  must  not  expect 
to  find  any  thing  systematic,  but  simply  aphorisms,  or  perchance  fan- 
cies, which  occurred  to  this  strong-minded,  sensible  man,  in  the  course 
of  his  life  or  his  reading.  The  point  of  union  for  all  these  discon- 
nected utterances,  is  the  man  himself  in  his  character  and  culture. 

"The  indications  of  the  natural  bent  of  the  mind,  are  so  weak  and 
so  obscure  in  childhood,  and  what  the  child  promises  to  become  when 
a  man  is  so  uncertain  and  fallacious,  that  it  is  almost  impossible  upon 
such  a  foundation  to  predict  his  future  course.  Consider  Cimon, 
Themistocles,  and  a  thousand  others,  how  unlike  was  their  mature 
age  to  their  boyhood.  Pups,  and  bears'  cubs  shew  their  natural  dispo- 
sition as  soon  as  they  are  born  ;  but  men,  who  are  at  a  very  early 
age  indoctrinated  with  usages,  opinions  and  laws,  alter  or  disguise 
their  real  sentiments  very  readily.  And  yet  it  is  difficult  after  all  to 
force  the  natural  propensities  ;  hence  it  comes  about,  that  when  once 
we  have  entered  upon  a  false  course  of  training,  we  trouble  ourselves 
and  waste  much  time  in  the  vain  attempt  to  fit  children  for  pursuits, 
for  which  they  are  not  designed  by  nature.  Meanwhile,  in  this  diffi- 
culty, I  am  of  the  opinion,  that  they  should  ever  be  directed  to  the 
worthiest  and  most  useful  object*,  and  that  we  should  not  give  too 


318         MONTAIGNE'S  THOUGHTS  ON  LEARNING  AND  EDUCATION. 

much  heed  to  those  unmeaning  indications  and  presages,  which  we 
imagine  we  observe  in  their  earliest  actions." 

'•  I  would  advise  that  care  be  taken  to  select  for  the  child  a  tutor, 
whose  head  is  sound  and  clear,  rather  than  full  of  learning :  regard 
should  be  paid  to  both  these  points,  to  be  sure,  but  far  more  to  integ- 
rity and  good  sense,  than  to  attainments.  And  he  should  not  exercise 
his  office  after  the  oJd  fashion ;  for  the  custom  now  is,  to  thunder 
knowledge  into  the  pupil's  ear,  as  if  you  were  pouring  into  a  funnel ; 
whence  it  follows  that  he  becomes  fitted  for  nothing,  except  to  repeat 
again  what  he  has  before  heard.  But  I  would  prefer  to  have  the  tu- 
tor make  an  improvement  in  this  custom,  and  at  once,  according  to 
the  capabilities  of  the  mind  which  is  committed  to  his  charge,  permit 
it  to  taste  things  for  itself,  and  to  choose  and  discriminate  understand- 
ingly  between  them.  At  times  he  must  assist  his  scholar  in  this 
exercise,  and  at  times  allow  him  to  go  through  with  it  alone.  He 
must  not  himself  always  strike  the  key-note,  nor  always  assume  the 
lead  ;  he  must  hear  the  scholar  likewise,  and  let  him  give  his  views 
of  the  subject  of  his  lesson.  Socrates,  and  after  him  Arcesilaus,  al- 
lowed their  disciples  to  speak  first,  and  then  they  themselves  dis- 
cussed the  topics  thus  introduced.  '  The  authority  of  teachers  is  very 
frequently  an  obstacle  in  the  way  of  those  who  desire  to  learn.' 
[CVcero,  Nat.  Deor>  Lib.  1.]  It  is  a  good  thing  for  him  to  let  the  pu- 
pil run  before  him,  that  he  may  become  acquainted  with  his  gait,  and 
thereby  may  judge  how  much  he  himself  must  abate  of  his  own 
speed,  in  order  to  accommodate  himself  to  his  pupil's  powers.  If  we 
overlook  this  due  proportion,  we  spoil  every  thing.  To  attain  it,  and 
to  observe  it  carefully  and  closely,  is  the  most  urgent  of  all  the  duties, 
which  I  would  enjoin  upon  the  tutor ;  and  it  is,  moreover,  a  proof  of 
a  lofty  and  a  strong  intellect  to  be  able  thus  to  descend  to  a  level  with 
childhood,  and  thereby  to  direct  and  guide  it.  But  since  it  is  the 
custom  now-a-days  for  teachers  of  a  certain  stamp,  to  attempt  the  ed- 
ucation of  a  multitude  of  children,  all  different  in  their  dispositions 
and  tlu-ir  talents,  all  at  the  same  time  and  by  the  same  method,  we 
can  not  wonder,  when  among  them  all,  scarce  two  or  three  ever  shew 
any  good  fruits  from  such  discipline.  The  tutor  must  require  of  his 
pupil  an  understanding,  not  merely  of  the  words  of  his  lesson,  but 
also  of  their  meaning  and  their  appropriateness.  He  must  judge  of 
the  effect  of  his  teachings,  not  on  the  testimony  of  his  pupil's  mem- 
ory, but  on  that  of  his  conduct.  He  must  exhibit  whatever  his  pupil 
shall  have  learned  in  many  different  lights,  and  apply  it  to  many  dif- 
ferent subjects,  in  order  to  see  whether  he  comprehends  it,  and  has 
mastered  it  thoroughly.  It  is  a  mark  of  indigestion,  when  the 


MONTAIGNE'S  THOUGHTS  ON  LEARNING  AND  EDUCATION.          310 

stomach  throws  off  the  food  which  we  take  into  it,  unchanged.  For 
it  does  not  discharge  it^  functions  properly,  unless  it  alters,  either  in 
nature  or  in  form,  that  which  we  hafe  given  it  to  digest.  We  have 
been  s«o  long  trammeled  by  leading-strings,  that  we  can  not  walk 
alone ;  both  our  freedom  and  our  strength  is  gone. 

'  They  are  always  in  wardship,  and  never  become  their  own  mas- 
ters.' [Seneca,  Epist.  33.]  I  was  well  acquainted  with  an  honest 
man  in  Pisa,  but  who  was  so  great  an  Aristotelian,  that  his  most 
prominent  tenet  was  this:  'The  touchstone  of  all  well-grounded  opin- 
ions and  of  all  truths,  is  their  harmony  with  the  doctrines  of 
Aristotle ;  every  thing  else  is  mere  shadow  and  emptiness ;  for 
Aristotle  established  every  thing,  and  enunciated  every  thing.'  The 
tutor  must  therefore  lead  his  pupil  to  weigh  every  opinion,  and  to 
adopt  nothing  on  mere  authority.  lie  should  not  suffer  him  to 
take  on  trust  a  principle  from  Aristotle,  any  more  than  a  dogma  from 
Epicurus  or  the  Stoics,  lie  should  make  known  to  him  all  the 
varieties  of  opinion  upon  any  given  subject,  and  if  he  chooses  among 
them,  so  much  the  better  ;  but  if  not,  why,  let  him  doubt.  '  There 
are  times  when  doubting  is  better  than  believing.'  [Dante  Inf.  c.  11.] 

As  we  shall  see,  this  passage  exerted  a  vast  influence  upon  Rousseau,  j   Qj^ 
in  whose  Emile  an  ideal  tutor  is  portrayed,  who  educates  an  ideal  boy  I 
after  an  ideal  and  Utopian  system.     Rousseau,  likewise,  requires  his ' 
pupil  to  form  opinions  for  himself,  and,  with  a  mature  insight,   to 
choose,  not  only  his  philosophy,  but  even  his  religion,  from  amid  the 
various  systems  and  forms,  of  which  the  world  is  so  full.     "  If  he 
can  not  choose,"  says  Rousseau  ,"  let  him  doubt."     This  radically  cor- 
rupt sentiment,  which  is  in  direct  opposition  to  Augustin's  profound  as 
well  as   true   saying,  "faith   goes    before    understanding,"  is  widely 
diffused  at  the  present  day.     I  shall  examine  it  more  closely  further  on. 

"  The  bees  gather  the  sweets  of  every  flower,  but  the  honey  they 
make  is  no  longer  that  of  thyme  or  marjoram,  but  purely  their  own. 
So  should  the  pupil  alter  and  transmute  whatever  he  derives  from 
others,  in  order  to  make  it  all  his  own." 

This  beautiful  and  apt  comparison  we  frequently  meet  with,   in  \  ^, 
Erasmus  and    Bacon.     But  nothing   interferes  with  this  instinctive  ' 
process  of  intellectual  assimilation  in  the  minds  of  youth,  so  much  as 
the  practice  of  questioning  and  doubting,  recommended  by  Montaigne. 
A  blessing  upon  spiritual  growth  comes  only  through  a  believing, 
humble  self-surrendery,  and  through  this  alone  is  a  genial  quickening 
of  the  receptive  faculties  possible. 

"Verily,  we  make  our  children  timorous,  and  cowardly,  by  giving 
them  no  freedom  to  do  any  thing  of  themselves.  Who  of  us  ever 


320         MONTAIGNE'S  THOUGHTS  ON  LEARNING  AND  EDUCATION. 

asks  his  scholar,  what  he  thinks  of  rhetoric  or  grammar  ?  of  this  or 
that  passage  in  Cicero  ?  These  things  are  only  driven  into  the  mem- 
ory, like  oracles,  whose  whole  essence  consists  in  the  letters  and  sylla- 
bles of  which  they  are  composed.  But  external  knowledge  is  no 
knowledge  at  all ;  it  is  nothing  but  the  possession  of  that  which  has 
been  intrusted  to  the  memory.  What,  on  the  other  hand  we  truly 
know,  we  can  make  available  without  an  appeal  to  authority,  and 
without  first  examining  our  book,  to  see  whether  it  is  thus  or  so." 

Thus  he  renders  prominent  the  formation  of  independent  opinions 
by  children,  in  contrast  with  the  slavish  method,  as  hitherto  practiced, 
of  depending  on  external  knowledge;  a  method,  which  is  an  endless 
source  of  innumerable  evils. 

"  t  could  only  wish  that  those  dancing  masters,  Paluel  and 
Pompey,  could  have  taught  us  their  pirouettes,  merely  by  looking  at 
them,  without  our  having  had  to  bestir  ourselves  at  all ;  even  as  those 
teachers  of  ours,  would  develop  our  understandings  into  action  without 
stimulating  them  into  any  sort  of  activity  ;  or,  that  we  could  be  taught 
to  manage  a  horse,  to  handle  a  pike,  or  to  touch  a  lute,  without  the 
necessity  of  practicing,  just  as  our  tutors  aim  to  make  us  good 
reasoners  or  good  (speakers,  without  exercising  us  in  speaking  or 
in  reasoning." 

An  advocacy  of  self-activity,  asjm  important  element  in  mental  cul- 
ture, and  produced  by  exercise,  as  opposed  to  entire  passivity  ;  tliat 
education,  which  leads  to  solid  art,  not  merely  to  flimsy,  theoretical 
science  is  thus  set  forth. 

•'The  opinion  is  universally  received,  that  it  is  not  good  for  a  child 
to  be  educated  at  home  ;  for  natural  affection  renders  even  the  most 
judicious  of  parents  too  tender-hearted  and  yielding.  They  can  not 
bear  to  punish  their  child,  nor  to  see  him  hardened  by  frugal  fare ; 
and  yet  he  must  be  brought  up  thus.  Nor  can  they  bear  to  see  him 
return  home  from  his  exercises,  covered  with  sweat  and  dust,  and  then 
be  allowed  nothing  but  cold  water,  with  which  to  quench  his  thirst ; 
nor  can  they  suffer  him  to  ride  an  unruly  horse.  And  yet  there  is 
no  help  for  all  this;  for  whoever  expects  to  educate  a  boy  to  be  a 
brave  man,  most  certainly  should  not  render  him  effeminate  in  his 
youth,  but  must  often,  in  his  discipline,  run  counter  to  the  precepts 
of  physicians.  '  Let  him  spend  his  days  in  the  open  air,  and  let  him 
become  familiar  with  danger.'  [Horace,  Carm.  1.  3.  2.]  It  is  not 
enough  to  inspire  him  with  fortitude ;  his  muscles  also  must  be  har- 
dened. For  the  mind,  when  not  assisted  by  the  body,  has  too  much 
to  do,  and  sinks  under  its  superadded  labors.  I  feel  that  my  own  is 
over-burdened  by  my  weak  and  unstrung  body,  its  companion,  which 


MONTAIGNE'S  THOUGHTS  ON  LEARNING  AND  EDUCATION.    321 

is  always  leaning  upon  it  and  looking  to  it  for  aid.  I  have  often  ob- 
served in  my  reading,  that  my  masters,  in  their  writings,  in  many 
cases,  attribute  to  magnanimity  and  strength  of  intellect,  those  actions, 
which  proceed  rather  from  the  thickness  of  the  skin  or  the  hard- 
ness of  the  bones.  The  pupil  must  be  practiced  in  severe  bodily 
exercises,  in  order  that  he  may  become  insensible  to  all  sorts  of  pain. 
The  authority  of  the  tutor  likewise,  which  should  be  unlimited,  is  in- 
terrupted and  checked  by  the  presence  of  the  parents.  Moreover  the 
homage  rendered  to  the  young  master  by  the  servants,  and  the  opin- 
ion which  he  imperceptibly  imbibes  at  home  of  the  wealth  and  the 
position  of  his  family, — these  I  think,  are  decidedly  injurious  to  one 
of  his  years." 

This  is  in  entire  harmony  with  Rousseau, — a  contempt  of  parental 
training,  and  an  over-estimate  placed  upon  the  tutor's  functions. 
Nothing  but  the  deep  moral  corruption  and  the  depraved  manners  of 
the  French  nobility  can  excuse  such  unnatural  sentiments  in  these 
two  men. 

The  noble  prominence  here  given  to  the  culture  and  the  hardening 
of  the  body,  is  likewise  in  the  spirit  of  Rousseau  and  his  school,  as  well 
as  in  that  of  Fichte  and  Jahn. 

"  The  pupil  should  be  taught,  never  to  engage  in  any  conversation 
or  controversy,  unless  he  has  an  antagonist,  who  is  able  to  cope  with 
him ;  nor  even  then,  to  make  use  of  all  the  arguments,  which  can 
serve  his  purpose.  But  let  him  be  formed  to  a  nice  discrimination 
between  different  arguments,  and  to  a  desire  to  use  those  alone, 
which  he  absolutely  needs ;  and  by  consequence,  to  brevity.  Especially 
let  it  be  enjoined  upon  him,  to  lay  down  his  weapons  before  the 
truth,  and  to  surrender  himself  unconditionally  to  it,  as  soon  as  he 
perceives  it,  whether  on  the  side  of  his  opponent,  or  in  his  own 
consciousness." 

"  Let  the  conscience  and  the  virtue  of  the  pupil  shine  forth  in  his 
discourse,  but  let  them  be  ever  under  the  dominion  of  his  reason.  Make 
it  distinctly  understood  by  him,  that  to  acknowledge  and  correct  any 
mistakes  which  he  may  have  made  in  whatever  he  has  advanced, 
though  they  should  have  been  perceived  by  no  one  but  himself,  is  a 
mark  of  good  judgment  and  candor,  those  admirable  qualities,  for 
which  he  is  striving  ;  and,  on  the  contrary,  that  obstinacy  and  a  spirit 
of  wrangling  are  despicable  traits,  and  to  be  found  mostly  in  narrow 
minds ;  while,  to  reconsider  or  to  alter  one's  opinions,  and  even  in  the 
heat  of  debate,  to  give  up  a  bad  cause,  betokens  an  eminently 
independent  and  a  philosophical  character." 

Worldly  wisdom  and  the  spirit  of  Christianity  thus  coincide  in  the 

No.  11.— |  VOL.  IV.,  No.  2.]— 30.  u 


322          MONTAIGNE'S  THOUGHTS  ON  LEARNING  AND  EDUCATION. 

injunction  to  humble  ourselves  resolutely  before  the  truth,  and  to  avoid 
all  contention  for  the  mere  sake  of  victory. 

"Let  him  endeavor  to  become  acquainted  with  men  in  all  the 
different  spheres  of  life ;  the  cow-herd,  the  mason,  the  traveling 
merchant,  every  one, — he  must  see  at  their  various  avocations,  and 
must  get  some  information  from  each  one  of  them  ;  for  he  can  turn 
every  thing  to  account,  and  even  from  the  stupidity  or  the  weakness 
of  others,  can  gather  wisdom.  For  as  he  diligently  considers  so 
many  different  fashions  and  manners,  he  becomes  ever  more  eager  to 
appropriate  the  good  and  to  reject  the  bad.  He  should  also  be  in- 
spired with  a  discreet  curiosity  to  examine  into  every  thing  of  interest ; 
all  that  is  rare  or  attractive  in  his  immediate  vicinity  he  should  visit, 
be  it  a  castle,  a  fountain,  a  remarkable  man,  or  a  memorable  battle 
field  :— 

'  What  lands  are  chained  with  frost,  what  ever  green  and  fair, 
The  swift-winged  barks  to  Rome  what  fav'ring  breeze  will  bear.' 

Prop.  1 :  4. 

He  ought,  moreover,  to  inform  himself  in  respect  to  the  manners, 
laws,  and  revenues  of  this  or  that  Prince  or  Sovereign.  These  are 
things  which  are  very  pleasant  to  learn,  and  very  useful  to  know. 
In  recommending  this  acquaintance  and  intercourse  with  men,  I  refer 
also,  and  that  chiefly,  to  those,  whose  memory  has  been  handed  down 
to  us  in  books.  By  means  of  history  the  pupil  will  be  enabled  to 
converse  with  the  great  men  of  the  most  note-worthy  ages.  This  is 
a  study  of  inestimable  value,  and  according  to  Plato,  the  only  one  to 
which  the  Lacedaemonians  paid  any  attention.  And  what  profit  will 
he  not  derive,  in  this  respect,  from  the  perusal  of  Plutarch's  lives  ! 
But  the  tutor  must  never  forget  the  appropriate  functions  of  his 
office ;  for  instance,  he  must  not  impress  upon  the  memory  of  his  pu- 
pil the  date  of  the  overthrow  of  Carthage,  and  omit  all  consideration 
of  the  characters  of  Scipio  and  Hannibal.  He  must  not  dwell  upon 
the  narrative,  and  neglect  to  impart  a  just  estimate  of  the  events 
narrated." 

This  requirement  that  the  boy  should  take  a  survey  both  of  the 
present  and  the  past,  and  should  form  independent  opinions  in  re- 
spect to  each  period, — as  well  as  the  recommendation  of  Plutarch,  we 
find  repeated  in  Rousseau. 

"In  my  opinion,  the  first  principles  implanted  in  the  understanding 
should  be  those,  by  which  we  shall  be  taught  how  to  govern  both  our 
minds  and  our  hearts,  and  how  to  obtain  self-knowledge;  in  a  word, 
how  to  live  well,  and  how  to  die  well.  Among  the  liberal  arts,  let  us 
first  acquire  the  art  which  alone  will  make  us  free.  They  all,  to  be 


MONTAIGNE'S  THOUGHTS  ON  LEARNING  AND  EDUCATION.          328 

sure,  in  a  certain  measure,  serve  to  fit  us  for  life  and  its  duties  ;  and 
the  same  purpose  is  furthered,  in  some  degree,  too,  by  every  thing 
that  occurs  in  our  experience.  But  we  ought  to  apply  ourselves  to 
those  which  have  a  direct  influence  this  way,  in  virtue  of  their  very 
nature.  If  we  understood  how  to  confine  our  wants  and  necessities 
within  their  true  and  natural  limits,  we  should  find  that  most  of  the 
sciences  would  be  altogether  useless  to  us,  and  that,  even  among  those 
which  are  indispensable,  that  there  are  many  breadths  and  depths, 
which  we  would  do  well  to  leave  untouched  ;  and  we  should  realize 
the  truth  of  the  saying  of  Socrates,  '  that  it  is  not  worth  our  while  to 
prosecute  any  studies  but  such  as  will  directly  promote  our  interests.' " 

Montaigne  attaches  the  highest  importance  to  instruction  in  self- 
knowledge,  and  in  the  art  of  living  well  and  of  dying  well,  the  art 
which  makes  us  free.  But  he  has  not  a  word  to  say  about  the  only 
master  of  this  art,  that  One,  who  can  make  us  free  indeed.  And  in 
dissuading  us  from  speculative  and  unprofitable  knowledge,  he  speaks 
more  in  the  spirit  of  Rousseau  than  in  that  of  Socrates. 

"  After  the  pupil  has  been  taught  all  that  is  necessary  to  make  him 
wiser  and  better,  he  may  apply  himself  to  logic,  natural  philosophy, 
geometry,  and  rhetoric;  and  whatever  science  he  may  now  take  up, 
he  will  speedily  master; — because  his  judgment  has  been  matured. 
He  should  be  instructed  sometimes  by  discourse,  and  sometimes  by 
reading ;  at  times  the  tutor  should  place  the  works  of  judicious 
authors  in  his  hands,  and  on  other  occasions  he  should  give  him  only 
their  pith  and  marrow.  Who  can  doubt  whether  this  way  of  teach- 
ing is  more  easy  and  natural  than  that  of  the  Greek  grammarian, 
Gaza,  whose  system  is  composed  of  thorny,  repulsive  rules,  and  of 
empty,  unmeaning  words,  containing  nothing  to  inspire  a  thirst  for 
knowledge  ?  But  in  the  system  which  we  here  advocate,  the  mind  is 
directed  to  fresh,  wholesome  food ;  and  its  fruits  are  without  compari- 
son more  abundant,  and  they  also  ripen  much  sooner." 

A  decided  attack  upon  the  old,  austere  method  of  teaching,  in 
which  time,  place  and  grammar  were  all  in  all ;  here  again  he  appears 
the  prototype  of  Rousseau  and  Basedow. 

"It  is  not  a  little  remarkable,  that  in  our  day,  and  even  among 
sensible  people,  philosophy,  both  in  theory  and  practice,  has  come  to 
be  regarded  as  an  unmeaning  word,  representing  nothing  of  any 
value.  I  imagine  that  the  'Ergo's'  and  the  wire-drawing  sub- 
tleties of  Logic,  which  guard  every  avenue  by  which  philosophy 
can  be  approached,  are  chiefly  to  be  censured  for  the  neglect  into 
which  she  has  fallen.  It  is  very  wrong  to  represent  her  as  inaccessi- 
ble, or  as  having  a  sour,  morose,  forbidding  aspect.  Who  has  disguised 


324         MONTAIGNE'S  THOUGHTS  ON  LEARNING  AND  EDUCATION. 

her  in  this  pale,  hideous  mask  ?  There  is  nothing  more  cheerful, 
sprightly,  joyful,  nay,  I  had  almost  said,  more  frolicsome  than  she. 
She  preaches  nothing  but  gaiety  and  good  cheer.  A  crabbed  and  an 
austere  countenance  in  a  man,  is  a  sure  indication  that  she  does  not 
dwell  with  him.  When  Demetrius,  the  grammarian,  saw  a  number 
of  philosophers  sitting  together  in  the  temple  at  Delphi,  he  addressed 
them  thus :  '  Either  I  misjudge,  or  your  quiet,  cheerful  faces  tell  me 
that  you  are  engaged  in  no  very  important  conversation.'  Where- 
upon one  of  them,  Heracleon,  the  Megarean,  replied  :  '  Let  those  who 
are  undertaking  to  settle,  whether  the  future  of  /3<xXXw  should  have  the 
X  doubled,  or  who  are  tracing  out  the  root  of  the  comparatives 
X&piw  and  /3^Xnov,  or  of  the  superlatives  ^s/pitfrov  and  ^aXrirfTov,  let 
them  knit  their  brows,  when  conversing  together  upon  their  hobbies ; 
but  as  for  philosophical  inquiries,  they  commonly  enliven  and  cheer 
those  who  enter  upon  them,  and  never  make  them  sour  and  peevish.' " 

In  this  passage,  Epicurus  is  commended,  and  still  more  in  what 
follows. 

"  I  would  not  have  the  youth  imprisoned,  as  it  were,  and  subjected 
to  the  passionate  and  gloomy  caprices  of  a  half-frantic  pedagogue.  I 
would  not  crush  his  spirit,  by  compelling  him,  after  the  customary 
method,  to  sweat  and  stagger,  like  a  porter,  under  his  daily  round  of 
fourteen  or  fifteen  hours  toil.  '  Nor  can  I  consent,  when  through  an 
unsocial  and  melancholy  temperament,  he  gives  himself  up  to  immod- 
erate study,  that  he  be  encouraged  in  so  doing.  For  he  will  thus  be 
rendered  unfit  for  social  intercourse,  and  will  be  withheld  from  better 

f  V 

employments.  Truly  how  great  is  the  number  of  those  who  have 
been  brutified  by  too  overpowering  a  thirst  for  knowledge.  yCarneades 
was  so  greedy  after  it,  that  he  gave  himself  no  time  to  shave  his 
beard  or  pare  his  nails.  Nor  do  I  desire  to  see  the  noble  manners  of 
the  pupil  spoiled  by  the  impertinence  and  the  rudeness  of  others.  In 
former  times  the  French  philosophy  of  life  passed  into  a  proverb,  as 
that  which  showed  itself  in  the  children  at  quite  an  early  age.  but 
which  did  not  hold  out  long.  In  fact,  we  observe  at  the  present  day, 
that  young  people  in  France  are  extremely  clever ;  but  they  commonly 
disappoint  the  expectations  which  we  had  formed  of  them,  and,  when 
grown  up,  become  in  no  wise  eminent  or  distinguished.  I  have  heard 
intelligent  people  say,  that  the  institutions  of  learning,  of  which  there 
are  so  many  in  France,  render  them  thus  stupid.  But  to  our  pupil, 
on  the  other  hand,  every  place  should  be  a  place,  and  every  time  a 
time  for  study, — the  garden,  the  table,  the  bed,  solitude,  society, 
forenoon,  afternoon, — no  matter  where  or  when ;  for  philosophy, 
which  is  the  main  object  of  his  pursuit,  as  the  guide  of  his 
understanding  and  his  heart,  is  every  where  at  home." 


MONTAIGNE'S  THOUGHTS  ON  LEARNING  AND  EDUCATION.         325 

"  Thus  our  lessons,  mingling  with  every  occasion,  and  taken  up  at 
every  opportunity,  will  insinuate  themselves  into  our  minds  almost 
without  our  perceiving  how.  Even  our  recreations  and  our  exercises ; 
running,  wrestling,  music,  dancing,  riding,  fencing,  and  the  chase, — 
all  will  unite  to  assist  us  in  our  studies.  It  is  also  important  that  a 
graceful  deportment  and  winning  manners  be  cultivated,  at  the  same 
time  that  we  are  taking  so  much  pains  with  the  mind.  For  it  is  neither 
a  mind  nor  a  body  that  we  are  educating,  but  a  man ;  and  we  must 
not  divide  him  into  two  parts.  For,  as  Plato  says,  we  should  not 
train  the  one  without  the  other,  but  they  must  both  lead  and  draw 
alike,  as  a  span  of  horses  harnessed  to  the  same  carriage.  As  for  what 
remains,  this  our  method  of  education  must  be  conducted  with  an  even- 
handed  mildness,  and  not  after  the  fashion  of  our  modern  pedagogues, 
who,  instead  of  inspiring  children  with  a  love  for  learning,  render  it 
hateful  and  repulsive  to  them.  Away  with  this  coercion  and  violence ! 
For,  in  my  opinion,  there  is  nothing  which  so  humiliates  and  stultifies 
an  otherwise  excellent  nature.  If  you  have  any  desire  that  your  pupil 
should  dread  shame  and  punishment,  do  not  render  him  callous  to 
them  ;  but  harden  him  rather  to  endure  heat  and  cold,  wind  and  sun, 
and  all  the  disagreeable  and  dangerous  accidents  and  adjuncts  of  life, 
which  he  ought  to  hold  in  contempt.  Wean  him  from  all  effemi- 
nateness  and  delicacy  in  dress,  eating,  drinking  and  sleeping ;  accus- 
tom him  to  bear  all  things,  so  that  he  may  not  become  a  senseless, 
foppish  gallant,  but  may  rather  grow  to  be  a  strong  and  sturdy  lad. 
The  training  in  most  of  our  institutions  of  learning,  I  am  utterly  op- 
posed to.  It  would  be  less  mischievous,  certainly,  did  its  errors  pro- 
ceed from  overmuch  indulgence  ;  but  these  places,  on  the  other  hand 
are  veritable  dungeons,  where  our  youth  are  imprisoned.  They  are  '  n 
there  made  dissolute  and  corrupt,  by  being  punished  on  the  mere 
suspicion  of  being  debauched  already.  Do  but  visit  a  class  while 
engaged  in  recitation ;  you  will  hear  nothing  save  the  cries  of  child- 
ren smarting  under  the  rod,  and  the  bellowings  of  the  irritated  and 
enraged  masters.  An  admirable  method,  truly,  to  inspire  the  tender 
and  shrinking  minds  of  the  young  with  a  love  for  knowledge,  is  this 
being  goaded  to  study  by  a  wrathful  visage  and  a  merciless  whip! 
Consider,  moreover,  as  Quintilian  has  very  justly  remarked,  '  that  a 
domineering  spirit  always  exerts  an  unhappy  influence  ;'  and  how  sig- 
nally so  must  it  be  in  our  present  most  wretched  style  of  training ! 
How  much  more  seemly  were  it  to  decorate  the  school-bench  with 
garlands  of  flowers  and  leaves,  than  to  make  it  dismal  with  the 
blood-stained  birch.  I  would  have  the  walls  of  the  school-room 
hung  with  pictures  of  joy  and  gladness,  of  Flora  and  the  Graces, 
after  the  manner  of  Speusippus,  the  philosopher,  in  his  school." 


320  MONTAIGNE  8  THOUGHTS  ON  LEARNING  AND  EDUCATION. 

This  is  in  close  connection  with  previous  passages.  An  attack  upon 
the  austere  routine,  the  pedantic,  joyless  diligence  of  the  recluse,  and 
a  renewed  praise  of  manly  exercises  and  of  cheerfulness  in  disposition 
and  conduct. 

"  My  pupil  should  not  recite  his  lesson,  so  much  as  put  it  in  prac- 
tice, and  repeat  it  in  his  actions.  We  must  observe,  whether 
he  is  prudent  in  his  undertakings,  whether  he  exhibits  benevolence 
and  justice  in  his  conduct,  whether  intelligence  and  courtesy  are  man- 
ifest in  his  speech,  whether  he  shows  fortitude  in  sickness,  modesty  in 
his  mirth,  moderation  in  his  pleasures,  and  order  in  every  thing,  and 
lastly,  whether  it  is  all  alike  to  his  palate,  what  he  shall  eat  or  drink, 
be  it  fish  or  flesh,  wine  or  water.  '  Let  him  value  his  learning  not  for 
the  show  which  he  can  make  of  it,  but  for  its  influence  on  his  life, 
and  let  him  govern  himself  and  be  obedient  to  the  laws.' — [Cicero, 
Tune.  Quaest,  v.,  Lib.  2.]  Our  reason  most  faithfully  mirrors  itself 
in  our  daily  life.  Zeuxidamus  replied  to  a  certain  one,  who  asked  him 
why  the  Lacedaemonians  did  not  reduce  their  science  of  military  tac- 
tics to  writing,  and  give  it  to  their  youth  to  study  :  '  It  is  because  they 
accustom  them  to  deeds,  and  not  to  words.'  With  these  Lacedemo- 
nians compare  now  one  of  the  Latinists  from  our  schools,  who  has 
spent  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  in  merely  learning  how  to  speak  cor- 
rectly. The  world  is  full  of  babble,  and  I  have  never  yet  seen  the 
man,  who  did  not  say  more  than  was  necessary,  rather  than  less. 
And  yet  the  half  of  our  life  is  spent  in  this  manner." 

"  If  our  pupil  is  familiar  with  a  wide  range  of  subjects,  words  will 
come  of  themselves  ;  and  should  they  appear  reluctant,  he  can  force 
them  to  do  his  bidding.  I  hear  some  excuse  themselves  for  not  being 
able  to  express  their  ideas  correctly  ;  and  then  they  will  put  on  a  con- 
sequential air,  as  though  they  have  their  heads  full  of  the  finest 
thoughts  in  the  world,  but  are  unable  to  bring  them  to  the  light,  for 
lack  of  eloquence.  But  this  is  not  the  cause.  Shall  I  tell  you  what 
I  think  it  is  ?  They  have  shadows  in  their  minds  of  this  and  that 
crude  and  shapeless  substance,  which  they  are  unable  to  represent 
clearly  and  distinctly  to  themselves,  and  which  consequently  they 
can  not  reduce  to  words.  For.  my  part,  I  hold  it  for  a  certainty,  and 
Socrates  maintained  the  same,  that  every  one,  who  has  a  clear  and 
sprightly  thought  in  his  head,  can  convey  it  to  others,  whether  it  be 
through  the  rudest  provincial  dialect,  or,  if  he  is  dumb,  by  means  of 
gestures.  'Is  the  subject  well  understood  first,  thon  words  will  not 
be  slow  to  follow.' — [//or.  in  Art.  Poet.]  And  as  Seneca  has  also  in 
his  prose  thus  poetically  expressed  himself:  'When  the  subject  has 
taken  possession  of  the  mind,  words  will  be  eager  to  solicit  for  it.' — 


MONTAIGNE'S  THOUGHTS  ON  LEARNING  AND  EDUCATION.     327 

[Sen,  Controv.  1.  3.]  And  Cicero:  'The  subject  itself  bears  the 
words  along  with  it.' — [Cic.  De.  Fin.  3.  5.]  A  plain,  uneducated  man 
knows  nothing  of  rhetoric ;  he  does  not  know  how  to  arrange  his 
preamble  so  as  to  secure  the  good  will  of  the  courteous  reader,  nor  in 
fact,  does  he  care  to  know  this.  Seriously,  all  this  fine  painting,  this 
flaunting  array  of  trope  and  metaphor,  grows  dim  before  the  splendor 
of  untinseled  truth.  These  elaborate  flourishes  serve  only  to  tickle 
tlie  palates  of  the  multitude,  who  are  not  in  a  condition  to  digest 
stronger  and  more  solid  food.  The  ambassadors  of  Samos  came  to 
Cleomenes,  king  of  Sparta,  prepared  with  a  long  and  grandiloquent 
speech,  framed  for  the  purpose  of  persuading  him  to  engage  in  a  war 
with  the  tyrant  Polycrates.  After  Cleomenes  had  patiently  heard 
them  through,  he  gave  them  his  reply,  as  follows :  '  The  commence- 
ment and  preamble  of  your  speech  I  do  not  remember,  nor  can  I 
recall  the  middle  of  it ;  but  as  far  as  regards  the  conclusion  of  it,  I 
can  not  grant  your  request.'  That,  it  appears  to  me,  was  a  good  an- 
swer, and  the  orators  must  have  gone  away,  utterly  confounded  with 
shame  and  mortification.  And  how  was  it,  too,  in  this  other  instance  ? 
The  Athenians,  wishing  to  build  a  large  edifice,  were  obliged  first  to 
choose  one  of  two  architects  to  superintend  the  work.  The  first  stood 
up,  and  in  a  haughty  manner,  but  with  a  well-studied  speech,  dis- 
coursed upon  the  whole  subject,  and  that  so  eloquently,  that  he  carried 
the  multitude  completely  away  with  him.  But  the  other  then  arose, 
and  made  use  only  of  these  few  words  :  '  Ye  men  of  Athens,  what  my 
rival  has  thus  said,  that  will  I  do.' " 

Against  multiplying  words,  without  the  energy  to  direct  them. 
Whoever  has  a  treasure  of  clear,  well-marked  thoughts  in  his  mind, 
will  never  be  at  a  loss  for  clear  and  appropriate  language,  in  which  to 
express  them. 

"  I  am  none  of  those  who  hold  that  good  metre  makes  good  poetry. 
Should  our  pupil  use  a  long  syllable  for  a  short  one,  what  matters  it  ? 
If  his  invention  displays  genius,  if  wit  and  understanding  have  done 
their  part,  then  I  will  say,  '  he  is  a  good  poet,  although  a  bad 
versifier.' " 

Here  we  have  the  same  principles  applied  to  poetry, — sense  and 
substance  placed  higher  than  mere  elegance  of  language.  "Solve  may 
justly  admire  the  physical  build  of  a  strong,  healthy  man,  even 
though  he  is  ill-favored  in  the  extreme.  In  any  case,  an  inartistic 
decision,  that  takes  no  account  of  beauty,  is  always  to  be  preferred  to 
an  admiration  of  smooth  but  unmeaning  rhyme. 

"  But  what  is  our  pupil  to  do  when  he  is  assailed  with  the  subtleties 
of  sophistical  syllogisms  ?  As,  for  example,  '  eating  bacon  provokes 


328          MONTAIGNE'S  THOUGHTS  ON  LEARNING  AND  EDUCATION. 

to  drinking;  drinking  quenches  thirst:  ergo,  eating  bacon  quenches 
thirst.'  Let  him  laugh,  for  laughing  at  such  platitude  is  much  better 
than  answering  them.  Chrysippus  said  to  a  certain  fellow,  who  was 
endeavoring  to  banter  Cleanthes  with  his  logical  fallacies  :  4  Mock 
children  with  your  foolish  tricks,  but  do  not  expect  that  a  man  will 
condescend  to  take  any  notice  of  them.' " 

Montaigne  here  praises  the  self-confidence  of  the  man  of  a  strong, 
healthy  understanding,  who  encounters,  with  his  native,  unperverted 
good  sense,  the  professed  pugilists  of  philosophy,  and  parries  their 
attacks,  or,  on  the  other  hand,  considers  it  beneath  his  dignity  to  close 
weapons  with  them. 

"  There  are  some  silly  persons,  who  will  go  a  half-mile  out  of  their 
direct  course  to  pick  up  an  ingenious  fancy.  *Or,  those  who  do  not 
suit  their  words  to  their  subjects,  but  call  in  the  aid  of  irrelevant  sub- 
jects, in  order  to  use  words  already  chosen.' — [Quintilian,  Lib.  8.] 
Seneca  too,  says:  'Who,  for  the  sake  of  using  some  pleasing  and 
graceful  word,  will  introduce  a  subject,  upon  which  he  did  not  at  first 
intend  to  speak.'"— [Sen.  Ep.  59.] 

"  I  would  have  the  hearer  so  carried  away  by  the  subject,  and  his 
imagination  so  filled  with  it,  that  he  shall  forget  the  words.  I  love  a 
plain,  natural  style,  written  or  spoken ;  a  strong,  expressive  style,  curt 
and  compact,  not  so  much  nice  and  faultless,  as  animated  and  direct. 
'  Those  words  are  after  all  the  wisest,  which  reach  the  heart.' " 

"  That  eloquence  which  attracts  attention  to  itself,  does  this  at  the 
expense  of  the  subject ;  and,  as  it  is  childish  in  our  dress  to  seek  noto- 
riety by  what  is  singular  and  uncommon,  so  is  it  also,  in  our  speech. 
A  desire  to  employ  new  phrases  and  unfamiliar  words  denotes  a  scho- 
lastic and  puerile  ambition.  I  would  not  use  even  a  word  or  an  ex- 
pression, which  could  not  be  understood  in  the  fish-markets  of  Paris. 
Aristophanes,  the  grammarian,  knew  nothing  of  the  matter,  when  he 
censured  Epicurus  for  his  inartistic  style,  and  overlooked  the  chief 
clement  in  his  oratory,  which  was  simple,  intelligible  language. 
Forms  of  speech  are  so  easy  of  imitation,  that  they  soon  spread  over 
a  whole  nation  ;  but  it  is  not  so  with  judgment  and  invention.  Bone 
and  sinew  we  do  not  borrow,  as  we  do  the  stuff  and  the  fashion  of 
our  coat  and  our  cloak.  Most  of  the  persons,  with  whom  I  converse, 
speak  like  my  book  ;  whether  they  think  after  the  same  sort,  I  know 
not.  *  The  Athenians,'  says  Plato, '  look  at  the  fullness  and  the  beauty 
of  your  language  ;  the  Lacedaemonians,  at  its  conciseness ;  but  the 
Cretans,  more  at  the  sentiment,  than  the  expression.  And  these  latter 
please  me  the  best.' " 

Precepts,  again,  of  that  genuine  eloquence,  which   aims  not   at 


MONTAIGNE'S  THOUGHTS  ON  LEARNING  AND  EDUCATION.  329 

appearance,  but  at  essence  and  substance;  which  does  not  seek,  by 
means  of  a  fine  array  of  borrowed  phrases,  to  startle  and  captivate, 
but  which  leaps  from  heart  to  heart,  bearing  the  hearers  along  with  it, 
even  against  their  will.  How  different  this  from  the  rhetoric  that 
idly  and  aimlessly  expends  itself  in  cold  and  glittering  words. 

"  I  would  first  become  familiar  with  my  mother  tongue,  and  the 
^*  •—     — . £ -— 

language  of  my  neighbors,  with  whom  I  am  in  constant  contact. 
There  is,  truly,  something  fine  and  grand  about  the  ^Greek  and  the 
Latin,  but  we  buy  their  acquisition  at  too  dear  a  price.  I  will  here 
communicate  a  method,  whereby  we  may  compass  this  knowledge 
with  far  less  pains-taking,  than  in  the  ordinary  way.  It  is  the  same 
method  that  was  pursued  with  me,  and  whoever  will  may  avail  him-  *  \ 
self  of  it.  After  my  deceased  father  had  made  every  possible  inquiry 
of  learned  and  experienced  men  as  to  the  best  mode  of  education,  he  J 
became  convinced  of  the  disadvantages  of  the  common  method. 
They  told  him  that  the  long  time,  which  we  spend  in  learning  the 
language  of  the  Greeks  and  that  of  the  Romans,  and  which  cost  them 
hardly  any  time  at  all,  was  to  be  considered  the  sole  reason  that  we 

did  not  attain  to  their  mental  elevation  and  their  knowledge.     I  do 

-i 

not,  however,  think  that  this  is  the  only  cause  of  the  difference.  ~But 
the  plan  that  my  father  adopted  was  the  following.  While  I  was 
yet  in  my  nurse's  arms,  and  even  before  I  could  talk,  he  committed 
me  to  the  charge  of  a  German,  who  has  since  died  in  France,  having 
been  a  famous  physician  there.  He  understood  not  a  word  of  French, 
but  was  so  much  the  better  a  Latin  scholar.  My  father  had  written 
for  him,  expressly  to  instruct  me,  and  gave  him  a  liberal  salary  there- 
for, and  I  was  thus  almost  constantly  in  his  arms.  To  lighten  his 
labors,  there  were  two  others  of  less  learning  associated  with  him,  as 
my  attendants.  These  all  spoke  to  me  only  in  Latin  ;  and,  as  for  the 
rest  of  the  family,  it  was  an  inflexible  rule,  that  neither  my  father  nor 
my  mother,  neither  a  man-servant  nor  a  maid-servant,  should  ever 
address  me  but  with  a  few  crumbs  of  Latin,  that  each  one  had 
learned  to  prattle  with  me.  It  was  astonishing  what  progress  they 
all  made  by  this  means.  My  father  and  mother  learned  enough 
Latin  to  understand  it,  and  even  enough  to  express  themselves  in  it  in 
case  of  necessity.  In  short,  we  all  Latinized  to  that  degree,  that  our 
speech  flowed  out  over  the  neighboring  villages,  where  it  became  cus- 
tomary to  give  Latin  names  to  various  artificers  and  their  tools,  which 
remain  even  to  the  present  day.  To  return  to  myself,  then,  I  knew 
in  my  seventh  year  as  little  of  the  French  or  Perigord  tongue,  as  of 
Arabic ;  and  without  art  or  book,  without  grammar  or  rule,  without 
a  rod  or  a  tear,  I  had  learned  to  speak  as  pure  Latin  as  did  my  teacher ; 


330          MONTAIGNE'S  THOUGHTS  ON  LEARNING  AND  EDUCATION. 

and,  in  truth,  how  could  it  have  been  otherwise  ?  If  a  theme  was 
given  me  for  practice,  as  is  the  custom  in  schools,  it  was  not  in  French, 
but  in  bad  Latin,  to  be  turned  into  good.  As  for  Greek,  which  I  knew 
scarce  anything  of,  my  father  contrived  a  new  method  of  instruction 
to  initiate  me  therein,  namely,  by  games  and  exercises.  For,  among 
other  things,  he  had  been  advised  to  leave  my  will  so  entirely  without 
constraint,  that  I  should,  from  my  own  natural  impulse,  acquire  a 
fondness  both  for  duty  and  for  learning, — and  moreover,  to  mould  my 
faculties  with  gentleness  and  freedom,  forbearing  all  compulsion  and 
severity.  He  even  carried  this  policy  out  with  superstitious  fidelity  ; 
for,  as  some  are  of  opinion  that  it  injures  the  delicate  brains  of  child- 
ren to  wake  them  suddenly  and  with  violence  out  of  sleep  in  the 
morning,  because  they  sleep  more  soundly  than  adults,  he  invariably 
caused  me  to  be  awaked  by  music." 

"  When  I  was  not  far  from  six  years  old,  my  father  sent  me  to  the 
public  school  in  Guyenne,  then  in  a  very  flourishing  state,  and  the 
best  in  France.  But  it  was  none  the  less  a  public  school.  From  that 
hour,  my  Latin  grew  corrupt ;  and  since  then,  I  have  lost  all  com- 
mand over  it,  from  discontinuing  its  practice.  And  my  previous 
extraordinary  education  served  only  to  place  me  at  the  outset  in  the 
highest  classes.  For  when  I  left  the  school  at  thirteen,  I  had  run 
through  my  curriculum,  as  they  call  it,  and  had  yet  derived  nothing 
from  it  at  all,  which  I  can  now  turn  to  any  account.  I  early  con- 
ceived a  taste  for  books,  which  began  with  the  pleasure  I  derived 
from  reading  Ovid's  Metamorphoses.  For  in  my  seventh  or  eighth 
year,  I  stole  from  every  other  pursuit,  to  read  Ovid ;  and,  so  much 
the  more,  since  his  language  was  my  mother-tongue,  as  it  were,  and 
his  book  was  both  the  easiest  that  I  was  acquainted  with  in  that 
tongue,  and  also  it  treated  of  matters  suited  to  my  tender  years.  As 
for  Launcelot  of  the  Lake,  Amadis,  Huon  of  Bordeaux,  and  the  like 
pleasant  old  romances,  which  youth  in  general  devour  so  eagerly,  I 
knew  not  even  their  titles,  (and  to  this  hour  I  know  no  more  of  their 
contents,)  so  strict  was  my  training.  But  I  was  thus  led  to  neglect 
the  studies  that  were  allotted  to  me.  In  this  position  of  things,  how- 
ever, it  happened  very  favorably  for  me,  that  my  preceptor  was  a 
man  of  sense,  and  he  accordingly  closed  his  eyes  to  my  occasional 
deviations  of  one  sort  and  another  from  my  prescribed  course.  And 
thus  I  was  enabled  to  read  through,  without  interruption,  Virgil's 
^Eneid,  Lucretius,  Plautus,  and  the  Italian  Comedies,  all  of  which  al- 
lured me  by  the  interesting  nature  of  their  subjects.  Had  he  been  so 
foolish  as  to  have  disturbed  me  in  this  course,  I  verily  believe  that  I 
should  have  brought  nothing  away  from  the  school  with  me,  but  an 


MONTAIGNE'S  THOUGHTS  ON  LEARNING  AND  EDUCATION.    331 

aversion  to  books  altogether,  as  is  almost  invariably  the  case  with  all 
our  nobility.  But  he  was  quite  discreet  in  his  apparent  self-deception, 
acting  as  though  he  was  not  aware  of  my  habits ;  and  he  thus 
sharpened  my  appetite,  by  permitting  me  to  peruse  these  books  only 
in  secret,  while  keeping  me  to  my  required  tasks  in  the  most  indulgent 
manner  possible." 

Here  we  have  the  course  which  was  pursued  in  the  education  of 
Montaigne  himself,  and  which  he  sanctions  throughout.  He  antici- 
pates the  new  educational  era  in  his  wish  ;  "  to  learn  before  every 
thing  else  his  mother-tongue,  and  the  language  of  those  who  imme- 
diately surround  him  ;"  in  which  it  is  apparent  that  he  has  regard 
more  to  the  utilitarian  aspect  of  philology,  than  to  its  influence  upon 
mental  culture.  The  spirit  of  the  same  era  is  expressed  in  the 
attempt  to  teach  Latin  in  a  new  and  an  easier  way,  "  without  gram- 
mar or  rule,  without  a  blow  or  a  tear."  In  the  same  spirit  it  was  that 
Montaigne  learned  Greek,  "  in  play,"  and  that  he  was  awakened 
from  sleep,  in  play,  as  it  were, — by  strains  of  music.  "  We  must  ex- 
cite," he  says,  "  a  strong  desire  and  a  hunger  for  study  ;  otherwise, 
we  shall  educate  with  our  books  droves  of  luggage-laden  asses ;  under 
the  crack  of  the  whip  we  shall  fill  their  panniers  with  knowledge,  and 
admonish  them  not  to  lose  it.  But  we  ought  not  merely  to  entertain 
knowledge  in  our  dwellings,  we  should  wed  ourselves  to  her."  With 
justice  does  Montaigne  thus  battle  against  the  heartless,  formal  drill 
system,  and  against  learning  without  enthusiasm.  But  he,  like  so 
many  thousand  others  in  the  transition-period,  while  seeking  to  avoid 
this  Charybdis,  falls  into  a  Scylla,  into  an  enervating,  over-weening 
neglect  of  all  discipline,  and  into  an  unmethodical  method  of  teaching 
and  learning.  Their  ideal  is  an  ideal  amateurship  from  their  youth 
up,  untrammeled  by  that  wholesome  severity  of  the  school,  which 
moulds  those  strong,  manly  characters,  who  in  their  studies  sedulously 
subordinate  themselves  to  whatever  subject  is  before  them,  and  become 
obedient  to  it,  in  order  to  subdue  it. 

That  Montaigne  emerged  from  such  a  delicate  training,  wherein  he 
was  diligently  guarded  from  all  care  and  trouble,  a  thoroughly  indoc- 
trinated, pleasure-seeking  Epicurean,  we  have  already  seen,  and  he  is 
therefore  himself  to  be  regarded  as  the  first  fruits  of  the  modern 
system  of  education. 

In  his  24th  chapter,  "On  Pedantry,"  Montaigne  attacks  not  pedants 
merely,  but  the  sciences  in  general,  in  so  far  as  they  unfit  men  for 
action  ;  thus  repeating  here  the  strictures,  which  we  have  observed  in 
passages  already  cited.  Here  too  he  is  throughout  the  forerunner  of 
Rousseau. 

*  Plutarch  tells  us,"  says  Montaigne,  "that  among  the  Romans, 


332  MONTAIGNE'S  THOUGHTS  ON  LEARNING  AND  EDUCATION. 

Greek  and  schoolmaster  were  correlative  terms,  and  alike  epithets  of 
derision.  I  afterward,"  he  continues,  "found,  as  I  advanced  in  life, 
that  they  had  abundant  reason  for  their  opinion ;  and  that '  the  great- 
est scholars  are  not  always  the  wisest  men.'  But  how  it  happens,  that 
a  mind  enriched  with  the  knowledge  of  so  many  things,  is  not  made 
thereby  more  active  and  lively,  while  the  commonest  native  under- 
standing is  able  without  any  cultivation  to  comprehend  the  thoughts 
and  conclusions  of  the  noblest  intellects  that  the  world  has  ever  pro- 
duced,— this,  I  confess,  I  can  not  explain.  'Whoever  must  needs 
incorporate  the  thoughts  of  so  many  strong  and  mighty  brains  with 
his  own,'  said  a  young  lady  to  me  once,  in  allusion  to  a  certain 
acquaintance  of  ours,  'can  not  do  it,  without  first  compressing  his 
own  brain,  and  drawing  it  into  a  smaller  compass.'  I  might  perhaps 
conclude,  that,  as  plants  are  choked  by  too  much  moisture,  and  lamps 
quenched  by  too  much  oil,  so  it  is  with  the  activity  of  the  understand- 
ing through  too  much  study,  and  too  great  a  burden  of  knowledge ; 
for,  through  the  vast  diversity  of  subjects  among  which  its  attention 
is  divided,  it  is  plunged  into  endless  entanglements,  and  is  crippled 
and  clogged  by  the  weight  under  which  it  staggers.  But  the  fact  is 
quite  otherwise ;  for  the  mind  expands  in  proportion  as  it  is  filled. 
In  proof  of  this  assertion,  we  can  point  to  many  examples  of  antiquity, 
where  men,  who  have  proved  equal  to  the  discharge  of  high  public 
functions,  men  who  have  shown  themselves  great  generals  or  able 
statesmen,  have  been  at  the  same  time  very  learned." 

As  we  observe,  Montaigne  does  not  overlook  the  fact  that  in  Julius 
Caesar,  Pericles,  and  others,  great  attainments  in  knowledge  harmo- 
nized admirably  with  practical  efficiency.  Yet  he  is  the  panegyrist  of 
the  Lacedaemonian  method  of  education,  which  he  places  in  bold  con- 
trast with  the  Athenian,  much  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  latter. 
And  not  satisfied  even  with  this  expression  of  his  views,  he  adds, 
"We  are  taught  by  examples,  that  the  study  of  the  sciences  ren- 
ders the  disposition  weak  and  womanish,  rather  than  unyielding  and 
brave.  The  strongest  government  at  present  existing  in  the  world,  is 
the  Turkish  ;  for  there  the  people  are  trained  to  prize  arms,  and  to 
look  with  contempt  upon  learning.  I  find  too,  that  Rome  was  great- 
est, when  the  people  were  ignorant.  The  most  warlike  nations  in  our 
day  are  those  which  are  the  most  rude  and  uneducated.  The 
Scythians,  Parthians,  Tamerlane  and  others,  are  examples  of  the  truth 
of  this  remark." 

Aside  from  this  overestimate,  this  idolatry,  we  might  almost  term 
it,  of  barbarism  and  brute  force,  we  find  in  this  chapter  many  very 
excellent  educational  hints,  which  agree  essentially  with  what  has 
already  IMHMI  quoted.  Take  for  instance  the  following: 


MONTAIGNE  8  THOUGHTS  ON  LEARNING  AND  EDUCATION.         333 

"  If  we  look  at  the  customary  method  by  which  instruction  is  im- 
parted to  us,  we  shall  not  be  at  all  astonished  that  neither  scholars  nor 
teachers  are  made  either  wiser  or  more  learned  thereby.  The  care 
and  expense  which  our  fathers  bestow  upon  our  education  absolutely 
aims  at  nothing  further  than  to  fill  our  heads  with  knowledge ;  but  to 
cultivate  the  understanding  and  the  heart  is  not  so  much  as 
thought  of.  If  we  exclaim,  in  the  hearing  of  the  people,  concerning 
a  certain  person  passing  by, — '  O,  the  learned  man  1'  and  concerning 
another, — '  O,  the  good  man !'  you  can  not  withhold  them  from  fasten- 
ing their  glances  and  their  regards  upon  the  first ;  BO  that  a  third  per- 
son would  be  justified  in  turning  upon  them,  and  crying  out,  '  What 
a  pUck  of  blockheads  are  ye  all !'  We  are  particular  to  ask  concern- 
ing any  one,  '  Does  he  understand  Greek  ?'  '  Does  he  read  Latin  ?' 
'  Does  he  write  poetry  ?'  or,  '  Does  he  write  prose  ?'  but  whether  he 
has  become  better,  or  more  judicious,  (and  these  after  all  are  the  main 
points,)  we  do  not  so  much  as  think  of.  We  should  inquire,  wljo  is 
the  wisest,  not  who  is  the  most  learned.  If  the  mind  of  my  pupil 
has  not  received  a  better  direction  through  study,  and  if  his  judgment 
has  not  been  matured  by  it,  it  is  my  opinion,  that  his  time  would  have 
been  much  better  employed  in  playing  ball;  for  then,  at  least  his 
body  would  have  grown  stronger  and  more  healthy.  Look  at  him  on 
his  return  home,  after  so  many  years  spent  at  the  university  ;  who  is 
less  prepared  than  he  to  set  about  any  thing  practical  ?  And  the  most 
noticeable  thing  in  him  is,  that  his  Greek  and  Latin  have  rendered 
him  more  stupid  and  more  arrogant  than  he  was  when  he  first  left  his 
home.  He  ought  to  have  returned  with  a  full-grown  and  well-condi- 
tioned intellect,  but  it  has  on  the  contrary  become  dwarfed  and 
puffed  up  with  vanity." 

This  attack  upon  an  over-regard  paid  to  the  intellect  to  the  neglect 
of  the  moral  nature,  upon  an  anti-utilitarian  spirit,  and  upon  all  mere 
exercises  of  the  memory, — all  this,  is  an  exact  fore-shadowing  of 
Rousseau.  So  likewise  are  the  following  passages  against  dead 
learning,  without  the  power  or  the  skill  to  vitalize  it. 

"What  avails  it  if  we  fill  our  stomachs  with  food,  unless  it  is  di- 
gested and  changed  into  nutriment,  unless  it  gives  us  strength  and 
growth  ?  We  rest  so  entirely  upon  the  shoulders  of  other  men,  that 
our  own  powers  at  last  utterly  fail  us.  Shall  I  arm  myself  against  the 
fear  of  death,  I  am  forced  to  do  it  by  the  aid  of  a  passage  from 
Cicero.  Do  I  seek  consolation  for  myself  or  for  my  friends,  I  obtain 
it  from  Seneca.  But  had  I  been  educated  aright,  I  would  rather 
have  drawn  consolation  from  my  own  breast.  I  do  not  love  this 
vicarious  and  mendicant  serenity.  We  must  be  taught  by  means  of 


334          MONTAIGNE'S  THOUGHTS  ON  LEARNING  AND  EDUCATION. 

the  knowledge  of  others,  it  is  true,  but  we  cau  never  become  wiser, 
save  through  our  own  wisdom." 

"  My  unlearned  countrymen  call  these  highly  accomplished  gentle- 
men, in  their  droll  way,  '  overdone  with  study  ;'  and  truly  it  almost 
seems  as  if  they  had  studied  all  their  inborn  understanding  quite  out 
of  their  heads.  For,  on  the  other  hand,  do  but  look  at  the  hind  or 
the  shoemaker ;  they  keep  the  even  tenor  of  their  way,  and  speak 
only  of  that  which  they  know ;  but  these  fellows,  while  exalting  them- 
selves, and  parading  the  knowledge  that  swims  about  on  the  surface 
of  their  brains,  fall  into  perplexity,  and  stumble  at  every  step.  Galen 
they  may  chance  to  know ;  but  they  know  nothing  of  the  disease  of 
their  patient.  Their  heads  may  be  full  of  law ;  but  how  to  maasge 
a  cause  in  court,  this  they  do  not  understand  at  all.  Of  each  and 
every  thing  they  shall  have  learned  the  theory ;  but  some  one  else 
must  be  looked  up,  when  it  comes  to  the  practice." 

"  But  it  is  not  enough  that  our  education  be  not  an  injury  to  us  ;  it 
ought  to  make  us  better.  We  have  in  France  some  Parliaments,  that 
examine  the  officers,  whom  they  are  to  admit,  only  upon  their  knowl- 
edge ;  others,  on  the  contrary,  test  their  understandings  also,  by  pre- 
senting them  with  some  law  case,  that  they  may  give  their  opinion 
upon  its  merits.  These  latter  appear  to  me  to  proceed  in  much  the 
most  appropriate  and  judicious  manner.  And  though,  in  such  an 
office,  there  is  need  of  both,  yet  knowledge  is  of  less  value  than  a 
sound  judgment.  For  as  the  Greek  verse  expresses  it,  '  learning  is 
useless,  unless  the  mind  control  and  direct  it ;'  and,  would  to  God, 
that  we  were  so  fortunate  in  the  matter  of  our  administration  of  jus- 
tice, as  to  have  our  courts  gifted  with  as  much  understanding  and 
conscience  as  they  now  possess  of  knowledge.  '  But  alas,  we  do  not 
learn  how  to  live,  only  how  to  talk.' " 

We  now  take  our  leave  of  this  eminently  original,  and  judicious, 
yet  light  and  sarcastic  writer,  who,  by  the  aid  of  an  unperverted  com- 
mon sense,  looked  upon  the  world  with  a  far  greater  distinctness  of 
vision,  than  the  scholar,  imprisoned,  as  it  were,  in  the  fetters  of  a  dead 
classical  formality,  could  by  any  means  hope  to  do.  In  a  bold  and 
striking  manner  he  uttered  all  his  thoughts  without  any  constraint, 
and  without  once  asking  himself  what  pedants  might  say  of  him. 
How  much  he  effected  by  this  course,  and  what  universal  favor  he  has 
met  with,  is  attested  by  the  many  editions  which  have  been  demanded 
of  his  Essays,  and  by  the  influence,  which  he  exerted  not  only  on  his 
contemporaries,  but  also  on  the  most  distinguished  men  of  succeeding 
generations,  and  especially  on  Rousseau. 


THE  PROGRESSIVES  OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY. 

[Translated  from  the  German  of  Karl  Von  Raumer,  for  the  American  Journal  of  Education.] 


WE  have  already  become  acquainted  with  the  educational  institu- 
tions of  Protestant  Germany,  from  the  lowest  elementary  school  to 
the  university  ;  and  likewise  with  the  character  of  the  most  important 
Catholic  schools — those  of  the  Jesuits. 

We  now  approach  the  beginning  of  a  new  period  in  the  history  of 
the  German  systems  of  instruction ;  at  the  same  time,  the  most 
frightful  period  in  the  history  of  Germany.  Before  delineating  tho 
character  of  this  new  epoch,  I  shall  glance  at  the  condition  of  tho 
schools  of  learning  in  Germany,  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
century. 

First,  the  institutions  of  the  Jesuits.  The  Order  had  early  discerned 
the  immeasurable  importance  to  its  purpose — the  purpose  of  re-estab- 
lishing an  absolute  hierarchy,  and  of  nullifying  the  results  of  the 
Reformation — of  securing  to  itself,  if  possible,  the  entire  management 
of  the  education  of  youth.  The  Jesuits  followed  up  their  design 
with  wonderful  wisdom  and  skill,  and  indefatigable  perseverance ;  and 
upon  comprehensive  and  well-studied  plans.*  In  1550,  they  had  no 
permanent  foothold  in  Germany.  The  next  year  they  founded  their 
first  school,  in  Vienna  ;  in  1556,  they  established  seminaries  at  Co- 
logne, Prague,  and  Ingolstadt ;  in  1559,  at  Munich  and  Tyrnau ;  in  15C3, 
at  Dillingen  ;  in  1569,  at  Brannsberg;  and,  in  1575,  at  Heiligensladt.f 
They  also  established  themselves  firmly  at  Mentz,  Aschatfenburg, 
Briinn,  Olmiitz,  and  VViirzburg. 

The  Jesuits  were  accustomed  to  use  every  means  of  accomplishing 
their  objects  ;  and  well  understood  how  to  put  out  of  their  way  such 
institutions  as  obstructed  them — not  only  Protestant,  but  Catholic 
ones — as  in  Treves,  Posen,  and  Prague. 

In  Treves,  the  Hieronymites  had  established  a  Brothers'  House,  at 
the  end  of  the  15th  century. J  Johannes  Even,  substitute-bishop  of 

*  Rauke's  account  of  the  Counter-Reformation.— History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  2.  p.  25,  Ac. 

t  Director  Riuke  cays,  ("Gymnaxial  Programme."  Heilipenstadt,  1?37.)  "In  1574  com- 
menced the  work  of  regaining  Eichsfcld  to  Galholic'.sm."  Two  years  after  the  erection  of 
Hie  Jesuit  school  there,  in  1577.  it  already  had  200  scholars.  The  Jesuits  remained  there 
until  1773.  when  Dalbers  came  from  Erfurr,  and  ordered  them,  in  pursuance  of  the  hull  of 
ab-o»ation  of  Clement  XIV.,  10  leave  the  city  before  daybreak  of  Sept.  30.— Ibid,  pp  5. 1 1,  41. 

;••  Contribution  to  the  history  of  schools  in  the  former  electorate  of  Treve*,  by  First 
Director  J.  II.  \Vyttenbach.';  In  Ihe  Treves  Gymnasium  programme  of  1*J1,  p.  10.  4c. 


336  TIIE  PROGRESSIVES  OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY. 

Treves,  gives  (about  1514,)  a  most  favorable  account  of  them,  as  good 
and  respected  priest*,  of  virtuous  life,  and  as  having  in  his  time  300 
scholars.  The  people  gave  the  Hieronymians  the  surname  of  "  golden 
priests."  A  protestant  movement  appearing  in  the  archbishopric, 
Archbishop  Joliann  von  der  Leyen  invited  the  Jesuits  to  Treves,  in 
1560.  They  begun  by  preaching;  then  the  elector  appointed  them 
teachers;  and,  in  1666,  they  had  a  college,  completely  organized. 
"The  Jlieronymian  College  of  St.  Germain,  was  still  in  existence, 
although  operations  were  already  commenced  to  undermine  the 
institution  from  a  distance,  since  it  did  not  seem  practicable  openly  to 
overturn  it.  But  it  was  easy  to  foresee  that,  by  the  side  of  that  of 
the  Jesuits,  which  received  all  the  favors  of  th«  prince,  it  could  not 
exist  much  longer."  In  1570,  the  Jesuits  got  possession  of  a  convent, 
which  the  Minorites  were  obliged  to  leave,  "altogether  against  their 
will,  and  to  remove  into  the  building  of  the  College  of  St.  Germain, 
where  the  school  of  the  Hieronymians  had  at  last  come  to  an  end. 
Of  these  latter  teachers  was  remaining,  in  1569,  only  one."  They 
were  obliged  "  at  Treves,  as  elsewhere,  to  give  way  to  the  new  order. 
All  the  schools  came  into  the  hands  of  the  Jesuits."*  In  Posen,f 
Bishop  Lubranski  had  established  a  school,  in  1519;  the  Jesuits 
founded  theirs  in  1573.  They  contrived  to  get  such  an  influence 
over  Bishop  Konarski,  that  he  not  only  favored  and  assisted  the 
Jesuit  college  in  every  way,  but  altogether  neglected  Lubranski's 
school,  and  intentionally  suffered  it  to  decline.  In  1674,  most  of  its 
pupils  had  already  left  it  for  the  Jesuit  institution,  in  which  they  were 
permitted  much  greater  liberty.  Thus  did  this  order  use  their  seduc- 
tive influence,  as  well  against  Catholics  as  Protestants.  A  merchant, 
Ryot,  had  founded  an  evangelical  school  here,  in  1567  ;  and  still 
earlier,  in  1555,  one  had  been  established  by  the  Bohemian  brothers. 
In  1616,  both  these  schools,  as  well  as  the  evangelical  church,  were 
"  destroyed  by  the  scholars  of  the  Jesuits,  and  a  mob  acting  in  con- 
cert with  them."  In  1621,  after  the  battle  of  the  White  Mountains, 
the  Jesuits  intrigued  most  recklessly  against  both  Catholics  and  Prot- 
estants. In  spite  of  the  opposition  of  Archbishop  Harrach  of 
Prague,  and  in  violation  of  the  existing  rights  of  the  chapter,  univers- 
ity, dean,  and  minister,  they  seized  the  exclusive  control  of  all  schools 
and  institutions  of  education.  In  the  same  year,  they  drove  the 
Calvinistic  preachers  into  Bohemia.J 

•ID.,  p.  14. 

t  u  On  ihe  former  schools  of  Poland,  especially  In  Posen,"  by  Prof.  Czwalina.    Posen 
Gymnasium  programme,  1837,  pp.  10,  14,  18,  19. 
(  Raumer'a  HiMury  of  Europe,  iii.  416. 


THE  PROGRESSIVES  OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.  337 

With  the  purpose  which  the  Jesuits  had  in  view,  they  very  natu- 
rally established  themselves,  as  far  as  possible,  in  Protestant  cities,  or  in 
their  vicinity.  And  Protestant  parents  in  various  portions  of  Germany 
were,  nevertheless,  so  blind,  as  to  intrust  their  children  to  the  Order, 
for  instruction.  Should  they  wonder  or  be  angry,  if  they  were  thus 
enticed  into  the  bosom  of  the  Catholic  church  ? 

When  the  Jesuits,  in  1621,  were  about  building  a  stately  college 
at  Alt-Schottland,  before  the  very  doors  of  Dantzig,  Johannes  Schro- 
der, teacher  in  the  Dantzig  Gymnasium,  wrote  to  the  council,  that 
there  was  urgent  need  for  their  schools  to  rouse  themselves;  "  lest,"  he 
says,  "  these  fellows,  with  their  institution,  obtain  the  pre-eminence  and 
the  prize.  Otherwise,  much  young  blood  will  be  seized  upon  by 
them,  and  thoroughly  contaminated.  I  know  these  birds — I  under- 
stand the  Jesuits.  I  bad  twelve  years'  acquaintance  with  them  in 
Brunswick."* 

Against  this  far-seeing  and  deeply-planned  educational  activity  of 
the  Jesuits,  we  have  already  seen  with  what  hearty  zeal  the  Protest- 
ants, reformers,  educators,  and  princes,  exerted  themselves  for  the 
erection  or  improvement  of  schools.  Especially  prominent,  in  the 
second  half  of  the  16th  century,  is  Johannes  Sturm,  as  a  normal 
educator.  His  method,  says  Morhof,f  was  followed  not  only  by  the 
German  cities,  but  also  by  those  of  foreign  lands.  We  have  seen 
that  the  school  system  of  Duke  Christopher,  of  Wurtemberg,  and  that 
of  August  I.,  of  Saxony,  corresponded  very  nearly  with  Sturm's.  His 
model  was  followed  in  the  most  different  German  cities.  The  plan 
drawn  up  for  the  Stralsuud  Gymnasium,  in  1591,  by  Rector  Jentzkow, 
was  "  no  other  than  the  method  laid  down  by  Johann  Sturm,  in  his 
various  writings,  extended  and  adapted  with  great  care  and  judg- 
ment."J  In  like  manner,  it  is  related  by  Rector  Heinrich  Petreus, 
that,  in  organizing  the  Go'ttingen  Gymnasium,  he  took  that  of  Stras- 
burg  for  a  model.§  In  the  gymnasium  at  Frankfurt-on-the-Mayne, 
Sturm's  method  was  followed. ||  The  introduction  of  decurions,  in 
the  gymnasium  at  Liegnitz,  as  well  as  at  Frankfurt,  was  evidently 
after  Sturm's  plan.^f 

The  contest  of  the  confessionals  was  transferred  to  the  schools. 
But,  nevertheless,  Protestants  and  Catholics  sought  the  same  object  in 
their  efforts  for  literary  culture.  Sturm  said  :  "  I  have  observed  what 

•  "  History  cf  the  Academic  Gymnasium  in  Dantzig,  by  Prof.  Dr.  Th.  Hirsch."    Dantzig 
Gymnasium  programme,  Aug.  3,  1837.    Exceedingly  valuable, 
t  Morhof  Polyhistor.    Ed.  4,  1747  ;  1,  333. 
J  Zober ;  Stralsund  Gymnasium  programme,  1946,  p.  7. 
$  Some  account  of  the  ancient  schools  of  Gottingen,  by  Dir.  Kirsten,  1>10,  p.  7. 

On  the  trecentennial  jubilee  of  the  Frankfurt  Gymnasium,  by  Rector  Viitnel.  1939,  p.  5. 
T  Gymnasium  programme  of  Rector  Kiihler.  in  Lieenitz,  1S37. 

V 


338  THE  PROGRESSIVES  OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY. 

writers  the  Jesuits  explain,  and  what  method  they  follow  ;  and  it 
differs  so  little  from  ours,  that  it  seems  as  if  they  had  drank  from  our 
fountains.'* 

Against  this  system  of  education,  common  to  the  Protestants  and 
Jesuits  of  that  day,  adversaries  now  rose  up.  In  the  first  decennium 
of  the  17th  century,  commenced  that  contest  of  pedagogical  principles, 
originating  from  Protestant  sources,  which,  under  varying  forms,  has 
lasted  even  to  the  present  day. 

Those  who  sought  to  introduce  these  new  principles  and  new  ideals 
into  pedagogy,  I  shall  for  that  reason  denominate  Progressives. 
This  term  is  to  be  understood  as  implying  neither  praise  nor  blame. 
It  is  to  indicate  not  at  all  whether  the  new  matter  brought 
forward  by  these  men  was  good,  or  bad,  or  mingled  of  both. 

Innovations  were  to  be  expected.  When  any  mode  of  culture  is 
exclusively  adhered  to,  until  it  passes  over  into  caricature ;  whenever 
only  this  or  that  subject  of  instruction  is  regarded,  to  the  exclusion  of 
others ;  and  only  the  faculties  employed  about  that  subject  developed, 
while  others  are  neglected  ;  sooner  or  latter,  this  condition  of  affairs 
brings  its  own  retribution,  in  the  reaction  which  must  follow.  And 
this  reaction,  moreover,  commonly  in  its  turn  overpasses  the  limits 
of  moderation,  becomes  a  radicalism,  and  seeks  entirely  to  extirpate 
what  had  previously  been  made  too  prominent. 

Thus  it  happened  in  the  pedagogical  controversy  which  was  now 
beginning.  That  the  philological  education  had  been  pushed  into 
caricature,  Erasmus  had  already  seen,  and  had  satirized  the  imitators 
of  Cicero.  His  "Ciceronianus  "  seems  yet  to  have  made  no  impression 
upon  Sturm.  The  latter's  ideal  of  attainment  was,  and  remained, 
Ciceronian  Latin  eloquence ;  and  he  would  make  every  school-boy,  as 
far  as  possible,  a  Ciceronian.  We  wonder  at  his  method,  at  the  pro- 
fessional and  literary  skill  with  which  he  pursued  his  object,  and  con- 
centrated all  the  mental  powers  upon  it.  But,  if  it  be  asked,  Was  his 
ideal  of  attainment  the  true  one  ?  We  can  not  escape  the  reply,  that 
he  himself,  and  his  innumerable  imitators,  in  their  zeal  to  train  their 
scholars  to  a  Ciceronian  eloquence,  undervalued  almost  every  thing 
else  worth  learning,  and  every  intellectual  gift  of  the  pupil  as  well, 
except  that  of  speaking.  We  have  moreover  seen  that  Bacon  and 
Montaigne,  directly  or  indirectly,  opposed  this  purely  philological 
training.  But  neither  of  these  was  an  educator,  and  they  were 
therefore  not  in  a  condition. 

But  it  was  not  long  before  there  were  teachers,  also,  contending 
actively  against  the  cotemporary  system  of  instruction.  Two  men 
appeared,  who,  for  many  years,  made  persevering  and  unintermitted 


THE  PROGRESSIVES  OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTDRY.      339 

efforts  to  develop,  and  put  in  practice,  a  new  method  of  teaching. 
These  were  Wolfgang  Katich  and  Johann  Amos  Comenius.  With 
them  commences  a  long  series  of  educational  methodologists,  in  which 
Locke,  Rousseau,  Basedow,  and  Pestalozzi,  are  most  prominent. 
These  men  differed  widely ;  from  personal  character,  the  influences 
of  country,  religious  belief,  and  the  times  and  circumstances  in  which 
they  lived ;  yet  we  find  something  of  a  common  character  in  the 
principles  and  tendencies  of  them  all.  I  will  preface,  to  the  mono- 
graphs upon  these  men,  a  short  discussion  of  these  common  elements, 
as  composers  introduce  into  the  overture  of  an  opera  the  principal 
themes  which  are  afterward  to  be  heard  in  the  work  itself. 

Sight  was  becoming  clearer,  views  wider,  and  many  new  opinions 
and  ideals  of  value  had  arisen.  In  truth,  the  horizon  enlarged  so 
rapidly,  that  the  vision  of  the  observers  failed  to  command  it.  Fre- 
quently the  Progressives  were  incompetent  to  work  out  the  complete 
exemplification  of  their  own  ideals.  It  was  with  entire  correctness 
that  they  recognized  as  indispensable,  and  as  founded  in  human 
nature,  and  as  demanded  by  the  relations  of  actual  life,  elements  of 
culture  unthought  of  by  preceding  teachers.  They  were  right  in  oppos- 
ing their  narrow  one-sidedness,  and  the  manifold  errors  in  their 
courses  of  instruction.  But,  again,  even  from  the  short  characteriza- 
tions of  the  Progressives*  which  follow,  it  will  appear,  that  they  in 
their  turn  failed  to  recognize  many  valuable  constituents  of  a  perfected 
course  of  study  ;  and,  in  opposing  one  extreme,  fell  themselves  into 
the  other.  Let  us  hope  that  we  ourselves,  taking  warning  by  this 
error,  may  shun  both  extremes,  thankfully  recognize  the  good  exist- 
ing in  each  of  the  two  conflicting  parties,  and  hold  it  fast ;  and  thus 
accomplish  an  actual  and  solid  reconciliation  of  both. 

The  traits  common  to  the  Progressives  are  these  : — 

1.  They  all  vigorously  controverted  the  systems  of  education  and 
instruction  prevailing  in  their  day.     They  called  the  common  methods 
of  instruction,  which  remained  substantially  the  same,  from  the  Ref- 
ormation nearly  down  to  our  own  times — that  of  the  Grammatici 
(Philologists) — a  blind  groping,  without  road  or  object. 

2.  They  offered,  not  an  improved  method,  but  asserted  that  the 
teaching  of  the  Grammatici  was  entirely  unmethodical ;  and  offered 
simply  a  method  ;  as  something  entirely  new.     This  was  to  conduct 
the  student  forward,  from  the  simplest  and  most  comprehensible  ele- 
ments of  each  subject  taught,  by  a  plain,  short,  and  easy  way,  to  the 
attainment  of  his  end.     They  said  even,  in  substance,  that,  with  the 

*  In  the  course  of  the  History.  [  shall  furnish  the  proofs  of  this  description. 


340  TOE  PROGRESSIVES  OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY. 

inner  organic  necessities  of  the  pupil,  the  blossoms  and  fruits  of 
learning  would  be  developed. 

3.  They  wrote  manuals,  adapted  to  their  methods ;  by  the  use  of 
which,  as  they  claimed,  one  as  well  as  another,  the  intelligent  and 
the  stupid  alike  could  learn  well,  if  only  he  adhered  to  the  text-book 
with  diligent  and  even  pedantic  exactitude.     This  equalized  talents  ; 
indeed,  it  was  questioned  whether  independent   and   untrammeled 
teachers  were  not  inferior,  in   pedagogic  efficiency,  to  those  of  more 
moderate  endowments. 

4.  These  views  were  carried  into  actual  caricature  by  some,  who 
ventured  to  maintain  :  That  intelligence  or  dullness  is  a  matter  of 
indifference  to  the  scholar.     The  teacher  who  adheres  closely  to  the 
method,  will  accomplish  every  thing  by  that  means.     He  can  carve  a 
Mercury,  and  make  grass  grow,  out  of  the  same  timber. 

5.  They  opposed,  in  particular,  the  current  modes  of  instruction  ; 
calling  them  vain,  lifeless  memory-cramming.     (This  was  their  usual 
term  for  it.)*     This  was  especially  the  case  with  the  usual  methods 
of  teaching  the  ancient  languages ;  which  the  Progressives  promised 
to  teach  in  a  shorter  time,  and  an  easier  manner ;  one  in  one  new 
way,  and  another  in  another. 

0.  They  applied  the  term  lifeless  to  the  so-called  memory-cram- 
ming, because  by  it  the  pupil  was  made  to  learn  so  many  things 
which  he  did  not  understand.  They  aimed  at  imparting  life  to  in- 
struction, by  calling  into  action  the  understanding  of  the  child,  in 
proportion  as  they  omitted  the  drilling  of  memory.  Some  of  them 
seem  indeed  to  have  had  no  reverence  for  the  mystery  of  the  memory, 
and  even  to  have  known  nothing  of  any  intellectually  living  human 
memory,  but  only  of  a  mere  echo-like  parrot's  memory  ;  and  not  to 
have  known  how  very  common  is  the  phenomenon  of  an  under- 
standing stupefied  by  drilling. 

7.  While  undervaluing  the  receptivity,  so  natural  to  youth,  they 
endeavored,  on  the  contrary,  to  stimulate  the  learner  to  an  incessant 
and  unnatural  effort  after  precocious  production.     Estimating  all  com- 
municated knowledge  at  a  low  rate,  they  preached  to  the  young  gen- 
eration the  doctrine  that  they  were  to  take  pride  in  shaping  out 
and  accomplishing  every  thing  for  themselves  ;  and  that  to  them- 
selves, therefore,  were  they  to  be  indebted  for  every  thing. 

8.  Since  our  method  is  conformable  to  nature,  said  the  Progressives, 
the  children  will   learn,  voluntarily,  with  ease  and   pleasure.     And 
they  gave  assurances  that,  by  their  method,  all  punishments,  corporeal 

*  An  exprewion  tnmewhat  appropriate  for  the  military  style  in  which  the  teachers  put 
the  children  through  their  rote-exerciws. 


THE  PROGRESSIVES  OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.  341 

ones  especially,  would  cease  of  themselves ;  being  only  the  results  of 
a  course  of  instruction  uncongenial,  and  stimulating  to  disobedience. 

9.  Some  of  the  Progressives  would  have  had  each  scholar  taught 
according  to   his  individual   peculiarities  and  gifts ;   not  all   alike. 
Others,  on  the  contrary,  regarded  only  the  human  character  in  general. 
As  there  is  only  one  and  the  same  nature,  they  said,  common  to  all 
men,  so  there  should  be  only  one  and  the  same  method  of  education. 
The  former  of  these  was  the  more  aristocratic  view,  the  latter  demo- 
cratic ;  the  former  was  entertained  by  those  who  looked  to  the  edu- 
cation of  some  single  normal  pupil,  the  latter  by  those  who  aimed 
at  common  education. 

10.  The  Progressives  had  a  regard  for  the  mother  tongue;  indeed, 
a  special  one ;  and  contended  against  the  tyrannical  dominion  of  the 
Latin,  without  altogether  rejecting  it.     By  this  study  of  the  mother 
tongue,  by   introducing   it   among  subjects  of  instruction,  they  en- 
deavored,  if  not  to  break  up  the  sharp  distinction  maintained   by 
means  of  Latin  between  educated  and  non-educated  classes,  at  least 
to  narrow  it  as  far  as  possible,  and  to  promote  at  once  an  education 
independent  of  Latin,  and  democratic  sentiments. 

11.  They  set  great  value  upon  real  studies,  and  endeavored  to  con- 
nect them  with  studies  in  language. 

12.  Connected  with  these  traits  are  the  progress  of  bodily  exercise, 
and  the  controversy  against  dark  and  dim  school  rooms. 

13.  As  the  mother  tongue  and  real  studies  became  prominent, 
opposition  arose  to  the  education  of  uneducated  persons  in  the  Latin 
schools  ;  and  separate  real  schools  were  demanded.     Some,  from  true 
Christian  love,  turned  their  attention  to  the  improvement  of  the  com- 
mon schools,  which  were  undervalued  by  most  of  the  Latinist  learned 
men,  and  labored  extensively  in  their  behalf. 

14.  These  Progressives  opposed  themselves  not  only  to  the  mem- 
ory, but  the  imagination — more  however  in  effect  than  in  theory.    Their 
unnatural  and  precocious  stimulation  of  the  reason  of  the  children 
destroyed  their  imagination.     Of  the  beautiful   they  said   nothing. 
If  they  taught  music,  drawing,  <fcc.,  it  was  upon  a  rationalist,  anti- 
artistic   plan.     Poetry  was   neglected,  or  taught   with  loveless  and 
unfriendly  coldness.     The  poems  were  analyzed  and  interpreted  to 
death. 

15.  The   intuition,  of  which  there  was    so  much    said   amongst 
them,  tended  to  the  development  of  imagination ;  although,  for  the 
most  part,  only  apparently  so.     They  disturbed  the   quiet  necessary 
for  it,  by  incessant  repetition,  and  torturing  questions,  and  destroyed 
the  natural  susceptibility  to  ideas  by  the  most  untimely  and  repulsive 

No  17.— [VOL.  VI.,  No.  2.]— 30. 


342  THE  PROGRESSIVES  OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY. 

reflections  and  reasonings.  This  word  does  not  signify  a  complete 
expression  in  the  mind  of  the  scholar ;  it  refers  much  more  to  words 
put  too  soon  into  the  child's  mind  by  the  teacher.  He  was  obliged 
to  name  and  describe  things  entirely  strange  to  him.  Thus  the  so, 
called  exercises  in  intuition  were  only  empty  exercises  in  talking, 
without  any  real  substance. 

16.  They  were  especially  strict  in  insisting  that  the  pupils,  even 
the  youngest,  should  have  a  clear  conciousness  in  all  their  saying  and 
acting ;  and  should  give  a  thorough  account  of  all  their  doings  and 
thinkings,  in  clear  and  well-chosen  words.     By  diligent  reflection  upon 
language  and  speaking,  it  was  thus  expected  that  the  pupils  would 
become  able  to  hear  and  to  speak  intelligently.     In  this  manner  they 
sought  to  drive  the  children  away  from  their  natural  simplicity,  and 
to  train  them  into  an  unnatural,  unchild-like  condition  ;  one  occupied 
by  themselves,  and  trying  to  manage  and  govern  themselves. 

17.  With  this  controversy  against  the  memory,  was  united,  on  the 
part  of  many,  an  undervaluation  of  history,  and  a  deification  of  the 
present  and  the  actual.     Thus  was  induced  the  most  powerful  ten- 
dency to  mere  earthly,  material  interest,  and  earthly  things  and  labors, 
and  an  entire  contempt  for  a  higher  and  freer  culture. 

18.  With  some  of  the  Progressives  of  the  eighteenth  century  there 
appeared  a  distinct  form  of  Pelagianism.    The  problem  of  the  educator, 
according  to  them,  was  only  this  :    To  promote  the  vegetative  devel- 
opment of   the  natural  good  endowments  of  each  child,  after  the 
fashion  of  a  gardener,  so  that  the  inborn  potentia  may  ripen  into 
actus.     Naturam  sequi,  is  their  principle.     Of  any  case  that  the  in- 
born bad  potentia  should  become  extinct,  and  should  not  ripen  into 
actus,  of  the  strife  after  holiness,  they  took  no  heed ;  with  them  the 
opposites  of  nature  and  of  grace  have  no  existence.* 

Thus  may  the  outlines  of  the  new  tendencies  in  instruction  and 
education  be  described ;  we  now  come  to  the  life  and  labors  of  the 
Coryphzeus  of  the  Progressives,  Wolfgang  Ratich. 

•References  will  be  made,  further  on,  to  the  religious  tendencies  of  the  earlier  Progressives, 
and  to  the  irreligious  ones  of  the  later. 


WOLFGANG  EATICH. 

[Tranilated  for  the  American  Journal  of  Education,  from  the  German  of  Karl  von  Raumer.] 


WOLFGANG  RATICH  was  born  in  1571,  at  Wilster  in  Holstein. 
He  attended  the  Hamburg  gymnasium,  and  afterward  studied  philos- 
ophy in  Rostock.  On  account  of  a  difficulty  in  his  speech  he  gave 
up  theology,  turned  his  attention  especially  to  Hebrew,  and  went 
to  England,  and  thence  to  Amsterdam,  to  study  mathematics.  Here 
he  remained  eight  years,  and  learned  Arabic  of  a  native-born  Arabian, 
f  Here,  also,  he  offered  to  present  to  Prince  Moritz,  of  Orange,  a  new 
method  of  instruction,  as  discovered  by  him.  The  prince  agreed  to 
his  proposal,  but  on  the  condition  that  he  should  teach  Latin  only. 
Dissatisfied  with  this  restriction,  Ratich  went  to  Basle,  Strasburg,  and 
also  to  other  courts,  offering  his  new  method.  He  finally  offered  "  to 
the  German  Empire,"  May  7th,  1612,  at  the  diet  at  Frankfort,  a  me- 
morial,* in  which  he  promised,  "  with  the  help  of  God  to  give  instruc- 
tions for  the  service  and  welfare  of  all  Christendom  : 

1.  How  the  Hebrew,  Greek,  Latin,  and  other  tongues  may  easily  be 
taught  and  learned  both  by  young  and  old,  more  thoroughly  and  in 
shorter  time. 

2.  How,  not  only  in  High  Dutch,  but,  also,  in  other  tongues  a 
school  may  be  established,  in  which  the  thorough  knowledge  of  all 
arts  and  sciences  may  be  learned  and  propagated. 

3.  How,  in  the  whole  kingdom  one  and  the  same  speech,  one  and 
the  same  government,  and  finally  one  and  the  same  religion,  may  be 
commodiously  and  peacefully  maintained. 

The  better  to  exemplify  this,"  he  continues,  "  he  is  prepared  to 
show  written  specimens  of  the  Hebrew  and  Chaldee  Scriptures,  and 
of  the  Arabian  and  Greek,  Latin  and  High  Dutch  languages,  from 
which  a  full  opinion  may  be  formed  of  the  whole  work." 

Ratich  now  proceeded  to  attack  the  usual  methods  of  instruction. 
It  is  the  course  of  nature,  he  says,  first  to  learn  to  read  right,  and 
speak  the  mother  to.ngue  correctly  and  fluently,  so  as  to  be  able  to 
use  the  German  Bible.  Hebrew  and  Greek  come  next,  as  the  tongues 
of  the  original  texts  of  the  Bible.  Next  comes  Latin,  which  may  be 
learned  from  Terence  ;  or  jurists  may  learn  it  from  the  Institutions. 
Elsewhere  German  should  be  used  in  all  the  faculties. 

*  I  received  a  copy  of  this  memorial  by  the  kindness  of  Herr  Archivist  Doctor  of  Law 
Hertzog,  in  Frankfort. 


344  WOLFGANG  RATICH. 

After  the  reading  of  this  memorial,  Pfalzgrave  Wolfgang  Wilhclm 
von  Marburg  gave  Katich  five  hundred  gulden  to  buy  him  the  neces- 
sary books ;  Landgrave  Lud  wig  von  Darmstadt  appointed,  and  professors 
Helwig  and  Jung  of  Giessen,  to  make  reports  to  him  upon  Ratich's 
mode  of  instruction.  In  1613  the  widowed  Duchess  Dorothea  von 
Weimar  summoned  an  assembly  of  learned  men .  at  Erfurt  to  exam- 
ine the  method.  At  the  request  of  the  same  lady,  Professors  Graw- 
er,  Brendel,  Walter,  and  Wolf  of  Jena,  investigated  Ratich's  method. 
Their  report  appeared  soon  after  that  of  Helwig,  and  both  were  de- 
cidedly in  favor  of  the  new  method.* 

In  1G14  the  church  and  school  authorities  of  Augsburg  invited  Ra- 
tich  thither  to  reform  the  schools  of  their  city.  We  know  nothing 
more  of  his  stay  there.f 

The  Duchess  Dorothea  summoned  Ratich  to  Weimar  as  early  as 
1613  to  instruct  her  and  her  sister  Anna  Sophie,  both  princesses  of 
Anhalt,  in  Latin.  In  1617,  she  gave  him,  for  the  promotion  of  his 
plans,  two  thousand  gulden. 

In  the  same  year,  161*7,  Ratich  was  again  at  Frankfort,  where  he 
petitioned  the  town  council  to  appoint  an  agent  to  whom  he  might  ex- 
plain his  method.  The  agent  was  appointed,  reported,  and  the  coun- 
cil thereupon  decreed  that  "  Ratich  should  be  notified  that  he  had  per- 
mission to  apply  elsewhere  at  his  convenience." 

Prince  Ludwig  von  Anhalt  Kothen  first  met  Ratich  in  1613,J  at 
Weimar,  with  his  sisters,  the  Duchess  Dorothea,  and  the  Countess 
Anna  Sophie  von  Schwarzburg.  Both  urgently  recommended  Ratich 
to  him.  In  1616  he  invited  him  to  Rheda  in  Westphalia,  and  was 
so  much  pleaded  with  his  plans  that  he  requested  him  to  take  up  his 
abode  near  him.  April  10th,  1618,  Ratich  came  accordingly  to  Ko- 
then ;  and  explained  to  the  prince,  that  "  his  structure  was  ready  pre- 
pared to  his  mind,  but  that  the  workmen  were  wanting  to  help  put  it 
up."  He  settled  in  Kothen  for  a  time,  on  account  of  the  purity  of 
the  German  spoken  there,  to  make  a  trial  of  his  system  for  teaching 
foreign  languages,  but  especially  to  establish  a  good  German  school. 

Prince  Ludwig  repeatedly  applied  to  the  other  princes  of  Anhalt 
to  assist  him  in  carrying  out  Ratich's  schemes,  but  in  vain.  His 
brother,  Prince  Christian,  wrote  to  him  that  Ratich's  views  were 
praiseworthy,  but  that  "  it  is  the  work  that  praises  the  master,"  and 

•  Diicbpfig  Dorothea  refers  to  both  in  the  letter  of  Invitation  which  she  gave  to  Ratich,  8th 
of  May,  1613,  to  the  magistrates  of  Frankfort,  when  he  left  Weimar  for  that  city.  Of  this  1 
have  a  copy. 

t  Rf-j-ort  B.  of  Dr.  Niemeyer,  p.  11.  We  shall  hereafter  see  two  reports  from  fellow  labor- 
erg  of  Ratich,  at  Augsburg. 

:  According  to  Prince  Ludwig's  own  account,  it  was  In  1013.    See  Niemeyer,  p.  6,  An 


WOLFGANG  RATICH. 


345 


it  was  best  to  wait  for  the  result.  He  advised  to  have  the  system  ex- 
amined by  Rector  Wendelin  of  Zerbst,  for  which  purpose  lie  said  he 
would  gladly  use  his  influence.  But  he  soon  afterward  declined  to 
do  even  this.*  Only  Duke  Johann  Ernst  von  Weimar,  son  of  the 
Duchess  Dorothea,  and  nephew  of  Prince  Lndwig,  united  with  him 
in  the  undertaking  to  call  into  life  the  new  method  of  instruction  at 
their  common  expense." 

Ratichf  now  formally  bound  himself  to  the  work  which  the  Prince 
wished  him  to  undertake :  namely,  that  of  instructing  and  training 
teachers,  so  that  they  should  be  able  "  to  impart  to  their  pupils  a 
thorough,  good,  and  fluent  knowledge  of  any  language,  especially  of 
Hebrew,  Greek,  and  Latin,  in  less  time,  not  to  exceed  half  as  much, 
than  could  be  done  by  any  other  method  usual  in  Germanv,  and  also 
with  much  less  pains."  These  teachers  were,  on  the  other  hand  to 
promise  him  upon  his  requisition  not  to  reveal  the  secret  of  his  meth- 
od to  any  one. 

The  prince  now  caused  a  printing  office  to  bev  erected  at  Kothen, 
for  supplying  Ratich's  books.  The  founts  for  six  languages  were 
partly  brought  from  Holland,  and  partly  cast  in  Kothen ;  and  four 
compositors  and  two  pressmen  were  brought  from  Rostock  and  Jena. 

The  prince  required  the  people  of  Kothen  to  send  their  children  to 
the  schools  established  by  Ratich  :  two  hundred  and  thirty-one  boys, 
and  two  hundred  and  two  girls  were  enrolled.^ 

The  schools  were  divided  into  six  classes.  In  the  three  lowest  the 
mother  tongue  was  taught,  in  the  fourth  a  beginning  was  made 
with  Latin,,  and  in  the  sixth  with  Greek.§  According  to  the  plan,  his 
teacher  of  the  lowesf  class,  was  to  T>e  a  man  of  kind  manners,  who 
need  know  no  language  except  German.  His  duty  was  to  be, u  by  daily 
prayer,  short  Biblical  texts,  and  questions  in  the  manner  of  ordinary 
conversation,  to  form  the  tongues  and  language  of  the  new  scholars, 
according  to  the  pure  Misnian  dialect,  and  by  continued  practice  to 
correct  the  faults  of  the  scholars,  acquired  outside  the  school.p 

We  shall  see,  further  on,  the  methods  of  teaching  German  and 

'  Niemeyer  gives  a  French  l««er  from  Prince  Christian,  of  8»h  of  September.  1613.  He 
write* Kleratim  as  follows:  *•  Puts  donques  qu'il  voos  tarde  qae je  me  resolve?  sir  1'affiire 
du  Ratiehius.  J'ajr  mis  delibere  de  n«  me  vouloir  pas  mesler.  Et  ee  a  cause  qoe  nul  de  ceuU 
auxquels  J'»T  parle  depute.  (vous  aseeuraot  en  avoir  parle  avec  divers  penoDiiaces  qui  ont 
renommeV  d'  estre  doctes.)  ont  voulu  eroire  qae  les  Effet*  eeront  conform**  a  ses  preposi 
lions  m'  alleguanfs  force  Exemples  an  eoMraire  en  Hassie,  en  la  Cotnte  de  Nassau,  de  Ha- 
nau.  chez  m*.  le  mar*  de  Bade,  a  Augusta  et  a  Baste  meme."  Cotnp.  Niemeyer.  C.  p.  13. 

t  Xiemeyer.  C.  10, 15.  :  Ib.  24. 

§  Niemeyer,  C.  34.  On  comparing  pp.  28  and  42,  it  doe*  not  appear  whether  there  were 
five  or  six  classes,  and  whether  Greek  was  begun  in  the  5th  or  sixth. 

IJ.C.29. 


346  WOLFGANG  RATICH. 

Latin  in  Ratich'a  schools.  Here  it  must  suffice  to  say,  as  to  the  in- 
struction at  Kothen,  that  as  soon  as  the  children  had  learned  their 
letters,  in  the  first  (lowest)  class,  they  learned  reading  and  writing 
together,  in  the  second,  using  Genesis  for  a  reading  book.  In  the 
third  class  was  studied  "  the  grammar  of  the  mother  tongue,  with 
examples  both  general  and  special;  that  is,  to  speak  and  write 
grammatically,  and  to  understand  the  grammatical  speaking  and  writ- 
ing of  others.* 

In  the  fourth  and  fifth  classes,  Terence  was  studied,  and  the  Latin 
grammar  abstracted  from  it ;  after  this  there  followed  an  especial 
Greek  class.f 

Besides  these  lessons  in  language,  there  was  instruction  in  arithme- 
tic, singing,  and  religion. 

Ratich's  labors  at  Kothen,  however,  as  in  other  places,  soon  came 
to  an  end.  There  were  various  reasons  for  this.  One  was,  that  Ra- t 
I  tich  was  a  strong  Lutheran,  while  the  city  of  Kothen  was  of  the  "re- 
formed" persuasion^  The  citizens  also  took  offense  at  Ratich's  having 
the  ten  commandments  learned  in  his  school,  not  after  the  reformed 
text  and  division,  but  after  the  Lutheran.  Superintendent  Streso 
charged  him,  for  this  reason,  with  being  heterodox.  Prince  Ludwig 
tried  to  heal  the  difficulty  by  ordering  both  the  Heidelberg  catechism 
and  Ratich's  reading  manual  to  be  used  in  the  schools;  but  this  satis- 
fied neither  party. 

In  a  report  which  StresoJ  and  some  other  men  of  eminence  made 
upon  Ratich's  school,  by  the  order  of  the  prince,  it  was  remarked  that 
the  catechism  and  music  were  studied  too  little ;  that  the  discipline 
was  bad  ;  that  the  hours  of  recreation  were  too  many  ;  that  the  chil- 
dren were  made  to  pass  too  quickly  and  abruptly  from  the  letters  to 
reading,  without  any  intermediate  study  of  syllables,  and  that  they 
" wrote  vitiosissime" 

It  is  true  that  the  r^agUs^  did  not  answer,  Ratich's  £reat  promises. 
He  laid  the  blame,  for  various  reasons,  upon  his  patrons  and  col- 
leagues ;  and  the  consequence  was  that  Prince  Ludwig  imprisoned 
him  on  the  sixth  of  October,  1619,  and  only  released  him  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  year  1620,  on  his  signing  a  declaration  in  which  he  says 
that  he  "  had  claimed  and  promised  more  than  he  knew  or  could 
bring  to  pass.§ 

Afterward,  in  1620,  Ratich  went  to  Magdeburg,  where  he  was  well 
received  by  the  magistrates,  but  in  1622  he  got  into  a  quarrel  with 
Rector  Evenius.  Princess  Anna  Sophie,  who  had  married  Count 
Gunther  von  Schwar/.burg,  now  invited  him  to  Rudolstadt,  where  she 

*J.  C.  35.  tlb.42.  J  Ib.  15-19.  Sib.  7,19,  20. 


WOLFGANG  RAT1CII.  347 

studied  Hebrew  with  him.  About  this  time  many  opponents  came 
out  against  Ratich,  and  among  others  the  well  known  Dr.  Hoe  von 
Hoenegg,  chief  court  chaplain  at  Dresden,  who  had  been  his  strong 
partizan  in  1014.  In  1626,  however,  lie  wrote  a  long  communica- 
tion to  the  Countess  Anna  Sophie,  opposing  Ratich's  views.  "Your 
grace  knows  well,"  he  writes,  "that  if  one  should  give  himself  out  for 
an  architect,  and  especially  for  an  uncommonly  good  architect,  lie 
would  not  be  at  once  received  as  such,  but  that  special,  thorough, 
clear  and  demonstrative  tests,  would  be  made  use  of,  before  men 
would  employ  him  for  important  buildings,  or  put  them  under  his 
charge.  But  we,  here  at  court,  know  of  no  such  public,  thorough 
proof,  whatever,  which  the  Herr  Ratichius  has  given,  proportionate 
to  his  claims,  even  in  any  small  place ;  for  the  lack  of  which  proof, 
people  here  will  be  the  less  willing  to  make  any  change  in  their  sys- 
tem of  teaching,  and  to  adopt,  instead  of  it,  the  Didactics  of  Ra- 
itich.''*  The  Dukes  of  Weimar  and  Gotha  soon  gave  him  up,  but 
\Countess  Anna_Sophie  still  adhered  to  him.  She  supported  him  at 
Kranichfeld  and  Erfurt,  and  recommended  him  to  Chancellor  Oxen- 
jstiern,  who  caused  an  examination  to  be  made  of  his  system.  Doc- 
tors Hieronymus  Bruckner,  Johann  Matthaeus  Meyfart  and  Stephan 
Ziegler,  made  a  favorable  report  upon  it  to  the  Chancellor,  March  10, 
]634.f 

This  report  discussed,  1.  The  purpose  and  design  of  the  plan. 

2.  The  mode  of  teaching. 

3.  The  promises  made.     The  reporters  first  take  up  Ratich's  argu- 
ments against  the  existing  mode  of  instruction ;  as,  that  it  is  not 
really  Christian;  that  the  scholars  have  to  learn  too  many  things  at 
the  same   time,   <fcc.J     They   then   describe  Ratich's  method;    and, 
lastly,  consider  his  requirements,  as,  a  regular  appointment,  the  chief 
directorship  of  the  work,  good  fellow-laborers,  <tc. 

Comenuis,  who  met  the  Chancellor  in  Sweden,  in  1642,  relates  the 
result  of  his  negotiations  with  him.  "  When  I  heard,"  said  Oxen- 
stiern,  "  that  Ratich  had  a  new  method,  I  could  not  be  easy  until  I 
had  myself  seen  the  man  ;  but  instead  of  conversation,  he  sent  me  a 
thick  quarto.  I  accomplished  this  wearisome  labor,  and  after  I  had 
read  the  whole  book  through,  I  found  he  had,  it  is  true,  not  ill  dis- 
played the  faults  of  our  schools ;  but  that  his  remedies  did  not  ap- 
pear thorough."§  A  sensible  opinion.  Comenius  himself  applied  to 

*  Niemeyer  B.  p.  8.    This  letter  is  in  the  Duke's  library  at  Goiha.    Niemeyer  fives  other 
extracts  from  it.    (D.  13.) 

t  Ib.  A.  p.  7.  J  Details  further  on 

$  The  Chancellor  docs  not  mention  Me) Tart's  report. 


348  WOLFGANG  RATICH. 

Ratich  by  letter,  in  1629,  as  he  relates  in  another  place,  asking  him 
earnestly  and  repeatedly,  to  give  him  an  account  of  his  new  method. 
But  Ratich  gave  him  no  answer. 

It  was  in  1632  that  he  first  obtained  an  account  of  it,  in  a  letter 
from  the  excellent  Georg  Winkler,  pastor  in  Goldberg.  "  What  great 
hopes,"  wrote  the  latter,  "  were  excited  by  Helwig  and  Jung's  pom- 
pous report  upon  Ratich's  method !  But  our  good  friend  Ratich  fell 
short  of  it,  and  will  continue  to  fall  short  of  it."  Winkler  then  re-v 
lates  how  Moser,  teacher  in  the  school  at  Goldberg,  had  eaten  a  meal 
with  Ratich,  in  hopes,  by  this  plan,  to  find  out  something  about  his 
method  ;  but  he  learned  but  little.  Ratich  had  declared  that  he 
would  only  sell  his  discoveries  to  a  prince,  at  a  dear  rate,  and  upon 
the  condition  that  the  men  of  learning  to  whom  he  should  commu- 
nicate them  should  promise  to  conceal  them.  Winkler  asks,  "  would 
Christ,  the  Apostles,  and  the  Prophets,  have  done  so  ?" 

Ratich  did  not  long  survive  his  negotiation  with  Oxensticrn.  He 
had  suffered  an  attack  of  palsy  in  the  tongue  and  right  hand,  in 
1633  ;  and  he  died  in  1635,  aged  sixty-four. 

We  will  now  examine  specimens  of  Ratich's  method  of  teaching 
German  and  Latin,  in  order  to  show  how  he  and  his  followers  pro- 
ceeded in  instruction,  and  then  consider  his  more  important  general 
principles  of  instruction  and  education.  I  commence  with  an  account 
of  a  method  of  instruction,  so  as  to  be  able  more  conveniently  to  re- 
fer to  it  for  explaining  principles. 

I.     RATICH'S  INBTHUCTION  IN  LANGUAGE. 

Instruction  in  language  should  begin  in  the  sixth  or  seventh  year, 
with  learning  the  letters ;  since  the  letter  is  the  simplest  element  of 
grammar.  The  teacher  should  show  the  pupil  the  form  of  the  letter, 
drawing  it  slowly  on  the  blackboard,  and  naming  it  at  the  same  time, 
so  that  the  scholar  may  learn  the  form  and  the  name  of  the  letter  to- 
gether. He  is  also  to  compare  the  letters  with  forms,  as,  for  instance, 
O  with  a  circle,  C  with  a  semicircle,  X  with  a  cross,  <fcc,* 

Ratich  requires  that  the  pupil  should  copy  the  letters  at  the  same 
time,  but  Kromayer,  his  follower,  on  the  contrary,  only  permits  it 
when  he  can  read  them  easily. 

The  teacher  then  proceeds  to  the  making  of  syllables ;  writing  the 
names  of  them,  as  before,  at  the  same  time. 

After  this,  Ratich  says,  he  is  to  select  an  author  from  whom  the 
language  can  well  be  learned,  and  whose  contents  are  chaste  and 
interesting;  as,  some  history,  comedy,  <kc.  The  youngest  scholars 

*  Ratich's  '•  Methodus,"  140. 


WOLFGANG  RATICH.  349 

must,  however,  have  a  manual  of  the  rudiments,  (jxirvus  lilellus  ru- 
dimentorum,)  while  the  older  use  the  author  himself.  This  author  is 
Terence. 

Here  the  Ratichians  differ  from  Ratich  in  one  direction,  and  Kro- 
mayer  in  another.  The  former  direct  that  after  the  study  of  the  let- 
ters, Terentius*  should  immediately  be  taken  up.  The  latter,  how- 
ever, says :  M  The  boys  should  first  learn  German  well,  before  Latin 
or  any  other  language  is  laid  before  them ;  for  it  is  wrong  for  the 
boys  to  have  any  Latin  material,  such  as  Donatus,  Latin  verses,  or 
the  like,  put  before  them,  before  they  understand  German  well."  He 
adds  that  many  scholars  learn  Latin  grammar  without  knowing  Ger- 
man well ;  "  that  although  they  may  not  have  learned  it  well  in  the 
lower  classes,  they  are  at  once  put  into  Latin.  It  is  still  worse  when 
the  children  even  at  first,  before  they  can  read  German,  are  taught  to 
read  in  Latin  ABC  books.  This  is  contrary  to  nature  ;  for  it  is  much 
easier  to  learn  to  read  in  the  mother  tongue,  than  in  one  strange  or 
entirely  unknown."  German  should  therefore  be  taught  in  the  Ger- 
man classes,  and  Latin  be  postponed  to  the  Latin  classes. 

Kromayers  course  of  Latin  instruction  is  briefly  as  follows.  From 
their  letters,  the  step  to  reading,  is  to  be  made  as  soon  as  possible. 
The  teacher  must  first  "  read  over  by  himself  the  whole  book  (of 
Genesis)  to  the  end,  reading  each  chapter  twice  over  together ;  the 
scholars  not  reading  at  all,  but  only  listening,  looking  on  and  follow- 
ing." When  the  book  is  gone  through  in  this  manner,  the  preceptor 
is  to  begin  again  at  the  beginning  and  read  each  chapter  once,  mak- 
ing the  scholar  read  it  over  immediately  after  him,  perhaps  four  lines 
at  a  time.''  The  book  is  afterward  to  be  read  a  third  time,  by  the 
scholar  alone. 

After  this  Kromayer  proceeds  to  teach  German  grammar  to  those 
who  are  afterward  to  study  the  ancient  languages.  "  When  any  espe- 
cially fine  intellects  are  found,"  he  writes,  "such  as  the  teacher  recog- 
nizes as  fit  for  study,  and  to  be  afterward  put  forward  into  other 
schools,  after  they  have  learned  to  read  fluently,  they  are  to  be  put 
into  the  German  grammar,  and  thereby  a  good  introduction  made  for 
them  to  the  Latin  grammar. 

"  The  preceptor  is  to  place  these  scholars  together,  and  to  teach 
them  the  German  grammar;  a  chapter,  or  some  other  convenient 
part,  at  a  time.  The  teacher  is  first  to  read  it  clearly,  and  explain  it 
a  little,  where  necessary,  in  other  words;  secondly,  the  scholars  are 

*"  Praxis,"  162.  "Alphobe  to  absolute  pr  ogrtditnr  ad  syllahag.  Quo  facto  stutim  ad  Auto- 
rem,  quiinlingun  latino  eat  Terentius,  fit  transitim."  Nothing  in  said  by  the  Ratich'ans 
about  teaching  German  ;  but  we  have  seen  that  in  Ratich's  school  at  Kolhen,  the  three  lower 
classes  were  German,  and  that  Latin  was  first  begun  in  the  fourth. 


350  WOLFGANG  RATICH. 

to  read  it  over  after  him,  once,  or  ten  times,  if  necessary ;  thirdly,  as 
it  lias  been  well  enough  read,  the  pupil  is  to  take  up  the  first  book  of 
Moses,  which  he  knows  already  ;  and  the  teacher  is  to  show  him  the 
applications  of  that  part  of  the  grammar  which  was  read,  in  the  first 
chapter,  in  five,  six,  or  even  ten  examples,  reading  the  chapter  until 
he  comes  to  a  point  which  is  an  instance  of  the  rule  in  question. 
Here  he  pauses  a  little,  and  shows  how  the  example  agrees  with  the 
rule  or  precept  in  the  grammar.  As,  for  instance ;  if  he  is  speaking 
of  aninflected  words  ;  he  will  find  an  example  of  them  in  the  very 
beginning  of  the  first  book  of  Moses,  as  he  will  also  almost  anywhere. 
"  In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth,"  <fec. 
"In"  is  a  preposition.  "And  the  earth  was  without  form  and  void. 
"And"  is  a  conjunction,  <fcc.  Again  ;  if  he  is  speaking  of  nouns  and 
verbs,*  "Beginning"  is  a  substantive  noun,  of  the  masculine  gender, 
singular  number,  <fec.  "  Created"  is  an  active  verb,  third  person^Tm- 
perfect,  &c.  He  may  then  conjugate  it  to  the  third  person  singular, 
where  he  will  show  that  this  is  the  person  used  in  the  book,  at  that 
place.  He  is  to  go  on  with  such  applications,  not  only  in  the  first 
book  of  Genesis,  but  through  the  remaining  chapters. 

This  method  of  application  depends  chiefly  upon  this  point :  that 
the  teacher  only  is  to  read,  while  the  pupils  pick  out  the  examples  ; 
finding  them  themselves  in  the  book,  when  any  form  in  the  declen- 
sion or  conjugation  is  required  ;  so  that  it  is  necessary  to  keep  a  sharp 
eye  upon  the  grammar,  and  to  listen  very  quietly  to  the  teacher's 
reading.  When  one  part  of  the  grammar  has  thus  been  applied,  the 
teacher  is  to  go  on  to  another ;  read  it,  make  the  scholars  read  it 
after  him,  look  out  the  examples  in  Genesis,  show  and  apply  them. 

And  in  all  this  matter  of  the  German  grammar,  it  is  to  be  ob- 
served, that  it  is  not  intended  that  an  entirely  complete  knowledge 
of  each  part  of  the  grammar,  shall  be  required  of  the  boys  as  they 
go  over  it.  Indeed,  this  could  not  be  required  either  of  the  teacher 
or  the  pupils. 

"We  know  very  well,  it  is  true,  that  improvement  in  grammar  must 
consist  of  an  always  increasing  amount  of  observation  and  practice; 
but  it  is  enough  for  the  boys  to  get  a  reasonable  knowledge  in  their 
own  mother  tongue  of  the  secundus  notiones, — the  grammatical 
terms — such  as  number,  case,  declension,  conjugation,  noun,  verb,  <kc., 
before  they  take  up  Latin,  since  they  will  then  have  more  than  half 
learned  the  meaning  of  these  terms  in  their  own  language.  It  would 
be  much  easier  for  one  who  had  already  learned  the  grammar  of 
Latin,  to  understand  the  parts  of  speech,  number,  tense,  person,  verb, 

*  Ratieli  use*  German  words  for  all  the  grammatical  technicals.    Niemeyer,  D.  39. 


WOLFGANG  RATICH.  351 

noun.  «fec.,  in  Hebrew,  or  any  other  foreign  language,  than  for  one  who 
should  first  learn  his  grammar  in  the  Hebrew,  or  other  entirely  un- 
known language,  without  knowing  what  grammar  really  is,  nor  what 
are  the  true  notions  and  actualities  of  nouns,  verbs,  number,  tense, 
mode,  and  case.  It  can  be  easily  understood  that  the  case  is  the 
same  with  scholars  who  are  set  at  once  to  learn  Latin  grammar  in  the 
unknown  Latin  language,  before  they  really  know  what  the  ideas  of 
grammar  itself  and  its  different  notions  are. 

It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that  it  is  not  to  be  expected 
that  one  grammar  should  be  of  assistance  in  learning  another,  by 
having  all  the  words  in  one  of  exactly  the  same  gender,  conjugation, 
and  declension,  as  they  are  in  another.  This  is  impossible  in  most 
languages.  It  is  sufficient,  that,  in  general,  one  grammar  helps  in 
learning  another;  that,  in  general,  if  I  have  already  become  acquaint- 
ed with  the  notions  and  characters  of  gender,  case,  declension,  conju- 
gation, <kc.,  they  would  no  longer  be  so  difficult  and  entirely  un- 
known, when  they  should  come  up  again  in  the  Latin,  or  some  other 
grammar,  but  much  easier.  And  this  opinion,  is,  by  no  means,  of 
little  importance.  It  is  upon  it  that  we  base  our  principle  that  the 
German  grammar  should  be  learned  before  the  Latin." 

Ration's  directions  for  teaching  Latin,  agree,  throughout,  with  those 
of  Kromayer,  in  whose  own  words  I  have  given  them.* 

"  The  Latin  grammar  should  not  be  learned  before  the  author,  but 
after,  and  in  the  author.  The  books  which  we  use  in  the  Latin  class, 
are,  accordingly,  these :  1.  The  author,  as,  for  instance,  Terentius, 
whom  we  have  had  printed  for  this  special  purpose.  2.  The  Latin 
grammar,  which  we  have  also  had  arranged  expressly  for  this  purpose. 
8.  The  Latin  evangelists.  Item,  the  Latin  catechism,  and  the  Theo- 
logical Commonplaces ;  and,  moreover,  for  the  higher  classes,  the 
other  Latin  authors,  as  Cicero,  Virgilius,  Arc. 

Terentius,  with  whom  we  begin,  should  be  first  understood,  as  to 
his  substance  and  meaning,  as  far  as  possible,  in  German. 

For  just  as  a  man  can  learn  Hebrew,  for  example,  in  the  first  book 
of  Moses,  which  he  already  understands  in  German,  much  more  easily 
than  in  one  of  the  difficult  Prophets,  which  is  in  great  part  unknown, 
or  than  in  an  entirely  unknown  Rabbinical  book ;  in  like  manner  is 
it  certain  that  the  scholar  will  learn  the  Latin  language  also  much 
more  easily,  if  he  is  already  acquainted  with  the  sense  and  manner 
of  his  author,  as,  Terence,  for  example,  in  German,  than  if  he  should 

*  I  purposely  give  the  full  original,  instead  of  extracts ;  as  its  diffuse  form  entirely  coin- 
cides with  its  wearisome  contents,  and  will  give  the  reader  a  just  idea  of  the  method  of  in- 
struction of  Ratich,  and  his  followers,  and  a  lively  sympathy  with  teacher*  and  ccholan 
under  it. 


352  WOLFGANG  RATICH. 

have  no  knowledge,  whatever,  of  it.  It  is  much  to  be  wished,  that 
some  one  would  print  a  close  translation  of  Terence,  in  good  German  ;* 
for  then  each  boy  might  be  made  to  read  over  each  comedy  twice  or 
thrice,  before  taking  it  up  in  the  Latin. 

In  the  meanwhile,  however,  the  preceptor  must  make  up  for  the 
deficiency  by  his  own  industry.  Before  each  comedy  he  must  give 
the  whole  substance  of  it,  before  each  act  its  whole  content",  and  be- 
fore each  scene  the  full  meaning,  in  German,  orally,  very  clearly  and 
intelligibly,  once  or  twice,  or  must  make  them  say  them  over  after 
him,  just  as  if  they  had  a  German  Terence  in  their  hands. 

After  this  he  is  to  begin  to  translate  the  Latin  de  verbo  ad  verbum  ; 
taking  perhaps  three  pages  at  once,  and  translating  it  word  for  word, 
twice  at  one  lesson.  The  signification  must  be  given  most  strictly 
after  the  letter  of  that  radical  meaning  of  the  word,  as  far  as  possi- 
ble, which  is  in  use,  whether  it  agrees  with  the  sense  or  not.  As  for 
example  in  the  prologue  to  the  Andriae :  Poeta  the  poet,  cunt  when, 
primum  first,  animum  the  mind,  ad  to,  scribendum  writing,  adpulit 
lie  has  applied,  id  it,  sibi  to  himself,  negotii  of  business,  credidit  he 
believed,  solum  alone,  dart  to  be  given,  populo  to  the  people,  ut  in 
order  that,  placerent  they  might  be  pleased,  quas  which,  fecisset  he 
had  maddjfabulas  the  narratives,  etc.  And  the  exposition  must  not 
vary,  but  each  word  must  be  always  translated  alike,  as  often  as  it 
appears,  throughout  the  book. 

He  must  read  each  portion  twice  at  a  lesson,  immediately  over,  and 
must  say  not  a  word  between ;  and  the  boys  are  to  remain  entirely 
still,  and  only  to  listen  and  follow  in  the  book.  Thus  the  preceptor 
is  to  go  from  lesson  to  lesson,  letting  no  one  recite,  but  translating 

*  Gervinus  (History  of  poetical  national  literature,  3,  76)  says :  "  People  could  not  be  sat- 
isfied with  translating  Terence.  In  1620.  the  Society  for  usefulness,  (fruchtbringendf.  Gcs~ 
tlltchaft.)  published  the  whole  of  Terence,  at  Kb'then,  in  German  and  Latin.  The  whole  of  it 
was  also  translated  in  1620,  by  Michael  Meister  and  at  Halle,  in  1624,  by  David  Hb'schel  and 
Math.  fkhenk,  in  1626  anonymously,  (published  at  Weimar,  by  Joh.  Miechner,)  and  in  1G27 
by  Johann  Ulienius  ;  which  last  translation  passed  through  two  editions  in  the  17th  century." 
All  thi-M-  translations  ought  to  be  attributed  to  llatich's  method.  The  first  certainly  was  ; 
for  its  title  is,  "  Publii  Tereritii  six  comedies.  For  teaching.  Kb'then  1620."  (Niemeyer  C. 
22.)  The  Society  for  usefulness,  which  edited  this  translation,  Was  also  established  by  Prince 
Ludwig  Von  Anhalt,  Ratich's  protector.  David  lloschel,  a  co-author  of  the  translation  of 
1624.  was  rector  of  St.  Anne's  schools  at  Augsburg.  He  was  sent,  with  two  others,  in  1614,  to 
lliitirh  to  Frankfort-on-the-Maine,  to  become  acquainted  with  his  method.  They  reported 
that  Katich  had  so  far  explained  his  invention  to  them,  that  they  were  satisfied  and  pleased 
with  it.  He  wag,  in  consequence,  invited  to  Augsburg,  to  reform  the  Gymnasium  there.  I 
discovered  in  a  certain  catalogue  of  books,  "  Terentii  six  comedies,  translated  into  the  Ger- 
man tongue.  Weimar,  1626 :"  which  is.  perhaps,  the  translation  mentioned  by  Gervinus,  and 
by  Kr  iinavi  r  too.  Johann  Rhenius  published,  in  1626,  three  pedagogical  treatises,  which  he 
had  received  from  hii  excellent  friend  (optimi  amid)  Ratich.  As  Terence  occupied  a  promi- 
nent place  in  these  treatise*,  it  was,  perhaps,  by  tliis  means,  that  Rhenius  was  influenced, 
during  the  next  year,  1627,  to  print  a  translation  of  it. 


WOLFGANG  RATICH.  353 

the  whole  of  Terentius  alone,  each  portion  twice.  This  will  occupy 
a  few  weeks. 

After  this  the  preceptor  is  to  begin  Terentius  again  from  the  be- 
ginning, as  before ;  translating  word  for  word ;  but  so  that  the  pre- 
ceptor shall  translate  his  three  pages  only  for  the  first  time,  during  the 
first  half  lesson  ;  and  for  the  other  time,  immediately  after,  for  the 
second  half  of  the  lesson,  the  boys  are  to  translate,  always  in  their  order, 
each  four  or  five  lines ;  and  when  they  fail,  he  must  immediately  help 
them ;  and  the  others  are  to  listen  earnestly  in  the  meanwhile,  and 
attend. 

When,  in  this  way,  Terentius  had  again  been  brought  to  an  end,  he 
must  begin  at  the  beginning  a  third  time ;  and  now  the  boys  alone 
are  to  translate  it,  each  portion  twice  at  a  lesson ;  and  the  preceptor 
is  only  to  listen,  and  to  assist  them  when  they  fail. 

When  they  have  thus  gone  through  their  author  for  the  third  time, 
the  preceptor  is  to  cause  them  to  take  the  grammar  in  their  hands, 
and  here  also,  he  must  go  over  all  the  ground  before  them,  as  follows  : 

He  is  to  explain  to  them  the  substance  of  the  whole  grammar : 
how  it  speaks  of  the  treatment  of  single  words  according  to  the  ety- 
mology, and  then  of  the  right  connection  of  them,  according  to  the 
rules  of  syntax,  so  that  they  shall  become  complete  propositions; 
and  he  is  to  remind  them  of  what  they  have  already  learned  in  the 
German  grammar,  and  to  encourage  them  by  showing  that  it  will  be 
almost  all  of  it  easy,  and  the  work  trifling  and  not  hard,  if  they  will 
only  silently  and  earnestly  listen  and  observe. 

After  this  he  is  to  take  a  certain  chapter  or  part,  read  the  rule  or 
definition,  and  immediately  repeat  the  interpretation  of  it  according 
to  the  sense,  that  is,  the  right  German  meaning,  always  reminding 
them  of  what  they  have  been  over  in  the  German  grammar.  Thus 
he  is  to  go  on  to  the  end  of  the  part  he  has  taken,  and  to  repeat  his 
explanation  a  second  time ;  and  for  the  third  time  he  is  to  read  the 
Latin  contents  of  the  same  part,  but  without  the  German,  and  is  to 
let  the  boys  explain  it  after  him  perhaps  three  or  four  times,  each  a 
certain  part;  and  after  that,  at  the  same  lesson,  they  should  read  the 
portion  over  ten  times  or  more,  clearly  and  distinctly,  but  without 
translation. 

Afterward,  in  this  or  the  following  lesson,  the  preceptor  must  ap- 
ply this  lesson  without  the  grammar,  in  the  author,  Terentius,  in  this 
way ;  he  is  to  begin  Terentius  again  at  the  beginning  for  the  fourth 
time,  and  now  he  is  to  make  the  boys  all  the  time  keep  both  books 
in  their  hands,  for  the  application ;  namely,  Terentius  and  the  gram- 
mar. Then  the  preceptor  is  to  translate  again,  word  for  word,  until 


354  WOLFGANG   RATICH. 

an  example  occurs  of  the  part  of  the  grammar  which  has  been  read, 
and  there  he  is  to  stop,  and  explain  how  this  is  an  example  of  the 
rule  which  has  been  studied,  and  to  repeat  the  translation  of  the 
Latin  words,  and  to  read  over  the  rule  or  precept,  and  immediately  to 
show  how  the  example  comes  under  it ;  and  the  boys  must  all  the 
time  point  out  with  their  fingers  the  examples  in  the  author,  as  he 
names  them,  and  immediately  afterward  turn  their  eyes  and  their 
fingers  to  the  grammar,  to  the  rule  which  has  been  explained  there 
as  that  under  which  the  example  comes. 

And  as  soon  as  the  preceptor  has  made  application  to  one  exam- 
ple, he  must  cause  the  boys  to  do  the  same  with  four  or  six  examples 
of  the  same  kind,  until  the  whole  class  has  often  enough  heard  and 
observed  what  are  such  examples  in  the  text,  how  they  stand  in  the 
author,  and  how  they  relate  to  the  grammar ;  and  until  they  well  un- 
derstand the  rule  by  means  of  such  examples.  If  the  preceptor  were 
to  proceed  at  once,  the  boys  would  not  so  soon  have  learned  to  pick 
out  the  examples  in  the  author,  and  before  they  had  learned  to  per- 
ceive and  understand  them,  the  preceptor  would  be  far  advanced  in 
the  lesson. 

But  when,  as  above  shown,  such  examples  have  been  picked  out 
five  or  six  times  by  the  boys,  then  the  preceptor  is  to  proceed  and 
select  further  examples  in  the  text.  But  he  must  always  translate 
along  in  the  author  until  another  example  occurs,  and  not  let  any 
precept  or  rule  pass  until  it  has  been  explained  by  some  twenty  ex- 
amples ;  and  must  make  the  boys  repeat  such  examples,  especially  at 
first,  and  until  they  have  become  a  little  used  to  the  application  in 
the  author,  some  four  or  six  times ;  and  when  they  have  become  used 
to  it,  at  least  two  or  three  times. 

And  in  this  course  of  study  it  is  not  necessary  to  say  how  far  the 
pupil  shall  go  at  a  lesson,  either  in  the  grammar  or  in  the  author ;  for 
when  one  lesson  is  not  sufficient,  another  may  be  taken  on  the  same. 

When  one  precept  has  been  explained  as  above,  and  applied  in  the 
author,  the  preceptor  is  to  go  on  in  the  grammar,  take  another  part 
of  it,  explain  it,  read  it,  cause  it  to  be  explained  after  him,  and  to  be 
applied  to  the  author. 

And  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  only  the  most  important  and  princi- 
pal rules  of  the  grammar  are,  for  the  most  part,  to  be  practiced ;  but 
if  there  are  some  special  portions  or  exception,  of  which  not  many 
instances  occur  in  the  author,  then  those  are  to  be  more  quickly 
passed  over,  and  the  drill  upon  them  is  to  be  postponed  until  after 
the  grammar  lias  been  gone  through  with. 

It  ii  to  be  remarked  also,  that  we  practice  triplicem  analysin  or 


WOLFGANG  RATICH.  355 

appltcationem ;  1,  particularem;  2,universalem;  3,universalissimam. 
In  the  particular  analysis,  we  make  application  only  to  examples 
which  come  under  the  single  precept  or  rule  of  the  grammar  which 
we  have  been  over,  and  pass  over  the  remaining  words  of  the  author 
with  only  a  translation.  But  in  the  universal  analysis,  which  follows 
after  the  pupils  have  gone  through  the  etymology  in  the  grammar 
by  portions,  we  make  applications  to  each  word,  as  they  stand  one 
after  another  in  the  author,  whether  it  be  vox  flexibilis  vel  inflexibilin, 
conjunctio  vel  praepositio,  notnen  vel  verbum,  etc. 

In  like  manner  is  the  proceeding  to  be  with  the  syntax,  after  it  has 
been  gone  through  with  by  portions ;  that  is,  without  regard  to  the 
place  in  the  author  where  the  class  is,  all  instructions  are  to  be  used 
for  application  universaliter,  period  after  period,  as  they  stand  in  the 
author,  and  brought  under  their  rules  in  the  syntax ;  until  at  last 
comes  the  third  or  universalissimam  analysin,  in  which  all  the  gram- 
mar is  applied  at  once ;  first  etymology,  and  then  syntax  being  ap- 
plied to  each  period  of  the  author ;  until  the  whole  author  has  been 
analyzed  and  explained  grammatice. 

In  the  beginning  the  teacher  must  go  slowly,  and  make  the  appli- 
cation to  one  word  ten  or  twenty  times,  item  must  cause  each  rule  to 
be  recited  over  ten  times  or  more.  But  he  need  no  longer  go  so 
slowly,  and  may  proceed  more  rapidly,  when  he  sees  that  the  boys 
both  understand  the  principal  precepts,  and  from  their  repetition  of 
them  know  them  by  heart ;  then  it  is  enough  to  make  a  single  ap- 
plication with  one  word,  or  to  pass  it  over  entirely  and  only  to  have 
those  attended  to  and  carefully  recited,  which  occur  more  seldom,  or 
are  for  some  reason  more  difficult ;  at  the  last  the  preceptor  must 
push  on  with  speed,  only  attending  to  such  examples  as  have  some 
special  interest. 

And  especially  must  the  teacher  begin,  this  time,  when  any  par- 
ticular phrases  occur,  to  inflect  them  thoroughly  in  tenses  and  persons, 
although  not  always  in  their  regular  order;  the  preceptor  first  re- 
peating such  phrases  over  to  the  boys,  several  times,  and  inflecting 
them,  and  causing  them  to  select  them  for  themselves  and  inflect 

O 

them,  when  they  have  heard  him  sufficiently. 

As  for  example,  Heaut.  1,  1.  -£^70  vesperi  domum  revertor,  I  re- 
turn home  at  evening ;  fu  vesperi  domum  revcrteris,  thou  roturnost 
home  at  evening ;  vos  vesperi  domum  reverlimini,  ye  return  home  at 
evening;  tu  vesperi  domum  revertebaris,  thou  didst  return  home  at 
evening;  no*  vesperi  domum  revertebamur,  we  returned  home  at 
evening;  illi  vesperi  domum  revertentur,  nos  vesperi  domum  rever- 

temur,  reversieramus,  etc. 
No.  13.— [VOL.  V.,  So.  l.J— 16. 


356  WOLFGANG  RATICH. 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  only  the  more  important  points  in  the 
grammar  are  usually  to  be  studied ;  as,  in  etymology,  the  declen- 
sion, item  the  Genus  nominum,*  item  the  Conjugationea  verborum  ; 
in  syntax,  barely  one  rule  more  than  ten :  as  1.  Adjectivum  et  Sub- 
etc.  2.  Substantivum  cum  substantive.  3.  Dalivos  ad- 
etc.  4.  Ablativo  casu  ejfwuntur,  etc. .  5.  Relativum  cum 
antecedente,  etc.  6.  Nominations  praec edit,  etc.  7.  Activa  verba  om- 
nia.  8.  Ablativus  instruments,  etc.  9.  Quodlibet  verbum  admittit 
dativum,  etc.  10.  Infinitivi  adduntur,  etc.  11.  Accusativus proprius 
casus,  etc.;  item  about  Praepositionibus. 

Tliese  portions  are  chiefly  to  be  practiced ;  with  the  rest,  the  boys 
must  not  be  too  soon  troubled,  delayed  or  discouraged,  since  they 
can  learn  them  just  as  well  afterward,  when  they  have  come  to  the 
making  of  sentences,  when  they  can  well  and  quickly  learn  them  in 
small  portions  at  a  time,  thus  being  able  to  observe  for  themselves 
some  fructum  studii  grammatici,  not  without  pleasure  and  good 
hopes  for  the  future.  When  they  have  come  as  far  as  this,  then  the 
preceptor  may  take  up  the  remaining  more  difficult  parts,  bringing 
them  forward  as  supplementary,  and  explain  them  one  after  another, 
reading  them  over  often,  item  making  them  well  and  clearly  under- 
stood by  a  repeated  application  of  many  examples. 

When  the  grammar,  with  its  more  important  parts,  has  thus  been 
brought  to  an  end,  then  the  preceptor  is  to  take  up  the  author  once 
more  and  translate  him  according  to  the  sense,  each  scene  a  couple 
of  times,  and  then  to  go  on  immediately,  letting  the  boys  listen  only, 
until  he  observes  that  by  thus  listening  they  have  acquired  a  good 
habit  in  it;  and  then  he  may  cause  them  to  translate  for  themselves^ 
helping  them  at  once  when  they  fail. 

When  the  scholars  understand  the  author  ad  sensum,  then  may  fol- 
low exercises  in  style ;  or,  as  they  are  called,  argument  making,  that  is  : 

The  preceptor  shall  first  for  some  four  weeks  himself  orally  make 
sentences  before  the  scholars,  all  in  imitation  of  Terentius,  from  the 
beginning  again;  shall  bid  the  boys  attend  closely,  and  repeat  to 
them  the  German  sentence,  ad  imitationem  mutalits  persanis  item  tem- 
poribus,  etc.  Immediately  after  this  he  is  to  proceed  and  give  an- 
other, as  long  as  the  lesson  lasts,  and  the  boys  are  only  to  listen  and 
observe  the  imitation  in  Terentius.  Such  sentences  should  be  at 
first  only  a  line  long,  or  should  include  only  one  comma ;  but  may 
afterward  be  longer  and  longer,  of  two  or  three  commas,  etc.  At 
last  they  may  be  of  two  or  three  whole  periods ;  and  then  he  may 
carefully  explain  to  them  the  particular  connexionem. 

*  These  are  the  beginnings  or  rules  from  the  *y  niax  of  Melanctlion'i  Latin  grammar. 


WOLFGANG  RATICH.  357 

When  this  oral  sentence-making  has  been  practiced  for  a  while, 
then  first,  and  not  before,  may  he  proceed  to  written  sentences,  and 
these  must  for  the  most  part,  especially  in  the  beginning,  for  a  suf- 
ficient time,  be  only  for  imitation.  And  when  the  sentence  has  been 
dictated  he  is  to  cause  one  or  another  scholar  to  read  it  aloud,  and  to 
observe  whether  they  have  all  heard  and  •written  correctly,  and  made 
the  right  distinctions.  Afterward  comes  correction ;  and  this  to  be 
not  silent,  but  aloud ;  not  with  a  pen  in  each  book,  (for  the  boys  can 
seldom  read  and  correctly  understand  such  blots.)  but  aloud.  And  it 
is  sufficient,  when  the  boys  are  many,  if  one  sentence  is  corrected  for 
some  four  of  them,  only  it  must  be  done  aloud,  that  the  others  may 
have  advantage  of  it. 

When  the  boys  have  come  so  far,  he  may  begin  to  talk  Latin  with 
them  ;  and  they  may  be  put  forward  ex  classe  grammaticae  Terenti- 
ana,  into  a  higher  school  or  class,  as  Ciceronianam,  Virgilianam,  etc." 

In  1573  appeared  a  school-plan*  for  all  the  Saxon  duchies,  forty- 
six  years  before  Kromayer's  School  System.  This  plan  was  in  many 
respects  diametrically  opposed  to  the  latter.  Grammar  was  put  first 
in  it,  learning  by  rote,  and  private  study  next,  etc.  It  is,  therefore, 
not  to  be  wondered  at,  that  Ratich's  new  method  gave  great  offense  in 
Weimar,  so  that  Kromayer,  at  the  end  of  his  report,  was  obliged  to 
add  that  this  new  organization  for  schools  did  not  contemplate  the 
destruction  of  religion.f  "  Especially,"  he  continues,  "  has  this  ex- 
cellent school  system  been  opposed  by  ill-disposed  or  ignorant  per- 
sons, as  if  there  was  concealed  behind  it  nothing  else  than  a  corrup- 
tion of  pure  learning,  and  apostacy  from  the  true  Lutheran  religion. 
Such  a  charge  is  entirely  baseless  and  false."  He  refers  in  addition, 
to  the  fact  that  u  in  our  schools  the  Book  of  Concordance  itself,  which 
makes  the  Lutherans  differ  from  the  Calvinists  even  more  than  from 
the  Papists,  is  used  continually,  in  German  and  Latin,  in  a  manual 
prepared  for  the  purpose." 

I  quote  so  much  from  Kromayer's  report  to  show  that  Ratich  and 
his  followers  had  already  gone  far  enough  in  the  road  of  Hamilton 
and  Jacotot,  and  had  even  pushed  the  method  to  caricature.  For  ex- 
ample, Terence,  according  to  Kromayer's  directions,  would  be  read 
three  times  in  German,  and  more  than  six  times  in  Latin.  The  Ger- 
man translation  had  to  be  as  literal  as  possible,  for  the  purpose ;  and 
if  this  were  so,  what  justification  had  they,  for  causing  such  matter 
to  be  repeatedly  read  by  the  young  ? 

'Method  for  managing  the  trivial  schools  proposed  at  the  visitation  of  churches  «nd  school* 
under  the  dukedom  of  the  younger  princes  of  Saxony.  Jena,  1573 

t  Similar  complaints,  but  with  more  reason,  were  made  against  Rouaseau,  Basedow,  etc.. 
at  a  later  period. 


358  WOLFGANG  RATICH. 

From  the  explanations  of  Ratich  and  the  Ratichians,  of  the  method 
of  reading  Terence  with  the  boys,  I  shall  further  only  extract  a  couple 
of  strange  observations. 

The  teacher,  says  Ratich,  must  first  read  his  author  very  slowly, 
and  syllable-wise,  and  the  scholars  are  to  follow  in  silence,  reading 
after  him  in  their  books.  The  scholars  are  not  to  read  the  lessons 
over  by  themselves.*  After  the  lesson,  say  the  Ratichians,f  the  books 
are  to  be  left  in  school.  Only  the  more  advanced  scholars  are  to  be 
admitted  to  repetition.  "  The  understanding  acts  of  itself,  and  learns 
naturally,"  he  says  in  the  Articles,};  "  but  only  when  the  teacher  is 
present  so  that  he  may  teach  it  first.  If  the  pupil  is  himself  wise  and 
intelligent  enough  to  know  how  he  ought  to  learn  and  be  taught,  then 
he  needs  no  teacher."  Yet  before  the  scholar  has  heard  any  thing  of 
Latin  grammar,  the  teacher  is  to  read  with  him  a  portion  every  day, 
and  thus  from  Monday  to  Friday,  to  go  over  a  space  which  is  to  be 
read  again  on  Saturday.  Thus  the  six  comedies  of  Terence  were  to 
be  read  within  six  weeks.§ 

We  shall  see  further  on  why  the  author  is  to  be  read  before  the 
grammar  is  studied. 

Having  thus  explained  one  instance  of  the  methods  of  instruction 
of  Ratich  and  his  followers,  I  proceed  to  the 
II.     GENERAL  PRINCIPLES 

Of  this  methodologist,  as  they  appear  in  the  "Articles "  and 
"Aphorisms,"  subjoined  to  the  "Praxis." 

1.  "Every  thing  in  its  order ;  or,  the  course  of  nature. |     Since  na- 
ture uses  a  peculiar  method,  proper  to  herself,  with  which  the  under- 
standing of  men  is  in  a  certain  connection,  regard  must  be  had  to  it, 
also,  in  the  art  of  teaching;  for  all  unnatural  and  violent  or  forcible 
teaching  and  learning  is  harmful,  and  weakens  nature." 

But,  had  Ratich  and  his  school  found  the  true  order  of  nature  ? 
Had  they,  for  instance,  in  teaching  Latin  ?  Were  they  not  forced,  in 
discipline,  to  adopt  methods  of  compulsion  and  beating,  quite  opposed 
to  the  sacred  motto  of  "  naturam  sequi  T"1 

2.  "Only  one  thing  at  a  tirae.^[     Nothing  is  a  greater  hindrance  to 
the  understanding  than  to  undertake  to  learn  many  things  togethei 
and  at  once.     It  is  as  if  one  should  undertake  to  cook  pap,  fruit, 

*  Mcthodus,  145.    Mnente  praectptore  omnis  privala  repetitio  discenti  plant,  interdicta  est. 
t  Praxis,  166.  *  Ib.  p.  199. 

$  Ib.  p.  164.  "  Thug  a  comedy  will  be  finished  in  a  week,  at  one  act  a  day.  This  shows 
how  much  promptness  the  teacher  needs,  to  finish  a  whole  net  in  an  hour."  (Very  true!)  * 

*  *    "until,  in  six  weeks,  all  Terence  will  have  been  read  and  explained.    And  up  to  this 
time  the  pupil  haa  heard  nothing  of  Latin  grammar." 

I  Ib.  pp.  179, 176.  lib.  pp.  179,  175. 


WOLFGANG  RAT1CH.  359 

meat,  milk  and  fish,  in  the  same  kettle.  But  things  should  be  taken 
up  orderly,  one  after  another,  and  one  thoroughly  dealt  with  before 
proceeding  to  the  next.  In  each  language,  one  author  should  be 
studied  until  the  language  is  well  learned.  When  he  is  well  learned, 
and,  as  it  were,  well  swallowed  down,  others  may  be  read.  One 
should  undertake  nothing  new  until  that  which  preceded  it  has  been 
learned  thoroughly  and  sufficiently  for  all  purposes." 

Is  this  actually  according  to  the  "  course  of  nature  ?"  Is  it  natural, 
if  one  has  lived  eight  months  on  pap  or  on  fish  alone,  just  as  Ratich's 
scholars  were  kept  at  Terence  eight  months,  and  more  too,  not  to  wish 
anything  else  to  eat  ?  Is  not  a  variety  of  reading  material  like  that 
in  the  valuable  reading  books  of  Jacobs,  much  more  agreeable  to  the 
"  course  of  nature  ?"  Just  as  we  do  not  eat  one  thing  altogether ; 
but,  for  example,  bread  with  meat ;  just  so  it  is  the  problem  of  the 
teacher,  not  to  lay  before  the  scholars  an  everlasting  and  wearisome 
monotony.  And,  as  skilful  cooks  endeavor  to  find  out  what  viands 
go  together,  so  as  to  obtain  at  once  a  good  flavor  and  easy  digestion, 
just  so  must  the  skilful  pedagogue,  even  within  the  same  term,  teach 
the  same  scholars  different  things,  such  as  may  serve  as  supplements 
to  each  other,  by  their  variety  may  keep  the  scholar  fresh  and  un- 
satisfied, and  at  the  same  time  may  healthily  nourish  his  mind.* 
And  the  rule,  "  one  should  undertake  nothing  new  until  that  which 
precedes  has  been  thoroughly  learned,"  needs  this  addition :  in  pro- 
portion to  the  measure  of  ability  of  each  scholar. 

3.  "  Each  thing  should  be  often  repeated.     It  is  incredible,  what 
may  be  accomplished  by  the  frequent  repetition  of  one  thing.     For 
this  reason  it  is  that  only  one  and  the  same  material  is  to  be  handled, 
in  all  lessons,  both  forenoon  and  afternoon.     For  what  is  often  re- 
peated, will  become  more  deeply  and  correctly  impressed  upon  the 
understanding.     But  if  one  goes  over  one  thing  once,  and  immedi- 
ately goes  on  to  another,  and  so  to  many  things,  one  after  another, 
none  of  them  will  be  learned  well,  and  the  understanding  will  be 
confused,  overstrained  and  weakened." 

This  is  like  the  previous  principle;  and  like  it  suspicious,  if  moder- 
ation be  not  observed  in  the  practice  of  it. 

4.  "  Every  thing  first  in  the  mother  tongue.     For  the  scholar  must 
do  his  thinking  about  what  he  has  to  learn,  in  the  mother  tongue ; 
and  he  ought  not  to  have  any  further  trouble  about  the  language  of 
it."     "  There  is  always  this  advantage,  that  if  knowledge  useful  and 

*  A  contemporary  had  already  said,  "  variety  of  lessons  may  be  of  iwo  kinds :  one  con- 
fused, and  the  other  orderly  ;  this  last  is  not  hurtful,  since  it  is  directed  to  a  tingle  knowl- 
edge." Grawerus,  12. 


360  WOLFGANG  RATICH. 

necessary  in  common  life,  were  put  into  German  and  learned  in  it, 
every  one,  whatever  his  business,  could  acquire  a  much  better  knowl- 
edge of  it,  because  he  could  guide  himself  and  express  himself  better 
in  all  matters  connected  with  it.  How  important  this  would  be  in 
religion  and  government,  and  in  human  life  generally,  will  easily  be 
imagined,  if  we  reflect  what  a  miserable  condition  of  ignorance  and 
inexperience  is  most  usual." 

"After  the  mother  tongue,  then  the  other  languages."* 

The  importance  of  this  article  is  clear.  It  aims  at  the  restoration 
of  the  mother  tongue  to  its  proper  rights,  and  at  the  removal  of  the 
sharp  distinction  between  the  Latin  learned  and  the  unlatinized  laity, 
and  of  the  demand  that  the  latter  shall  be  educated,  and  that  the 
mother  tongue  be  the  vehicle  of  their  education. 

What  germs  of  good,  but,  from  after  abuses,  of  evil  too ! 

5.  "  Every  thing  without  compulsion."! 

n.  "Boys  can  not  be  whipped  into  learning  or  wishing  to  learn. 
By  compulsion  and  blows  youth  are  disgusted  with  their  studies, 
so  that  study  becomes  hateful  to  them.  Moreover,  this  is  contrary  to 
nature.  For  boys  are  accustomed  to  be  flogged  for  not  remembering 
what  has  been  taught  them  ;  but  if  you  had  taught  them  rightly  they 
would  have  remembered  it,  and  you  would  not  have  needed  the 
blows.  And  that  they  should  atone  for  your  errors,  because  you  did 
not  use  the  right  method  of  teaching,  is  too  great  an  injustice.  Also, 
the  human  understanding  is  so  made  that  it  must  have  pleasure  in 
learning  what  it  is  to  remember ;  and  this  pleasure  you  destroy  with 
your  anger  and  blows.  But  as  to  what  belongs  to  morals,  mores,  and 
virtue,  there  is  a  different  rule.  '  Foolishness  is  bound  up  in  the 
heart  of  a  child,  but  the  rod  of  correction  will  drive  it  far  from  him,'  as 
Solomon  says. 

b.  The  pupil  should  not  be  frightened  at  the  teacher,  but  should 
hold  him  in  love  and  reverence.  This  follows  of  itself  from  the 
foregoing.  For  if  the  teacher  rightly  exercises  his  office,  it  will 
not  fail  but  that  the  boy  shall  take  up  a  love  for  him  and  for 
his  studies. 

JA11  the  work  comes  upon  the  teacher.  For  he  has  to  read  and 
explain,  and  in  the  mother  tongue  too ;  yet  this  is  much  easier  than 
the  work  formerly  usual  in  the  schools.  For  lie  has  not  to  plague 
himself  with  hearing,  examining  and  whipping,  but  conducts  his 
lessons  in  a  decent  way,  and  is  sure  that  he  will  gather  fruit  from 
them  ;  for  this  can  not  fail  him  if  he  only  does  rightly  the  office  of 
teacher,  and  pursues  the  proper  method. 

'  Prwtli,  p.  182.  t  P.  183.  }  P.  196. 


WOLFGANG  RATICH.  3Q| 

*The  teacher  must  do  nothing  but  teach.  To  maintain  discipline 
belongs  to  the  school  officials,  *  *  *  *  so  that  the  pupil  can 
not  contract  a  repugnance  to  his  teacher,  but  may  love  him  more  and 
more ;  which  has  much  efficiency  in  learning." 

These  doctrines  again  are  forerunners  of  the  later  pedagogy.  If 
the  children  learn  nothing,  the  teacher  must  take  all  the  blame;  for 
according  to  Ratich's  method  they  must  make  progress,  without  any 
doubt  at  all ;  a  Mercury  can  be  carved  out  of  any  block.  If  the 
earlier  pedagogy  was  hard-hearted  and  Orbilian,  here  there  appeared 
a  tendency  diametrically  opposite ;  a  fear  of  losing  the  children's 
love,  even  by  the  conscientious  enforcement  of  justice.f  To  make  up 
for  this,  it  is  not  the  teacher,  but  the  school  officer,  who  is  to  ad- 
minister punishment — as  the  Jesuits  used  to  inflict  bodily  punishment 
not  by  a  Jesuit,  but  by  some  one  not  a  member  of  the  order. 

6.  "  Nothing  must  be  learned  by  rote.J  Reason  :  such  is  the  in- 
dication of  nature ;  otherwise  violence  is  done  to  the  understanding  ; 
and  accordingly,  experience  shows  us  that  any  one  who  applies  him- 
self much  to  learning  by  rote,  loses  much  in  understanding  and  intel- 
lectual keenness.  For  if  the  understanding  is  occupied  with  the  words, 
it  has  not  room  rightly  to  consider  the  things.  It  is  unnecessary,  too, 
and  can  be  accomplished  by  better  means ;  that  is,  when  a  thing  has 
been  well  impressed  upon  the  mind  by  frequent  repetition,  the 
memory  of  it  will  follow  of  itself  without  any  pains. "§ 

Here  is  an  indication  of  the  origin  and  tendency  of  the  method. 
Earlier  pedagogues  base  every  thing  upon  learning  by  rote,  without 
regard  to  the  understanding  of  what  they  learned  ;  but  now  the  un- 
derstanding is  to  be  substituted  for  the  memory.  Ratich's  school  had 
as  little  regard  as  many  of  the  later  pedagogues,  for  the  intimate 
connection  between  imagination  and  the  memory,  by  which  the 
former  grasps  the  images  which  the  latter  retains  and  either  purposely 
or  arbitrarily  reproduces.! 

*  Praxis,  p.  5200.  The  Praxis  recommends  the  same.  p.  167.  "All  should  be  done  with  ju- 
dicious words  and  a  countenance  pleasant,  yet  grave ;  not  with  blows  and  harshness.  If  any 
case  demands  severe  discipline,  it  should  be  put  into  the  hands  of  the  school  authorities. 

t  We  have  observed  above  that  the  complaint  was  made  in  Kotlien,  that  Ratich's  school* 
were  deficient  in  discipline. 

t  P.  185.  The  Praxis,  p.  169,  says,  "  Examine  your  scholars,  whether  they  are  ready  in  the 
conjugations  and  declensions,  but  always  from  the  book,  and  not  from  memory  ;  neither 
must  the  pupil  be  allowed  to  recite  the  inflections  from  memory."(!) 

5  "For  the  real  memory  of  an  object  depends  immediately  upon  the  knowledge  of  it." 
Mi  Hindus,  146.  "  The  proceeding  should  be  from  the  intellect  to  the  memory  ;  and  never  the 
contrary."  Praxis,  164.  "Nature  has  been  constrained  in  this;  that  the  boys  have  been 
made  to  learn  by  rote,  and  entirely  by  themselves,  without  the  aid  of  the  preceptor, 
what  they  do  not  understand."  Grawer,  29.  He  also  says,  "  The  localia  memoria  is  entirely 
forbidden  ;  that  is.  remembering  any  thing  by  means  of  certain  figures  set  in  a  certain  order 
and  so  retained."  I  P-  186- 


362  WOLFGANG  RATICII. 

Connected  with  this  rule  is  another  one,  that  the  children  are  to 
have  their  hours  of  recreation ;  indeed  that  no  two  lessons  are  to 
come  immediately  together.  Chiefly  because  "  this  method  of  teach- 
ing depends  upon  reading,  and  the  hearing  becomes  wearied  more 
easily  than  the  other  senses ;"  and  because  "  each  scholar  must  listen 
and  remain  silent."*  During  the  lesson  he  must  not  speak  nor  ask 
questions,  in  order  not  to  disturb  his  fellow  scholars,  and  because  the 
lesson  can  not  otherwise  be  finished  in  time.  If  he  has  any  thing  to 
ask,  he  must  ask  it  after  the  lesson. 

That  such  a  continued  silent  listening  to  reading  was  a  most  un- 
natural constraint  upon  the  boys,  is  indirectly  here  confessed  by  the 
Ratichians  themselves  in  recognizing  this  fatigue.  Comenius,  who 
gives  us  a  short  description  of  Ratich's  method,f  mentions,  that  if  the 
scholars  are  made  to  observe  a  Pythagorean  silence,  the  teacher  must 
labor  in  vain,  for  all  power  of  attention  is  destroyed  in  the  former. 

7.  "Mutual  conformity  in  all  things/}; 

"In  all  languages,  arts,  and  sciences,  there  must  be  a  conformity, 
both  as  to  the  method  of  teaching,  books  used,  and  precepts  given, 
as  far  as  possible.  The  German  grammar,  for  instance,  must  agree 
with  the  Hebrew  and  the  Greek,  as  far  as  the  idioms  of  the  languages 
will  permit.  For  this  is  a  valuable  help  to  the  understanding,  *  * 
and  gives  perspicacity,  when  one  sees  how  one  language  agrees  with 
others  and  differs  from  them." 

This  points  toward  a  general  grammar,  by  teaching  that  the 
grammar  of  each  language  is  to  be  divided  into  two  portions,  the 
universal  and  the  particular.  This  is  certainly  right  in  part.  In 
learning  a  new  language,  we  very  soon  distinguish  its  agreements  with, 
and  differences  from,  the  mother  tongue. 

8.  §  "  First  a  thing  by  itself,  and  afterward  the  explanation  of  the 
thing. 

No  rule  can  be  given  before  the  material  for  it — the  author  or  the 
language — has  been  given.  This  appears  entirely  absurd,  but  expe- 
rience shows  that  it  is  entirely  true.  For  what  can  one  understand 
in  any  language,  who  has  read  nothing  in  any  author  of  it,  though 
he  be  all  stuffed  full  of  rules  ?  He  must  at  last  come  to  this,  that 
either  in  one  author  or  in  many,  one  after  another,  and  with  frequent 
repetition,  he  learns  to  understand  the  rules  and  make  them  useful. 

•  P.  197.    "In  the  disciple  a  Pythagorean  silence."    P.  176. 

t  Opp.  did.  2.  80,  1UO.  "This  maxim  imposes  upon  the  teacher  an  asinine,  useless,  vexa- 
tious labor."  "A  human  being  it  not  a  mere  passive  log  from  which  you  are  to  carve  out  a 
statue;  it  \t  a  living  figure,  forming,  reforming,  deforming  itself." 

t  P  1ST.  $  P.  188,  etc. 


WOLFGANG  RATICH.  353 

What  need,  therefore,  had  he  to  plague  himself  in  vain  beforehand 
with  the  rules  ?  Rules  without  material  confuse  the  mind.  Let  any 
one  remember  for  himself  whether  all  his  life  long  he  has  found  in 
his  reading  all  the  examples  which  he  was  obliged  to  learn  with  great 
pains  in  the  grammar.  As,  for  instance,  the  patronymics ;  how  they 
martyr  the  poor  boys,  and  yet  are  seldom  used ;  therefore  it  is  an 
absurd  thing  that  the  grammar  should  first  be  beaten  into  them  and 
that  they  should  learn  the  language  for  the  first  time  afterward. 
Get  your  corn  before  you  trouble  yourself  about  a  sack.  Get  money 
before  you  buy  a  purse  to  put  it  in.  Rules  are  not  of  use  for  a  pre- 
paration, nor  for  a  guide ;  but  for  the  fixation  of  what  has  been 
learned.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  other  uses  of  rules,  nobody 
can  remember  that  they  gave  him  any  help  at  the  beginning,  and 
prepared  him  to  acquire  the  language  more  rapidly.  Practice  and 
experience  teach  us  that  any  such  speculation  is  empty." 

"A  basis  of  material  must  have  been  laid  in  the  mind,  before  the 
rules  can  be  applied  to  it."  To  the  observation  that  in  the  grammar 
the  rules  are  furnished  with  examples,  Ratich  answers,  that,  notwith- 
standing, the  rules  are  useless ;  because  they  are  insufficiently  scraped 
together  out  of  the  most  various  authors,  and  are  uninteresting.  And 
in  the  "Articles  "  he  says  :  "All  sorts  of  examples  come  together  from 
all  sorts  of  authors,  like  mixed  fodder  in  a  manger ;  but  no  such 
means,  with  no  connection  within  itself,  can  lay  a  good  foundation 
and  lead  into  the  peculiarities  of  a  language."* 

These  are  the  grounds  upon  which  Ratich  and  his  followers  require 
the  reading  of  some  select  author,  and  that  the  grammar  shall  be  de- 
veloped out  of  that  author.  At  the  first  it  may  seem  strange  that 
Ratich  should  cite  here  the  instance  of  geometry.  Oral  instruction, 
he  says,  would  be  of  little  use  in  this  study,  if  the  teacher  should  not 
display  before  his  scholars  some  actual  body  or  drawing  on  the  black- 
board, an  obtuse  or  acute  angle,  a  circle,  etc.  But  this  illustration 
will  be  found,  upon  nearer  examination,  quite  correct.  He  expresses 
himself  entirely  in  agreement  with  our  eighth  "Article,"  thus,  "  that  it  is 
unnatural  to  occupy  oneself  with  the  accidentals  of  the  thing  before  the 
thing  itself."f  This  principle  admits  of  a  wide  application  in  teaching, 
and  is  of  great  importance  and  truth,  if  it  is  not  pushed  to  caricature. 

9.  "  Every  thing  by  experience,  and  investigation  of  parts."J 

The  Latin  aphorism  is  neater :  Per  inductionem  et  experimcntum 
omnia.\ 

•  p.  133. 

iEt  omnino,  aeeidfjit^n  rt:.  prius  qunm  rfm  ipsam  qvaerere promts  absonum  el  abnirdutn 
tfge  videtur.    And  in  the  Praxis,  p.  175,  Are  modus  rei  ante  rent. 
1  p.  194.  I  p.  173. 


364  WOLFGANG  RATICH. 

No  rule  or  idea  is  admissible  which  is  not  based  upon  new  inves- 
tigation and  founded  upon  good  proof,  whether  or  not  many,  or  all, 
have  written,  or  believed  so  or  so  about  it.  For  it  is  assured  cer- 
tainty which  is  needed,  and  this  can  by  no  means  be  founded  upon 
authority.  In  this  way  there  is  no  possibility  of  failure.*  No  au- 
thority is  admissible,  therefore,  unless  traced  to  its  original  reasons. 
Neither  has  established  prescription  any  validity ;  for  it  gives  no  cer- 
tainty. 

The  Latin  phrase,  "Per  inductionem  et  experimentum  omnia" 
shows  almost  conclusively  that  Bacon  had  had  an  influence  upon 
Ratich.  Whether  or  not  the  latter  was  in  England  when  Bacon's 
first  work  appeared,  "induction"  was  Bacon's  shibboleth.  Ratich's 
radicalism  appears  most  strongly  in  this ;  and  the  motto  of  his  school 
books,  "Vetustas  cessit,  ratio  vicit"\  proves  the  same — as  iff  etustas 
and  ratio  were  opposite !  In  combating  the  prevailing  servile  regard 
for  antiquity,  however,  he  threw  away  the  good  with  the  bad.  It  is 
the  past  which  must  be  the  foundation  of  the  future. 

The  later  Methodians  became  infected  with  a  stupid  self-esteem 
and  undervaluation  of  the  ancients.  In  fact,  however,  the  ancients 
had  full  authority,  with  both  Ratich  and  the  Ratichians ;  which  is 
shown  by  the  important  part  which  Terence  played  in  their  schemes. 

The  above  quoted  report  of  Jungius  and  Helvvig  agrees  with  this 
statement.  Jungius  was  born  in  1587  at  Lubeck,  and  was  in  turn 
professor  of  philosophy,  mathematics,  and  medicine,  at  Giessen,  Ros- 
tock, and  Helmstadt;  and  died  in  1657,  at  Hamburg,  while  rector 
of  the  gymnasium  there,  and  professor  of  physics  and  logic.  Among 
his  numerous  writings  I  find  nothing  except  this  report,  of  a  peda 
gogical  character. 

With  Helwig  it  is  otherwise.  He  was  born  in  1581,  at  Sprendlin- 
gen,  south  of  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  and  studied  at  Marburg,  where 
lie  took  the  degree  of  master  in  1599,  in  his  eighteenth  year.  In 
1605  he  was  established  at  Geissen,  and  was  appointed  professor  of 
theology  there  in  1610.  He  died  as  early  as  1617,  in  his  thirty-sixth 
year,  apparently  in  consequence  of  overwork.  Helwig  was  an  extra- 
ordinarily learned  man.  He  spoke  Hebrew  as  well  as  his  mother 
tongue  ;J  wrote  grammars  of  Greek,  Hebrew,  Chaldean,  and  Syrian  ; 

*  Nan  igitur  auctoritas  det'.ituta  rationibus  valeat,  neque  vetustae  quicquam  praescribal. 
Praxis,  178. 

\  The  same  motto  stands  before  his  universal  system  in  German  :  "  prescription  yields,  rea- 
son overcomes,  truth  is  recognized."  (Geteohnheil -eerschwind,  Vernunfft  VAervind,  Wahr- 
hf.it  platzfind.) 

J  Buxtorf  wrote.  "  If  I  were  with  you,  Helwig,  1  would  lick  the  dust  off  your  feet."  Thu§ 
says  Schuppius,  Helwig's  son-in-law. 


WOLFGANG  RATICH.  335 

a  Hebrew  and  Greek  school  lexicon,  and  many  other  works.  He  was 
considered  one  of  the  most  skillful  teachers  of  languages  of  his  day  ;* 
and  had  a  new  method  for  teaching  languages  easily,  which  brought 
upon  him  much  derision  and  enmity.  It  was  said  of  him  that  he 
"had  contrived  a  funnel  through  which  he  could  pour  learning  into 
the  heads  of  youth  as  they  pour  wine  into  a  cask  in  the  autumn."f 
Helwig's  report  upon  Ratich's  method  appeared  only  three  years 
before  his  death.  This  learned  man  had  adopted  Ratich's  views  with 
great  enthusiasm,  and  had  developed  them  with  remarkable  skill. 

I  shall  give  the  most  important  parts  of  this  report.  In  the  be- 
ginning he  remarks,  that  Ratich  has,  uby  diligent  reflection  and  long 
practice,  discovered  a  valuable  method  by  which  good  arts  and  lan- 
guages can  be  taught  and  studied  more  easily,  quickly  and  correctly, 
than  has  been  usual  in  the  schools  ;  and  that  lie  has  been  for  thirteen 
years  pursuing  this  Christian  purpose." 

According  to  Ratich's  method  it  is  possible,  "if  the  proper  books 
are  provided  first,  as  weJl  for  the  old  as  well  as  the  young,  to  teach 
or  to  learn  any  language,  with  pleasure  and  love,  better  than  the 
mother  tongue,  at  most  in  a  year,  and,  with  industry,  in  half  a  year, 
in  three  or  four  hours  daily."J 

u  Ratich's  method  is  more  practicable  in  arts  and  sciences,  than  in 
language  ;  since  arts  and  sciences  are,  by  their  nature,  consistent 
with  themselves,  while  the  languages,  on  the  contrary,  by  long  use, 
have  contracted  many  incorrectnesses." 

Helwig  seems  to  consider  any  departure  from  his  general  principles 
of  language  as  much  of  an  incorrectness  as  any  maimed  or  distorted 
Latin  word  introduced  into  German. 

We  will  now  consider,  continues  Helwig,  not  only  the  knowledge 
of  objects  of  instruction,  but  the  gift  of  teaching  likewise;  but  not 
this  only,  however. 

"  For  nature,"  he  says,  "  does  much,  it  is  true ;  but  when  art  assists 
her,  her  work  as  much  more  certain  and  complete.  Therefore  it  is 
necessary  that  there  should  be  an  especial  art  to  which  any  one  who 
desires  to  teach  can  adhere,  so  that  he  shall  not  teach  by  mere  opin- 
ion and  guess,  nor  by  native  instinct  alone,  but  by  the  rules  of  his 

*  Bayle,  Helricus. 

tSchuppius,  uon  schools,"  p.  129.  His  epitaph, on  the  contrary, calls  him, •'  Novae  didac- 
ticae  autoret  inf or  motor  f elicits  imus." 

}  Grawer's  report,  (p.  21,)  says  that  Ratich's  method  does  not  dispense  Wilh  labor,  but  thai 
it  requires  less  than  heretofore.  He  says,  "  If  one,  in  going  from  Jena  to  Leipzig,  goes  to 
Weida,  then  to  Altenburg,  then  to  Weissenfels,  and  thence  to  Leipzig,  he  will  get  there.  But 
if  another  comes  to  him  and  says, '  I  will  show  you  a  surer  way,  that  is,  by  Nauinberg  and 
Weisseiifels  to  Leipzig.'  he  does  not  mean  that  the  traveler  can  go  to  Leipzig  without  labor, 
bat  only  without  superfluous  and  unnecessary  labor." 


360  WOLFGANG  RATICH. 

art;  just  as  he  who  would  speak  correctly,  by  the  rules  of  grammar ; 
and  lie  who  would  sing  correctly,  by  the  rules  of  singing."  This  art 
of  teaching  applies,  like  that  of  logic,  to  all  languages,  arts  and 
sciences  ;  and  is  such  n  universal  art  of  teaching  as  Ratich's.  It  dis- 
cusses among  other  things,  "  how  to  distinguish  among  minds  and 
gift",  so  that  the  quicker  may  not  be  delayed,  and  that,  on  the  con- 
trary, those  who  are  by  nature  not  so  quick,  may  not  remain  behind ; 
how  and  in  what  order  to  arrange  the  exercises,  how  to  assist  the 
understanding,  how  to  strengthen  the  memory,  to  sharpen  the  intellect, 
without  violence  and  after  the  true  course  of  nature.  This  art  of 
teaching,  no  less  than  other  arts,  has  its  fixed  basis  and  certain  rules, 
founded  not  only  upon  the  nature  and  understanding,  the  memory  and 
the  whole  being  of  man,  but  also  upon  the  peculiarities  of  languages, 
arts,  and  sciences ;  and  it  admits  no  means  of  teaching  which  are  not 
deduced  from  sure  grounds,  and  founded  upon  proof." 

Helwig  argues  further  against  the  usual  unintelligent  learning  by 
rote,  and  translating  into  strange  languages;  "the  requiring  what 
has  not  been  taught ;  the  remembering  what  is  not  understood  ;  the 
practicing  what  has  not  been  learned."  Ratich  remedies  this,  relieves 
the  boys  from  their  misery,  and  puts  the  chief  labor  upon  the  teach- 
er, who,  however,  finds  it  easier  than  before,  "  since,  if  he  is  not  fully 
master  of  every  thing  connected  with  the  language  or  art  which  he 
teaches,  still,  while  he  is  teaching  it  to  others,  he  himself,  becomes 
ready,  prompt,  and  thorough  in  it."  Under  the  usual  teaching,  the 
result  is  uncertain,  and  every  thing  must  be  done  by  guess.  "  Most 
persons,"  he  says,  "  choke  themselves  upon  the  bitter  root,  even  to 
weariness,  before  they  can  get  the  least  taste  of  the  lovely  fruit ;  that 
is,  they  have  to  torment  and  plague  themselves,  before  they  can  see 
or  know  of  the  least  use  for  their  efforts." 

Helwig  proceeds  to  oppose  the  tyranny  of  the  Latin  ;  "  as  every  such 
language  directly  injures  the  knowledge  of  the  mother  tongue,  and  as 
all  arts  and  sciences  may  be  easily  and  with  advantage  learned  in  the 
German  language."  Men,  in  general,  have  no  need  of  Latin ;  "just 
as  if  Latin  were  the  only  measure  of  all  the  other  arts  and  sciences, 
and  the  only  means  of  attaining  them." 

Thus  the  new  method  leaves  to  -the  languages,  arts,  and  sciences, 
their  natural  freedom.  For,"  continues  Helwig,  "  he  who  has  abjured 
the  tyranny  of  the  Latin,  may,  according  to  his  preferences  or  his 
necessities,  learn  one  or  another  language,  and  use  it,  or  devote  him- 
self entirely  to  one  single  art  or  science,  and  enrich  it  with  new  dis- 
coveries, as  the  Greeks,  Hebrews,  and  others  have  done ;  who  would 
never  have  done  so  much  for  posterity  if  they  had  been  obliged  to 


WOLFGANG  RATICH.  367 

martyr  themselves  with  the  grammar  as  many  years  as  our  own 
youth."  If  the  monopolizing  Latin  is  removed,  Hebrew,  Greek,  and 
even  Chaldee,  Syriac,  and  Arabic,  would  be  attended  to. 

The  mother  tongue,  in  particular,  would  not  be  neglected ;  as  it 
has  great  excellencies,  and  ought  to  be  correctly  and  systematically 
learned,  as  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans  learned  their  native 
tongues.  " Besides,"  says  llel wig,  "it  is  a  clear  truth  that  all  arts 
and  sciences,  logic,  ethics,  political  economy,  mensuration,  medi- 
cine, drawing,  weighing,  astronomy,  architecture,  fortification,  and  as 
many  more  as  there  are,  can  be  more  easily,  conveniently,  correctly, 
thoroughly,  and  successfully  learned  and  taught  in  the  German  lan- 
guage, than  in  the  Greek,  Latin,  or  Arabic." 

In  order  to  introduce  Ratich's  method,  grammars  and  compends 
must  be  prepared  according  to  it,  and  "  books  of  roots  and  words." 

In  conclusion,  Helwig  recommends  the  subject  to  princes  and  au- 
thorities, parents  and  teachers. 

I  can  scarcely  say  how  many  of  the  principles  of  the  modern 
Methodians,  and  of  their  views,  appear  in  this  report.  Polemics 
against  the  usual  method  of  instruction,  against  the  tyranny  of  Latin, 
against  mechanical  learning  by  rote,  and  neglect  of  the  understand- 
ing ;  and  on  the  other  hand,  the  promise  of  a  new,  easy,  brief  and 
certain  method  of  instruction,  by  whose  aid  both  scholar  and  teacher 
would  be  spared  fatigue  and  doubt,  which  made  but  little  requisition 
upon  the  teacher;  the  bringing  forward  of  the  understanding,  and 
the  low  estimate  of  the  memory  ;  the  equalizing  of  the  Greek,  He- 
brew, <fec.,  with  the  Latin ;  and  especially  the  requisition  that  the 
mother  tongue  should  be  reinstated  in  its  rights,  and,  still  more,  that 
it  should  be  learned  "correctly  and  systematically." 

Grawer's  report  (of  Jena)  upon  Ratich,  is  chiefly  directed  against 
the  opponents  of  the  new  method.  Objections  had  been  heard,  just 
as  they  are  to-day,  if  any  thing  new  is  sought  to  be  introduced  in  the 
school  system.  He  says,  "  Do  you  ask,  has  nobody,  up  to  this  time, 
known  how  to  teach  youth  languages  correctly  ?  Did  our  forefathers 
know  nothing  about  it  ?  Is  the  art  now  for  the  first  time  discov- 
ered ?"*  Grawer  answers,  "is  it  true  that  the  method  of  instructing 
youth  in  languages,  is  so  incapable  of  improvement?  When  music 
has  risen  to  such  a  state  of  perfection,  within  the  last  eighty  years, 
from  so  small  a  beginning,  and  yet  have  our  forefathers  left  no  im- 
provements to  be  made  in  didactics?" 

These  questions  were,  however,  occasioned  by  Ratich's  too  violent 

Grawer,  08. 


368  WOLFGANG  RAT1CH. 

attacks  upon  the  accepted  method  of  teaching,  and  his  extravagant 
valuation  of  his  own. 

The  second  objection  was,  that  if  learning  should  be  taught  in  the 
German  language,  it  would  become  altogether  too  common,  so  that 
all  without  distinction,  would  be  learned,  and  the  rightful  learned 
men  would  fall  into  disrespect.  Learning,  answers  Grawer,  is  bound 
up  with  no  language,  although  there  is  a  belief,  that,  absolutely  no 
one  can  be  learned  unless  he  understands  Latin  and  Greek  ;  and  on 
the  contrary,  that  if  any  one  knows  Latin  and  Greek,  even  if  he  knows 
nothing  else  besides,  he  is  a  very  learned  man.*  We  have  heard 
something  of  the  same  kind  in  our  own  times. 

Meyfart's  report  praises  especially  Ratich's  orthodox  Lutheranism, 
and  says  that  he  omits  useless  studies,  and  substitutes  others.f 

Ratich's  life  and  labors  are,  in  many  respects,  diametrically  op- 
posed to  those  of  Johannes  Sturm.  The  latter  succeeded  in  every 
thing,  because  he  labored  in  the  spirit  of  the  age,  and,  therefore,  had 
the  support  of  the  age.  He  was  only  the  head  master  among  many 
who  pursued  the  same  design  with  him.  Upon  this  purpose  Sturm 
kept  his  eyes  fixed  clearly  and  steadily,  and  followed  it  resolutely  and 
earnestly.  On  the  contrary,  many  of  Ratich's  ideas  were  new  and 
unintelligible,  and  even  irritating  to  his  contemporaries.  He  had  sa- 
gacity enough  to  perceive  the  wants  of  the  systems  in  vogue,  but  not 
enough  to  remedy  them.  He  indicated  many  improvements,  but 
only  shadowed  them  forth  in  general  principles.  If  he  undertakes  to 
work  out  any  of  his  principles,  to  put  them  in  practice  in  the  school, 
he  shows  himself  entirely  confused  and  incompetent.  Trusting  in  his 
principles,  he  promised  what  his  practical  incapacity  would  not  per- 
mit him  to  perform ;  and  thus,  even  with  his  well-wishers,  he  ap- 
peared a  charlatan.  This  conflict  between  his  ideal  and  his  want  of 
skill  for  the  realization  of  it,  made  him  unsuccessful,  and  in  this  he  is 
a  characteristic  forerunner  of  the  later  Methodians,  especially  of  Pes- 
talozzi.  Sturm,  as  a  man  skillful  in  his  calling,  known  and  recognized 
by  his  age,  was,  on  the  contrary,  successful. 

Ratich's  works  are  in  Latin,  diffuse  to  tediousness,  and  pedantic  in 
structure  and  style.  Those  of  his  followers  are  sometimes  in  Ger- 
man, but  singularly  interlarded  with  Latin  words,  showing  that  they 
were  still  under  the  "  tyrannical  dominion"  of  that  language. 

•  Drawer,  63-65. 

1 1  omit  what  Meyfart  says  about  "  Inttrumtnta  insereientia.  and  dirigcntia,"  as  obscure. 
"  By  means  of  the  former,"  hs  says,  "  nil  can  be  learned  which  will  enable  one  to  attain  to  a 
knowledge  of  things  and  of  language  ;  and  to  the  power  of  effective  labor  ;  and  it  therefore 
consisted,  partly  in  knowing  and  partly  in  laboring."  This  sounds  very  much  like  Bacon 
As  Inittriimenta  dirigentia,  he  names,  eulactica,  rpi'n/tmonica,  mncmonia,  glotsodidactica, 
prateodidaclica,  noematicodidactica,  organicodidactica. 


WOLFGANG  RATICff.  3QP 

WORKS    OF   AND    RELATING    TO    RATICII. 

Ratich  wrote  many  books,  of  which  the  following  have  come  to  my  knowledge  : 

1.  Universal  Encyclopedia  for  Ratich's  Didactics.  Kothen,  1619.  This  is 
apparently  tho  same  with  the  Allunterweieung  nock  der  Lehrart  Rutichn, 
1619.  This  Encyclopedia  contains  13  pages  of  almost  nothing  except  definitions 
of  thirty-two  literary  studies.  For  example:  "What  is  Encyclopaedia?  Ant. 
It  is  the  course  of  rightly  instructing  the  human  mind  in  all  things  which  can  be 
known..  How  is  it  divided  ?  Ana.  Into  dogmatics  and  didactics.  What  is  dog- 
matics ?  Ana.  It  is  the  system  of  methodically  explaining  studies." 

At  the  end  is  given  the  following  synopsis  : 

Encyclopaedia  is  divided  into  two  parts :  into 
Didactics,  of  and         Dogmatics,  which  is  either 

which  elsewhere,       / -' s 

Illiberal,  (Technology.)  Liberal. 


Real.  Instrumental. 


Divine,  (theology.) 

Human.         of  reason,  (logic.) 

of  speech, 
(rhetoric, 
poetry, 

Jurisprudence, 

Philosophy. 

Contemplative.  Active. 

(Metaphysics,  Physics,  Mathematics,)  (Ethics,  Politics,  Economics.) 

Pure.  Mixed. 

(Arithmetic,  Geometry.)  (Music,  Astronomy, 

Cosmography,  Optics.) 

2.  Universal  Grammar  for  Ratich's  didactics  :  Kothen,  1619.     (This  appeared 
in  Latin,  German,  Italian  and  French.)     Like  the  Encyclopaedia,  it  is  in  cate- 
chetical form,  and  has  twenty  pages,  mostly  of  definitions.     For  example  :  "  What 
is  grammar  ?     An«,     Grammar  is  the  system  instrumental  for  correct  speech. 
How  many  things  are  to  be  considered,  relating  to  correct  speech  ?     Ana.     Two ; 
essence,  and  attribute.     What  is  the  essence  of  correct  speech  ?     Ana.     The  es- 
sence of  correct  speech  is  its  agreement  with  approved  authors,"  etc. 

To  this  catechism  is  added  a  tabulated  view  of  the  Latin  conjugations  and  de- 
clensions. Both  the  Encyclopaedia  and  the  Grammar  are  little  enough  adapted 
to  give  a  knowledge  of  Ratich's  method. 

3.  The  new  method  of  instruction  of  Ratich  and  the  Ratichians  :  by  Johannes 
Rhenius.     Leipsic,  1626.     This  collection  includes: 

1.  W.  Ratich's  general  introduction  to  the  method  of  learning  languages. 

2.  The  Praxis,  and  description  of  the  method,  (in  Latin,)  which  may  serve 

as  a  model  for  other  languages :  by  certain  Ratichians. 

3.  Principles  on  which  the  Ratichian  system  is  chiefly  founded. 

Rhenius  says,  in  his  preface,  that  he  received  these  three  treatises  from  the 
hand  of  his  friend  Ratich,  and  that  two  of  them  are  by  fellow-laborers  of  his  at 
Augsburg.  My  respected  friend  Herr  Rector  Vomel  of  Frankfort,  has  been  kind 
enough  to  communicate  them  to  me ;  they  are  of  great  importance  for  understand- 
ing the  peculiarities  of  Ratich's  method.  I  have  quoted  from  all  of  them. 

Besides  the  manuals  under  the  above  heads  1  and  2,  Ratich  published  the  fol- 
lowing books,  mentioned  by  Jocher,  Schwarz  and  Massmann.  I  have  not  been 
able  to  obtain  them,  although  I  went  for  that  purpose  to  Kothen,  where  they 
appeared. 

New  Didactics.     1619. 

Rhetoric. 

Physics. 

Metaphysics. 

Compendium  of  Latin  Grammar. 

Compendium  of  Logic.     1621. 

Practice  in  Greek.     1620. 

Little  manual  for  beginners. 

To  each  of  these  titles  are  added  the  words  "  for  Ratich's  Didactics." 

4.  Memorial  presented  to  the  German  Electoral  Diet  of  the  Empire  at  Fran*- 

Jk 


370  WOLFGANG  RATICH. 

fort,  27th  and  28th  May,  1612.     This  memorial  exists  in  manuscript  in  the  city 
archives  of  Frankfort. 

To  these  works  of  Ratich  are  to  be  added  the  following  works  expressing  the 
opinions  of  his  contemporaries: 

5.  Short  report  on  the  didactics,  or  art  of  teaching,  of  Wolfgang  Ratich.     In 
which  he  gives  directions  how  the  languages,  arts  and  sciences  may  be  learned 
more  easily,  quickly,  correctly,  certainly  and  completely,  than  has  heretofore  been 
the  ease.     Written  and  published   by  Christopher  llehvig,  Doctor. of  Sacred 
Theology,  and  Joat'him  Jung,  Philosopher;  both  professors  at  Giessen.     Printed 
in  the  year  1614. 

This  report  I  received,  as  also  the  subsequent  works,  through  my  friend  Profes- 
sor Mnssmann,  who  reprinted  them  with  valuable  remarks,  in  part  1  of  vol  7, 
for  1827,  of  Sch ward's  Independent  Year-book  for  German  common  schools. 

6.  Report  on  the  didactics,  or  art  of  teaching,  of  Wolfgang  Ratich.     In  which 
he  gives  directions  how  youth  can  learn  languages  very  easily  and  quickly,  with- 
out special  constraint  or  wearisomeness.     Composed  and  written  by  request,  by 
several  professors  of  the  University  of  Jena,  in  which  also  various  idle  and  use- 
less questions  are  answered.     Jena,  1714. 

At  the  end  of  the  report  are  the  names  of  A.  Grawer,  Doctor  and  professor  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures.  Zacharias  Bendel,  Doctor  of  philosophy  and  medicine  and 
public  professor.  Balthasar  Gualtherus,  professor  of  the  Hebrew  and  Greek 
languages.  M.  Michael  Wolfius,  public  professor  of  physics.  I  have  quoted 
from  Grawer. 

7.  Report  on  the  new  method,  as  it  has  been  put  in  practice  in  the  instruction 
of  youth   in   the  schools  of  the  principality  of  Weimar ;  both  in  the  German 
classes  and  in  the  classes  in  Latin  grammar.     Composed  by  Johannes. Krornayer, 
court  chaplain  there,  under  the  General  Snperintendency.     Weimar:  J.  Weid- 
ner,  1619. 

For  this  important  work  also  I  am  obliged  to  the  kindness  of  Herr  Professor 
Massmann,  who  found  them  in  the  library  at  Munich. 

8.  Humble  relation.     On  the  system  of  instruction  of  Herr  Wolfgang  Ratich, 
put  into  the  hands  of  his  excellency  the  Chancellor  and   High  Councilor  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Sweden,  at  Gross-Sommerda,  March  15,  1634.     Signed,  at  the  con- 
clusion,  in   these   words:     Signed,   at  Erfurt,   March  10,  1634.     Hieronymus 
Bruckner,  Doctor  ;  Johannes  Matthaus  Meyfart ;  Stephinus  Ziegler,  Doctor  of 
Sacred  Theology. 

This  Relation,  which  was  addressed  to  the  Chancellor  Oxenstiern,  was  printed  by 
Herr  Director  Dr.  Niemeyer  in  his  examination  programme,  Halle,  1840  ;  where 
he  has  also  made  valuable  contributions  to  our  knowledge  of  Ratich.  The  original 
Relation  is  preserved  in  the  ducal  libary  at  Gotha.  Among  the  contributions 
just  referred  to,  is  an  abstract  of  one  of  Ratich's  works,  also  found  ,at  Gotha, 
with  the  title:  "The  universal  system  of  a  Christian  school,  and  how  to  establish 
find  maintain  it,  in  the  true  and  natural  faith,  and  in  harmony  of  language,  out 
of  the  Holy  Divine  writings,  Nature  and  Language,  according  to  the  educational 

system  of  Ratich.  Written  by  .  Ratichii  gymbolum,  Gewohnhcit 

verschwind,  Vernunfft  ubervsiiid,  Wqhrheit  platz-find.  Kraniehfcld.  1632." 

It)  three  other  programmes  by  Dr.  Niemeyer,  of  the  years  1841.  1842  and 
1843,  his  interesting  communications  respecting  Ratich  are  continued.  I  have 
quoted  the  programme  of  1840  as  "  Niemeyer  A,"  the  second  as  "Niemeyer 
B,"  the  third  as  "  Niemeyer  C,"  and  the  fourth  as  "  Niemeyer  D." 

In  programmes  A  and  D,  Dr.  Niemeyer  cites,  among  others,  the  following 
important  works  relative  to  Ratich  : 

Brief  account  of  a  celebrated  teacher  of  the  last  century,  Wolfgang  Ratichius. 
By  J.  C.  Forster:  Halle.  Printed  by  Michaelis,  1782. 

Didactic  accrued  interest ;  or,  certain  meditations,  and  decrees  of  wise  men 
cited  under  each ;  whence  clearly  appears  what  is  to  be  thought  of  the  method 
o-i'iimonly  culled  the  Ratichian.  By  M.  J.  Blocius,  of  the  ..school  at  Magde- 
burg, 1621. 

Ordinance  of  the  honorable  Council  of  the  City  of  Magdeburg,  relative  to  the 
didactics  of  Herr  Wolfgnng  Ratich.  Magdeburg,  1641. 

Hieritwch's  Weekly  Journal  of  the  common  schools.     Vol.  1,  Nos.  6  to  8. 

Ratich's  new  and  much  needed  method.     Halle,  1615. 

Vockerodt  Programme,  by  Evcnius.     Gotha,  1724. 


JOHN  AMOS  COMENIUS. 

[Translated  for  the  American  Journal  of  Education,  from  the  German  of  Karl  von  Raume/.] 


JOHANN  AMOS  COMKNIUS  was  born  at  Comnia*  in  Moravia,  in, 
1592.  He  early  lost  his  parents,  and  bis  guardians  so  neglected  him 
that  he  only  began  Latin  in  his  seventeenth  year.  He  says  this  neg- 
lect of  his  instruction,  by  which  he  suffered  so  much,  made  him  early 
sympathize  with  others  in  the  like  condition.f  He  afterward  studied 
in  different  places,  especially  at  Herborn  in  the  duchy  of  Nassau, 
where  Alsted  was  his  instructor.  This  man,  a  reformed  theologian,! 
and  an  adherent  of  the  Synod  of  Dordrecht,  was  the  author  of  many 
theological,  philosophical,  and  pedagogical  works ;  he  was  also  a  Mil- 
lenarian,  and  must  have  had  an  influence  upon  Comenius  in  the  most 
different  directions.^  Returning  to  his  native  country  in  1614,  Co- 
menius became  rector  of  the  school  at  Prerau,  and  in  1618  preached 
at  Fulneck,j|  which,  since  1480,  had  been  the  chief  seat  of  the  Bohe- 
mian Brethren,  and  of  the  Waldenses  who  had  fled  to  them.  Here 
he  busied  himself  in  overseeing  the  schools,  and  working  upon  school 
books ;  but  lost  his  manuscripts  when  the  Spaniards  took  Fulneck,  in 
1621.. 

In  16'24  all  the  evangelical  preachers  in  the  Austrian  dominions 
received  an  order  to  leave  the  country,  by  which  Comenius  lost  his 
place.  He  then  remained  in  the  mountain  country  of  Bohemia  with 
Baron  Sadowski  von  Slaupna,  whose  children  a  certain  Stadianus  in- 
structed, for  whom  Comenius  wrote  a  brief  methodology.  When  af- 
terward the  decree  was  issued,  ordering  all  who  would  not  become 
Catholics  to  leave  the  country,  there  left  Bohemia  thirty  thousand 
families,  of  whom  five  hundred  were  of  noble  blood.^j[  Comenius, 
with  his  scattered  flock,  departed  into  Poland.  Upon  the  range  of 
mountains  at  the  boundary,  he  paused,  to  look  once  more  back  to  Mo- 
ravia and  Bohemia,  fell,  with  his  brethren,  upon  his  knees,  and  prayed 
God,  with  many  tears,  that  he  would  not  suffer  his  word  to  be  entire- 
ly destroyed  out  of  those  countries,  but  would  preserve  some  seed  of 
it  there. 

Comenius  says  that  he  places  the  beginning  of  his  didactical  studies 

*  Comnia  is  in  Long.  35°  30%  kit.  49=. 

t  Works  on  didactics,  1.  442. 

}  Born  1583;  died  1633,  while  Professor  of  theology  and  philosophy  at  Weissenb»>rg  in 
Transylvania. 

SThus,  Comenius  says  that  he  copied  his  arrangement  of  school  classes  from  Alsted. 

I  Didact.  works,  1,  3.  Prerau  is  south  from  Olmiitx ;  Fulneck  about  midway  between 
Teschen  and  Olmiitz. 

"  Raumer,  Hist,  of  Europe.  3,  451. 

No.  13.— [VOL.  V.,  No.  l.j— 17. 


372  JOHN  AMOS  COMENIUS. 

in  the  year  1627,*  when  he  wrote  the  methodology  above  mentioned  ; 
but  he  might  have  gone  back  much  further,  namely,  to  the  year  1614, 
in  which  appeared  the  report  of  the  professors  of  Jena  and  Giessen, 
upon  Ratich's  method. f  Under  the  influence  of  these  reports  he  had, 
while  pastor  in  Prerau,  worked  out  a  milder  method  of  teaching 
Latin,  and,  for  the  purpose,  had  written  a  short  grammar,  which  was 
printed  at  Prague  in  1616.  In  the  unhappy  year  1627,  he  had  re- 
flected upon  the  means  of  helping  the  people,  at  the  return  of  better 
times,  by  the  erection  of  schools  in  which  instruction  should  be  given 
by  good  school  books  and  clearer  methods.  In  like  manner,  in  the 
years  of  the  French  servitude,  Fichte  cast  his  eye  upon  Pestalozzi, 
with  the  hope  that  at  Yverdun  a  new  generation  would  grow  up,  for 
a  future  time  of  freedom  in  Germany.  Comenius  settled  at  Lissa  in 
Bohemia,  where  he  taught  Latin,  and  in  the  year  1631  published  1m 
Janua  linyuarum  reseraia^  a  new  method  of  teaching  languages, 
especially  Latin.  This  book  was  the  basis  of  his  fame.  He  himself, 
in  the  dedication  to  his  didactic  works,  says  of  it,  "  That  happened 
which  I  could  not  have  imagined  ;  namely,  that  this  childish  book, 
(puerile  istud  opusculum^  was  received  with  universal  approbation 
by  the  learned  world.  This  was  shown  by  the  number  of  men,  of 
different  nations,  who  wished  me  heartily  success  with  my  new  dis- 
covery, and  by  the  number  of  translations  into  foreign  languages. 
For  not  only  was  the  book  translated  into  twelve  European  languages, 
since  I  have  myself  seen  these  translations, — that  is,  into  Latin,  Greek, 
Bohemian,  Polish,  German,  Swedish,  Dutch,  English,  French,  Span- 
ish, Italian,  and  Hungarian, — but  into  the  Asiatic  languages,  Arabic, 
Turkish,  and  Persian,  and  even  into  the  Mongolian,  which  is  under- 
stood by  all  the  East  Indies."§ 

In  Lissa  he  planned,  as  early  as  1629,  his  Didactica  magna  seu 
omnes  omnia  docendi  arlificium.  The  great  fame  which  his  Janua 
had  given  him,  brought  him  an  invitation  from  the  Swedish  govern- 
ment, in  1638,  to  undertake  the  reformation  of  their  schools.  He 
did  not  accept  it,  but  was  induced  by  it  to  translate  his  Didactica, 
which  had  been  written  in  German,  into  Latin.  Some  of  his  friends 
in  England,  to  whom  he  had  sent  an  extract  from  it,  caused  this  to 

*  Didaci.  works,  1,  3. 

t  Besides  him,  Comenius  names  Campanella,  Bacon,  Rhenias,  Job.  Valentin  Andrea,  Ac., 
whose  methods  he  had  studied.  He  repeatedly  applied  to  Ration  in  rain  by  letter,  during 
the  year  1629,  for  information  upon  his  method.  Works,  2,  282.  See  Ratich. 

jDidact.  work*,  1,  250. 

l»Mogolicam  toti  orientali  Indiaefamiliarf.m."  Bayle  menlions  the  authors  of  several 
of  these  translations.  The  orientalist  J.  Golius,  of  Leyden,  sent  the  Janua  to  his  brother,  1*. 
Oolius,  in  Aleppo,  and  the  latter  translated  it  Into  Arabic.  It  pleased  the  Mohammedans  no 
much  that  they  caused  it  to  be  translated  into  Turkish,  Persian,  and  Mongolian.  (?)  J.  Oo- 
lius related  this  to  Comenius  in  1642,  and  adds,  "  Vides  Comeni  guam  felicittr  t;bi  Janua 
lua  ad  gentet  aperiat  Januam.  Opp.  did.,  2,  £08. 


JOHN  AMOS  COMEMU8.  373 

be  printed.  Upon  receiving  from  England  a  like  invitation,  to  un- 
dertake to  reform  their  schools,  he  journeyed  to  London  in  1641.* 
The  matter  was  introduced  into  parliament ;  but  the  Irish  disturb- 
ances, and  the  outbreaking  of  the  civil  wars,  hindered  his  plans  so 
much  that  he  left  England,  and,  upon  an  invitation  from  Ludwig  de 
Geer,  went  to  Sweden  in  1642.  In  Stockholm  he  conversed  with 
Chancellor  Oxenstiern,  and  with  Johannes  Skyte,  chancellor  of  the 
university  of  Upsala.  "Oxenstiern,  the  Northern  nobleman,"  says 
Comenius,  "  examined  me  more  severely  than  any  learned  man 
ever  did."f  "  I  observed,  in  my  youth,"  said  the  chancellor,  "  that 
the  usual  method  of  teaching  was  too  harsh ;  but  was  unable  to  dis- 
cern wherein  the  fault  lay.  When,  afterward,  my  king,  of  glorious 
memory,  sent  me  as  ambassador  to  Germany,  I  spoke  upon  this  sub- 
ject with  many  persons.  When  I  heard  that  Ratich  had  come  out 
•with  a  new  method,  I  had  no  rest  until  I  had  seen  the  man  himself; 
but,  instead  of  a  conversation,  he  gave  me  a  thick  quarto  to  read.  I 
performed  this  tiresome  work,  and  after  I  had  read  the  whole  book 
through,  I  found  that  he  had  well  enough  explained  the  defects  of 
the  schools ;  but  the  remedy  which  he  proposed  seemed  to  me  not 
adequate.  What  you  bring  forward  is  better  founded."  I  replied, 
"  that  in  this  direction  I  had  done  as  much  as  was  possible,  and  that 
now  I  must  go  forward  to  something  else."  To  this  Oxenstiern  an- 
swered ;  "  I  know  that  you  are  contemplating  a  greater  design,  for  I 
have  read  your  Prodromus  Pansophiae;  we  will  speak  of  that  to- 
morrow." "  The  next  day,"  relates  Comenius  further,  "  Oxenstiern 
began  to  speak  very  plainly  about  the  Prodromus,  asking,  to  begin 
with,  whether  it  would  bear  opposition  ?"  Comenius  answering  in 
the  affirmative,  he  began  to  attack  the  great  hopes  expressed  in  the 
Prodromus,  with  profound  political  reasoning,  urging,  among  other 
things,  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  prophecy  much  more  of  unhappiness 
than  happiness,  toward  the  end  of  the  world.  Still,  he  recommend- 
ed Comenius  to  pursue  his  undertaking,  but  first  to  care  for  the  needs 
of  the  schools,  and  to  work  out  the  easier  way  to  learn  Latin,  which 
would  be  a  step  forward  in  the  greater  design  which  he  was  looking 
to.  It  seems  as  if  the  clear-headed,  practical  Oxenstiern  desired  to 
recall  Comenius  from  his  boundless  undertaking,  into  one  more  re- 
stricted, but  for  that  reason  more  sure  of  success. 

The  Swedish  government  now  established  Comenius  in  Elbing,  to 
compose  a  work  upon  his  method.     With  this  arrangement  his  Eng- 

*  Opp.  did.  2.  introd.    Congregatum  interim  Parlamentum,  praesentiaque  noetra  cognita, 
jussit  DOS  e  xpectare. 
tlb.    Cotnp.  above,  under  W.  Ratich,  where  was  given  an  extract  from  this  conversation 

with  Oxenstiern. 


374  JOHN  AMOS   COMEN1US. 

lish  friends  were  not  pleased ;  they  wished  that  others  might  be  left 
to  busy  themselves  in  writing  for  boys,  but  that  he  should  labor  upoc 
the  greater  work  of  the  Pansophia.  "Quo  moriture  ruis  ?  mino- 
raque  viribus  audes  .?"  they  wrote  to  him.  He  was  pleased  at  this 
call  to  him  to  return  into  the  "royal  highway,"*  and  sent  the  Eng- 
lish letters  to  Sweden,  in  sure  hopes  they  would  be  persuaded  by 
them  But  the  opposite  happened ;  for  he  was  urged  much  more 
on  the  part  of  the  Swedes,  to  first  finish  his  didactics.  Tilings  more 
excellent  are  to  be  preferred,  it  is  true,  they  said.  But  what  must  be 
done  first,  should  be  first  done.  And  men  do  not  proceed  from  the 
greater  to  the  less,  but  from  the  less  to  the  greater. 

So  Comenius  was  obliged,  whether  he  would  or  no,  to  return  to 
making  school  books.  After  laboring  four  years  he  returned  to  Swe- 
den in  1646.  Three  commissioners  examined  the  work,  and  declared 
it  proper  for  printing,  when  Comenius  should  have  put  the  last 
touches  to  it.  He  returned  to  Elbing  to  do  this,  and  thence,  in  1648, 
to  Lissa,  where,  in  the  same  year,  he  brought  out  his  work,  the  No- 
vissima  linguarum  methodus.\  It  was  in  this  year  that  the  peace  of 
Westphalia  put  an  end  to  the  frightful  thirty  years'  war.  In  allusion 
to  this,  Comenius  thus  addresses  himself  to  the  princes,  in  the  book : 
"Ye  have  destroyed  many  things,  O  ye  mighty  ;  now  rebuild  many ! 
In  this  matter,  imitate  him  who  has  given  you  the  power  of  deter- 
mining the  fortunes  of  men ;  of  him  who  destroys  that  he  may  build 
up  ;  who  roots  up  that  he  may  plant." 

In  1650,  upon  an  invitation  from  Prince  Ragozki,  he  went  to  Hun- 
gary and  Transylvania,  and  remained  there  four  years,  during  which 
time  he  organized  a  school  at  Patak.J  Here  Comenius  wrote,  among 
others,  his  second  celebrated  work,  the  Orbis  Pictus.  He  was  not, 
however,  able  to  finish  it  in  Hungary,  for  want  of  a  skillful  engraver 
on  copper.  For  such  a  one  he  carried  it  to  Michael  Endter,  the  book- 
seller at  Nuremberg,  but  the  engraving  delayed  the  publication  of 
the  book  for  three  years  more.  In  1657  Comenius  expressed  the 
hope§  that  it  would  appear  during  the  next  autumn.  With  what 
great  approbation  the  work  was  received  at  its  first  appearance  is 
shown,  by  the  fact  that  within  two  years,  in  1659,  Endter  had  pub- 
lished the  second  enlarged  edition. 

In  1654  Comenius  returned  to  Lissa,  where  he  remained  until 
1656,  in  which  year  the  Poles  burnt  the  city,  by  which  he  lost  his 

*  Gavisus  ego  hac  regiam  in  viam  revocatione. 
t  Didact.  works,  2.    The  preface  was  written  at  Elbing,  1648. 

J  Palak,  i  e.,  river ;  also  Saros  Patak  :  according  to  Comenius,  (Did.  works,  3, 101,)  from 
its  muddiness.    It  is  east  of  Bodrog,  in  long.  29°  east,  lat.  43°  north. 
S  Did.  works,  3,  830. 


JOHN  AMOS  COMENIUS.  375 

house,  his  books,  and  his  manuscripts,  the  labor  of  many  years.  He 
fled  into  Siiesia,  thence  to  Brandenburg,  and  thence  to  Hamburg 
and  Amsterdam.  Here  he  remained  until  the  end  of  his  life,  chiefly 
supported  by  wealthy  merchants,  whose  children  he  instructed.  He 
printed  his  Opera  Didactica  at  Amsterdam,  in  1657,  at  the  expense 
of  Lorenzo  de  Geer,  son  of  Ludwig  de  Geer,  mentioned  above.  lie 
died  Nov.  loth,  1671,  in  his  eightieth  year. 

According  to  my  promise,  I  have  recorded  especially  the  pedagog- 
ical labors  of  Comenius,  although  other  writers*  have  made  more 
prominent  other  facts  in  relation  to  this  remarkable  man,  particularly 
his  belief  in  several  false  prophets  of  the  times,  as  Drabicius,  Kotte- 
rus,  and  Poniatovia.  Under  the  title  Lux  in  tenebris,  Comenius,  in 
1657,  published  their  prophecies,  which  were  chiefly  directed  against 
the  Pope  and  the  house  of  Austria,  The  Turks,  they  said,  would 
make  a  successful  invasion,  take  Vienna,  and  march  thence,  by  way 
of  Venice,  against  Rome,  as  against  the  new  Babylon,  and  would 
destroy  both  cities.  Afterward,  it  was  hoped,  Louis  XIV.,  upon  the 
destruction  of  the  house  of  Austria,  would  become  emperor,  for  the 
salvation  of  the  world.  The  eyes  of  the  prophets  were  also  turned 
to  Charles  Gustavus  of  Sweden,  Ragozki,  and  others;  and  they 
looked  for  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  a  thousand  years,  in  1672. 
Georg  Miiller  says  with  much  truth,  in  relation  to  Comenius'  Lux  in 
tenebris,  "  Is  he  so  much  to  be  blamed,  when  he  saw  truth  and  reli- 
gious freedom,  which  lay  so  near  his  heart,  everywhere  put  down  by 
violence,  for  having  insisted  eagerly  upon  better  hopes  in  the  future, 
and,  for  having  seen,  in  a  lovely  and  hopeful  dream,  the  time  of  sal- 
vation more  nearly  at  hand  than  it  was  in  the  order  of  the  providence 
of  God  ?"  Similar  hopes,  remarks  Miiller,  were  entertained  by  the 
most  intelligent  men  of  the  day. 

An  important  object,  besides  pedagogy  and  prophecy,  which  Co- 
menius pursued  with  much  eagerness,  was  the  vain  undertaking  of 
reconciling  the  various  Protestant  confessions. 

We  may  obtain  an  insight  into  the  great  piety  and  heartfelt  love 
of  this  valuable  man,  as  well  as  into  the  varied  direction  of  his  rest- 
less activity,  from  the  Confession,  which  he  wrote  in  his  seventy- 
seventh  year,  in  expectation  of  death ;  from  which  I  quote  the  ox- 
tract  at  the  end  of  this  account 

Comenius  left  many  pedagogical  works.f  The  Opera  Didactica 
alone  fills  more  than  a  thousand  folio  pages,  and  is  a  most  rich  treas- 
ure of  acute  and  profound  thoughts.  I  hope  I  may  be  able  to  give 
a  brief  character  of  the  pedagogy  of  this  distinguished  man,  as  dis- 

*  See  especially,  Bayle,  roc.  Comenius.  t  See  the  list  of  them,  appendix  II. 


376  J0HN  AM°8  COMENIUS. 

played  in  his  writings,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  present  his  most  val- 
uable and  permanent  principles,  labors,  and  efforts,  unconfused  with 
his  more  transitory  and  accidental  ideas  and  endeavors. 
The  first  important  work  which  Comenius  wrote  was  his 

I.     DIDACTICA  MAGNA. 

He  was,  by  no  means,  one  of  those  pedagogues  who  take  up  one 
or  another  single  subject  of  instruction,  or  who  place  all  good  in  this 
or  that  method  of  teaching.  He  was,  in  the  very  best  sense  of  the 
word,  universal ;  and,  notwithstanding  this  universality,  he  always 
strove  after  the  most  thorough  foundation.  Of  this  his  Didactica 
Magnet,  the  earliest  and  profoundest  of  his  pedagogical  works,  is  a 
proof.  He  had  planned  it  as  early  as  1628,  in  his  thirty-sixth  year, 
in  the  full  power  of  his  manhood,  and  while  unbroken  by  the  mis- 
fortunes through  which  he  afterward  passed.  He  had  pedagogical 
experience,  while  his  views  were  not  narrowed  by  the  errors  which 
afterward  came  upon  him.  He  was  sailing,  before  a  prosperous 
breeze,  and  gave  his  thoughts  free  course,  without  asking  whether 
they  were  practicable.  In  truth,  how  many  of  them  were  impracti- 
cable in  his  time,  which  have  since  been  well  realized ! 

"Man,"  says  Comenius  in  the  Didactica,  "  lives  a  threefold  life; 
vegetable,  animal,  and  intellectual  or  spiritual.  He  has  a  threefold 
home ;  the  mother's  womb,  earth,  and  heaven.  By  birth  he  has  the 
second  of  these,  and  by  death  and  resurrection,  the  third,  which  is  eter- 
nal. As  the  child  in  his  mother's  womb  is  prepared  for  his  earthly 
life,  so  is  the  soul,  with  the  help  of  the  body,  prepared,  in  the  earthly 
life,  for  eternity.  Happy  is  he  who  brings  into  the  world  from  his 
mother's  womb,  well  formed  limbs ;  a  thousand  times  happier  he, 
who  at  death  takes  a  well  trained  soul  from  it. 

Man  is  a  reasoning  creature,  and  the  lord  of  all  other  creatures; 
the  image  of  God ;  and,  therefore,  was  his  mind,  in  the  beginning, 
directed  toward  knowledge,  virtue,  and  piety.  We  can  not  declare 
ourselves  incapable  of  these  three  by  reason  of  the  fall,  without 
shameful  ingratitude  to  the  grace  of  God  in  Christ,  through  which 
we  are  born  again.* 

As  made  in  the  image  of  the  all-knowing  God,  we  strive  after  wis- 
dom. The  capacity  of  our  minds  is  immeasurable. 

The  seeds  of  knowledge,,  virtue  and  religion,  are  not  themselves, 
in  the  beginning,  given  to  men,  but  they  must  be  developed  by 
prayer,  study,  and  practice ;  by  action  does  man  first  arrive  at  true 
existence. 

*  Interioret  nottrae  virtt  es  lapvu  primaevo  infirrnatae  sunt  *cd  non  estinctae.    Did.  56. 


JOHN  AMOS   COMEMU8.  37* 

All  men  need  instruction.  Instruction  must  begin  early.  In 
youth  God  has  made  man  unfit  for  civil  and  other  duties,  that  he 
may  have  an  opportunity  for  learning. 

All  children,  rich  or  poor,  high  or  low,  boys  or  girls,  must  be  in- 
structed in  school ;  in  every  thing  God's  image  must  be  sought  to  be 
restored,  and  each  must  be  prepared  for  his  future  calling.  Each 
must  learn  every  thing ;  each  man  is  a  microcosm.  Not  that  each 
should  learn  every  science,  but  that  all  should  be  so  instructed  that 
they  may  understand  the  basis,  relation  and  ptfrpose,  of  all  the  most 
important  things  relating  to  what  they  are,  and  are  to  become ;  so 
much  is  necessary  for  all  who  are  to  be  actors,  and  not  mere  lookers 
on,  in  this  world.* 

We  have  no  schools  which  fulfill  their  purpose.  In  many  places 
they  are  entirely  wanting;  in  others  only  the  children  of  the  rich  are 
cared  for ;  the  methods  of  instruction  are  repulsive,  wearisome  and 
obscure ;  and  morals  are  entirely  neglected.  No  instruction  is  given 
about  real  things;  fifteen  or  twenty  years  are  spent  upon  Latin,  and 
yet  nothing  is  accomplished  in  it.  "  The  best  years  of  my  own 
youth,"  says  Comenius,  "were  wasted  in  useless  school  exercises. 
But  how  often  since  I  have  learned  to  know  better,  have  I  shed  tears 
at  the  remembrance  of  lost  hours ;  how  often  have  I  cried  out  in  my 
grief,  0  mihi  praeteritos  referat  si  Jupiter  annos  !  But  grief  is  vain, 
and  past  days  will  not  return.  Only  one  thing  remains,  only  one 
thing  is  possible  ;  to  leave  to  posterity  what  advice  I  can,  by  show- 
ing the  way  in  which  our  teachers  have  led  us  into  errors,  and  the 
method  of  remedying  those  errors.  May  I  do  this  in  the  name  and 
under  the  guidance  of  Him  who  alone  can  number  all  our  faults, 
and  make  our  crooked  things  straight." 

Instruction  will  usually  succeed,  if  the  method  follows  the  course 
of  nature.  Whatever  is  natural,  goes  forward  of  itself. 

Instruction  should  begin  in  early  youth,  when  the  mind  is  yet 
free ;  and  should  proceed  by  steps,  in  proportion  to  the  development 
of  the  powers. 

The  schools  are  wrong,  in  first  teaching  languages,  and  then  pro- 
ceeding to  other  things.  And  boys  are  kept  for  several  years  in 
studies  which  relate  to  languages,  and  only  then  are  they  put  to  real 
studies,  such  as  mathematics,  physics,  etc.  And  yet  the  thing  is  the 
substance,  and  the  word  the  accident ;  the  thing  is  the  body,  and  the 
word  the  clothing.  Things  and  words  should  be  studied  together, 
but  things  especially,  as  being  the  object  both  of  the  understanding 
and  of  language. 

•  Didact.  42-6. 


378  JOHN  AMOS  COMEN1US. 

The  practice  is  wrong  of  making  grammar  the  beginning  of  instruc- 
tion in  language,  instead  of  beginning  with  an  author,  or  a  properly 
arranged  word-book ;  for  the  author  or  the  word-book  contain  the 
material  of  the  language,  and  the  form  should  be  afterward  added 
to  it  from  the  grammar. 

Examples  should  precede  abstract  rules;  and  in  general,  matter 
should  precede  form,  everywhere.  Too  many  things  should  not  be 
studied  at  the  same  time,  but  one  after  another. 

The  scholar  should'be  introduced  into  a  sort  of  encyclopedia  of 
what  he  is  learning,  which  should  be  gradually  developed  further  and 
further. 

Each  language,  science,  or  art,  should  be  first  taught  in  its  simplest 
rudiments,  then  more  fully,  with  rules  and  examples ;  and  afterward 
systematically,  with  the  addition  of  the  anomalies. 

Instruction  should  be  carefully  given  in  successive  classes,  so  that 
the  lower  class  may  have  completely  gone  over  the  ground  prepara- 
tory to  the  higher,  and  that  the  higher  shall,  on  the  other  hand,  con- 
firm what  was  learned  in  the  lower.  Nature  proceeds  by  continual 
progress,  but  yet  so  that  she  usually  does  not  give  up  any  thing  pre- 
ceding, at  beginning  something  new,  but  rather  continues  what  was 
begun  before,  increasing  it  and  carrying  it  to  completion.  Each  class 
should  be  finished  in  a  fixed  time. 

Youth  should  not  be  molested  at  first  with  controversies ;  no  one 
would  ever  be  established  in  the  truth,  if  his  first  instruction  should 
consist  in  discussion. 

It  is  not  good  for  a  boy  to  have  many  teachers,  since  they  would 
hardly  follow  the  same  method,  and  thus  they  would  confuse  him. 
All  studies  should  be  taught  in  a  natural,  uniform  method,  and  from 
books  of  a  uniform  character. 

Even  teachers  of  less  ability  will  be  enabled  by  such  books  to  in- 
struct well,  because  the  book  will  make  a  beginning  for  them. 

Friendly  and  loving  parents  and  teachers,  cheerful  school  rooms, 
play-grounds  near  the  school  houses,  and  systematic  and  natural  in- 
struction, must  all  contribute  to  the  success  of  teaching,  and  to  coun- 
teract the  usual  dislike  to  the  school. 

Most  teachers  sow  plants  instead  of  seeds  of  plants :  instead  of  pro- 
ceeding from  the  simplest  principles,  they  introduce  the  scholar  at 
once  into  a  chaos  of  books  and  miscellaneous  studies. 

The  grammar  of  a  foreign  tongue,  for  example  the  Latin,  should  be 
adapted  to  the  mother  tongue  of  each  scholar ;  since  different  mother 
tongues  stand  in  different  relations  with  the  Latin. 

In  learning  a  foreign  tongue,  the  course  of  proceeding  should  be 


JOHN  AMOS  COMENIUS.  g*g 

from  the  understanding  of  it  to  writing  it,  and  afterward  at  the 
right  time,  further,  to  speaking  it,  when  improvising  will  be  neces- 
sary. 

Things  near  at  hand  should  be  learned  first,  and  afterward  those 
lying  further  and  further  off. 

The  first  education  should  be  of  the  perceptions,  then  of  the 
memory,  then  of  the  understanding,  and  then  of  the  judgment.  For 
knowledge  begins  with  mental  perceptions,  which  are  fixed  in  the 
memory  by  the  apprehension ;  then  the  understanding,  by  inductions 
from  single  apprehensions,  forms  general  truths,  or  ideas ;  and  lastly, 
certain  knowledge  proceeds  from  the  operation  of  the  judgment  upon 
things  before  understanding. 

The  scholar  should  not  learn  by  rote  what  he  does  not  understand. 

He  should  learn  nothing  which  is  not  useful  for  one  or  another 
mode  of  life  ;*  he  is  preparing  himself  not  only  for  knowledge,  but 
also  for  virtue  and  piety. 

All  studies  must  be  as  much  as  possible  worked  into  one  whole, 
and  developed  from  one  root.  The  relation  of  cause  and  effect  must 
everywhere  be  shown.f 

We  learn,  not  only  in  order  to  understand,  but  also  to  express  and 
to  use  what  we  understand.^  As  much  as  any  one  understands  so 
much  ought  he  to  accustom  himself  to  express,  and  on  the  other  hand 
he  should  understand  whatever  he  says.  Speech  and  knowledge 
should  proceed  with  equal  steps. 

If  the  teacher  is  obliged  to  instruct  a  great  number  of  scholars,  he 
should  divide  his  class  into  decuriae,  and  should  set  over  each  a  de- 
curion,  to  assist  him. 

Reading  and  writing  should  be  learned  together. 

Youth  should  be  made  to  understand,  not  the  appearances  of  the 
things  which  make  impressions  upon  their  minds,  but  the  things 
themselves. 

Instruction  must  begin  with  actual  inspection,  not  with  verbal  des- 
cription of  things.  From  such  inspection  it  is  that  certain  knowl- 
edge comes.  What  is  actually  seen  remains  faster  in  the  memory 
than  description  or  enumeration,  a  hundred  times  as  often  repeated. 
For  this  reason,  pictures,  Biblical  scenes  for  example,  are  strongly  to 
be  recommended. 

The  eye  should  first  be  directed  to  an  object  in  its  totality,  and 

*  Ea  siquidem  discenda  sunt  in  terris,  monet  Hieronymus,  quorum  scientia  pcrsereret  in 
coelos,  88. 

t  Omnia  doceantur  per  causas,  95.    Scire  est  rem  per  causas  (enere.  113. 

;  Quae  quis  iutellieere  docetur,  doceatur  sitnul  eloqui  et  operari.  seu  translerre  ad  usum, 
96.  This  reminds  us  of  Bacon. 


380  JOHN  AMOS  COMENIU8. 

afterward  to  its  parts.  This  is  true  not  only  of  the  mental,  but  of 
the  bodily  vision. 

All  the  parts,  without  exception,  should  be  dealt  with,  and  their 
various  relations. 

The  distinctions  of  things  should  be  properly  brought  out.  Qui 
bene  distinguit,  bene  docet. 

Each  study  should  be  learned  by  practice ;  writing  by  writing, 
singing  by  singing,  etc.  The  master  must  first  perform  the  thing  be- 
fore the  scholar,  to  be  imitated  by  him,  without  tiresome  theoretical 
explanation.  For  man  is  animal  fj.ifj,7)<rixov. 

In  practicing  any  thing,  a  beginning  must  be  made  with  the  first 
elements,  and  gradual  progress  must  follow  to  the  more  difficult  and 
intricate  parts  of  it.  First,  for  instance,  from  letters  to  syllables, 
words,  etc. 

Imitation  must,  in  the  beginning  be  strictly  conformed  to  the 
model ;  and  the  pupil  must,  only  by  degrees,  attain  to  freedom  and 
independence.  Thus,  at  first,  he  must  copy  very  carefully  the  copy 
set  by  the  writingmaster ;  and  only  after  long  practice  does  he  attain 
to  an  individual  hand  writing. 

Languages.  The  mother  tongue  should  be  learned  first,  then  the 
language  of  some  neighboring  nation,  and  only  then  Latin,  Greek, 
Hebrew,  etc. ;  and  always  one  at  a  time.  Several  should  not  be 
commenced  at  the  same  time,  for  this  would  confuse.  When  the 
scholar  is  well  acquainted  with  several  languages,  he  may  begin  to 
compare  them  by  the  lexicon  and  grammar. 

Any  language  is  learned  better  by  practice,  by  hearing  rapid  read- 
ing, writing  oft',  etc.,  than  by  rules.  These  are  to  come  in  aid  to  the 
practice  and  to  give  it  certainty.  The  rules  of  language  should  be 
strictly  grammatical,  not  subtile  and  philosophical. 

At  learning  a  new  language,  the  scholar's  attention  should  be 
directed  to  the  differences  between  its  grammar  and  the  grammar  of 
the  language  which  he  already  knows ;  and  should  not  be  obliged  to 
repeat  every  time  things  common  to  both. 

Only  the  mother  tongue  and  Latin  should  be  learned  with  entire 
completeness. 

Comenius  gives  earnest  directions  for  training  boys  to  right  wis- 
dom, moderation,  manliness  and  uprightness,  by  practice,  teaching, 
and  the  example  of  the  old.  The  tares  sown  by  Satan,  and  the  per- 
versions of  nature,  must  be  withstood  by  the  discipline  of  warning  and 
chastisement.*  The  children,  he  says,  must  be  taught  to  seek  God, 
to  be  obedient  to  him,  and  to  love  him  above  all  things ;  and  that 

*  VerbiB  et  verberibus. 


JOHN  AMOS  COMEMItr*.  ggj 

from  an  early  age.*  This  will  not  be  so  difficult  to  teach  as  many 
think ;  they  may  not,  at  the  beginning,  understand  what  they  are  do- 
ing, but  the  understanding  of  it  will  come  afterward  of  itself.  Has 
God  commanded  that  we  shall  oft'er  him  all  firstlings,  and  shall  we 
not  offer  him  the  firstlings  of  our  thoughts,  our  speech,  our  efforts  and 
actions  ?  The  children  should  early  be  taught  that  not  the  present, 
but  everlasting  life,  is  the  object  of  our  being,  that  time  is  a  prepara- 
tion for  eternity ;  so  that  their  eyes  may  not  be  withdrawn  by  earthly 
cares  from  the  one  thing  needful.  Therefore,  must  they  from  their 
earliest  youth,  be  led  in  the  road  which  leads  to  God ;  in  the  reading 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  in  attendance  upon  divine  worship,  and  in 
doing  good.  "Oh  may  God  give  them  grace,"  criea  Comeuius,f  "to 
find  the  way  which  shall  teach  them  well  how  to  cast  upon  God  all 
things  with  which  our  souls  busy  themselves,  other  than  God  ;  to  cast 
upon  God  all  the  earthly  cares  in  which  the  world  is  busied  and 
buried,  in  striving  after  the  heavenly  life  !" 

Inwardly  and  outwardly,  must  they  be  trained  to  religion ;  out- 
ward training  alone  makes  hypocrites,  who  fear  God  only  in  appear- 
ance ;  inward  training  alone  makes  fanatics,  who  fall  into  visionary 
views,  disowning  the  ministry,  and  destroying  the  good  order  of  the 

churcb.J 

II.    JAHUA  HESERATA. 

The  preface  treats  of  the  purpose  and  arrangement  of  the  book. 

Facts  show,  says  Comenius,  that  up  to  this  lime,  the  proper  method 
of  teaching  languages  has  not  been  understood  in  the  schools ;  after  ten 
years  and  more  have  often  been  devoted  to  it  without  any  remarkable 
result.  Youth  have  been  occupied  for  several  years  with  prolix  and 
confused  grammatical  rules,  and  at  the  same  time  §  crammed  "  with 
the  names  of  things,  without  the  thing's  themselves."  "But,"  con- 
tinues Comenius,  "  although  the  names  signify  the  things,  bow  can  they 
signify  them  to  any  good  purpose,  if  the  things  themselves  are  not 
known  ?  A  boy  may  be  able  to  say  over  a  thousand  times  a  thousand 
names,  but  if  he  has  not  the  mastery  of  the  things,  of  what  benefit 
will  all  that  multitude  be  to  him  ?"|| 

It  has  been  thought  to  remedy  the  evil,  by  the  introduction  of  the 

*  Perfrui  conscientiae  Toluptate.  Fraimur  Deo  In  amore  et  fatore  tjns  ila  acquiescendo 
at  nilnl  noMs  in  Coelo  et  terra  optabilius  Bit  Den  ipso. 

t  Didact.,  144. 

I  The  school  plan  which  Comenius  gives  in  Ilia  Didactica  Magna,  will  be  {riven  further  on  ; 
as  well  as  extracts  relating  to  Realism, 

1  I  shall  quote  indifferently,  from  the  Latin  and  German  texts  of  the  Jantm. 

I  Est  enim  nocentissimarum  fraudum  non  postrema.  quae  humanu  generi,  ifno  et  doeto- 
rum  vulgo,  multum  illudit,  in  linguarum  scientia  locare  npientiam.  Tone  *ajr»  Comenius, 
in  one  of  his  latest  works.  Ventilabrum,  opp.  d'.d..  450. 


3gO  JOHN  AMOS  COMENID3. 

classics  into  the  schools,  with  the  idea  that  pure  Latin  and  the  knowl- 
edge of  things  could  together  be  learned  from  them.  "But  this 
notion,  how  plausible  soever,  is  in  the  highest  degree  harmful."  In 
the  first  place,  the  boys  can  not  provide  themselves  with  the  classics, 
and  in  the  second,  they  are  not  old  enough  for  them.  And  even  if 
"  one  had  been  through  all  the  classics,  he  will  still  find  that  he  had 
not  attained  his  object,  namely,  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  language ; 
for  the  language  does  not  treat  of  every  thing,  and  even  if  it  treated 
of  all  matters  current  in  its  time,  it  could  neither  treat  of  such  as  are 
current  in  our  own  times,  nor  know  any  thing  about  them ;  so  that 
it  would  be  necessary  for  him  to  read  many  more  books,  both  of  old 
and  new  authors ;  as,  for  instance,  upon  plants,  metals,  agriculture, 
war,  and  architecture ;  and,  in  truth,  there  would  be  no  end  to  his  ac- 
cumulation of  books."  How  much  time  would  be  needed  to  learn  a 
language  in  this  way  ! 

For  this  reason  it  is  desirable  "  that  a  short  compendium  of  the 
Avhole  language  should  be  prepared,  in  which  each  and  all  of  its 
words  and  phrases  should  be  brought  together  in  one  body,  so  as  to 
be  understood  in  a  short  time,  and  with  less  trouble,  and  so  as  to  give 
an  easy,  appropriate  and  certain  introduction  to  the  authors  who  treat 
of  the  subjects  themselves."  Just  as  it  would  be  easier  to  take  a 
survey  of  the  beasts  in  Noah's  ark,  than  if  they  had  to  be  searched 
out  all  over  the  world ;  so  it  would  be  easier  to  learn  all  the  words 
from  such  a  compendium,  than  to  gather  them  together  from  in- 
numerable authors.  Such  a  compendium  had  been  made  by  a  Jesuit 
some  years  before ;  he  having  published  a  Janua  linguarum  in  Latin 
and  Spanish,  which  contained,  in  twelve  hundred  proverbs,  the  most 
usual  Latin  words,  so  that,  (particles  excepted.)  no  word  appeared 
more  than  once.  This  book  was  enlarged  in  1615  with  the  English 
translation,  afterward  with  German  and  French  ones ;  and  later,  in 
1629,  appeared  in  eight  languages.* 

This  book,  however,  did  not  fullfil  its  promise.  First,  many  words 
were  wanting  in  it,  which  are  needed  in  daily  use;  and  it  contained 
many  useless  ones.  Secondly,  words  of  several  significations  ap- 
peared in  it  only  once,  and  then  only  with  one  meaning.  If  this 

*  Further  information  upon  this  Janua  will  be  found,  Didact.  works,  ..  81.  270.  Its  title  is, 
'•  Janua  linguarum  sive  modus  ad  integritatem  lingiiarum  compendio  rognoscendam  maximc 
•ccommodalus;  ubisenlentiarum  centuriis  aliquot  omnia  usitatiora  et  necessaria  vocnbula 
seme)  comprehensa  MINI,  ita  ut  postea  non  recurrant."  Its  author  was  an  Irishman.  \V. 
ll.it'  us.  a  Theatin  at  Salamanca.  Isaac  Habrecht,  a  physician  at  Strasburg,  reprinted  this 
Janua  in  Germany.  Caspar  Scioppius  published  it  in  Itvj?  in  L.-itin  nnd  Italian,  under  the 
title  of  Mercurius  bilinguis,  and  in  1636  at  Basle,  as  Mercuriu*  quadriliiiguis.  (Latin,  German, 
Greek  and  Hebrew.)  Hateus'  object  was  to  promote  the  spread  of  Christianity  by  his  book, 
by  enabling  the  heathen  lo  learn  Latin  easily  by  means  of  it.  • 


JOHN  AMOS  COMEXIUS.  flgg 

meaning  had  been  the  first,  simplest  and  radical  one,  an  intelligent 
person  could  easily  have  guessed  out  the  others.  But  this  was  not 
so ;  most  of  the  words  being  given  in  derived,  metaphorical,  metony- 
mic,  etc.,  meanings.  Lastly,  the  work  contains  many  sayings  with 
no  meaning,  and  others  not  edifying.  For  these  reasons  Comenius 
undertook  to  remedy  these  faults,  from  a  "  desire  to  promote  the 
profit  and  piety  of  the  young."  What  he  undertook  to  do  was  as 
follows : 

"  Since,"  he  says,  "  I  consider  it  an  established  law  of  the  art  of 
teaching,  that  understanding  and  speech  must  go  in  parallel  lines,  and 
that  one  should  be  able  to  express  whatever  he  comprehends  with 
the  understanding,  (since  what  difference  is  there  between  one  who 
understands  what  he  can  not  express  and  a  mere  dumb  image  ?  and 
to  speak  without  understanding  is  only  parrotry,)  I  have  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  all  things  in  the  world  ought  to  Be  arranged  in  distinct 
classes,  so  that  the  boys  can  understand  them ;  and  what  is  to  be  ex- 
pressed in  speech,  namely,  things  themselves,  should  be  first  impressed 
upon  the  raind."  Thus  have  arisen  his  "  hundred  generic  names  of 
things." 

He  thus  brought  together  eight  thousand  words,  in  one  thousand 
complete  sentences,  which  he  made  at  first  short  and  more  simple, 
and  afterward  longer  and  more  complex. 

Further,  he  has  endeavored  to  bring  forward,  to  be  first  understood 
by  the  boys,  all  words  in  their  proper  and  natural  signification,  •'  ex- 
cept a  few."  Words  of  several  meanings  he  has  given  more  than 
once,  in  their  different  meaning.  Synonyms  and  words  of  op|>osite 
meanings  he  has  given  opposite  each  other,  "  and  has  so  arranged  that 
each  shall  assist  in  the  understanding  of  the  others." 

At  the  same  time  he  has  so  prepared  the  sentences  that  they  are 
valuable  jvs  grammatical  exercises. 

This  preface  is  followed  by  the  one  hundred  chapters  which  treat 
de  omni  scibili,  in  one  thousand  sentences.  The  first  is  an  introduc- 
tion, in  which  the  reader  is  saluted,  and  informed  that  learning  con- 
sists in  this  :  to  know  distinctions  and  names  of  things  ;  and  that  to  at- 
tain this  is  not  so  very  difficult.  In  this  short  little  book,  ^the  reader 
will  find  explained,  "  the  whole  world  and  the  Latin  language."  If 
the  reader  should  learn  four  pages  of  it  by  rote,  he  would  "  rind  that 
his  eyes  were  opened  to  all  the  liberal  arts."  Then  follows  the  second, 
which  treats  of  the  creation  of  the  world,  and  so  on  to  the  ninety-ninth, 
which  treats  of  the  end  of  the  world;  the  one  hundredth  is  his  fare- 
well advice  to  the  reader. 


384  JOHN  AMOS  COMENIC3. 

III.     REALISM  OF  COMKMI-S. 

Such,  substantially,  is  the  little  book  which  was  translated  into 
twelve  European,  and  several  Asiatic  languages.  I  shall,  hereafter, 
speak  of  the  subsequent  revision  and  enlargement  of  it.  If  it  is 
asked  how  came  about  so  great  a  success,  I  reply,  it  was  partly  from 
the  pleasure  found  in  the  survey  of  the  whole  world,  adapted  both  to 
young  and  old,  and  at  a  day  when  no  great  scientific  requirements 
were  made.  Many  were  amused  by  the  motley  variety  of  the  im- 
aginations and  investigations  of  the  book  ;  by  its  old  fashioned  gram- 
matical, didactic  and  rhetorical  discussions,  and  its  spiritual  extrava- 
gances. The  greatest  influence  was,  however,  exerted  by  the  funda- 
mental maxim  of  the  book;  that  the  knowledge  of  a  language, 
especially  of  Latin,  should  go  hand  in  hand  with  knowledge  of  the 
things  explained  in  it.  By  this  principle,  Comenius  is  distinguished 
from  the  earlier  pedagogues ;  and  he  sought  to  bring  it  into  natural 
operation  in  many  ways. 

From  his  Physics,  which  appeared  in  1633,*  we  may  see  how 
thorough  a  pedagogical  realist  he  was.  He  received  his  first  impulse 
in  this  direction,  as  he  himself  relates,  from  the  well  known  Spanish 
pedagogue,  Ludovicus  Vives,  who  came  out  against  Aristotle,  and  de- 
manded a  christian  instead  of  the  heathen  mode  of  philosophizing. 
It  is  not  disputation  which  leads  to  any  result,  said  Vives,  but  the 
silent  observation  of  nature.  It  is  better  for  the  scholars  to  ask  ques- 
tions and  to  investigate,  than  to  be  disputing  with  each  other.  "  Yet," 
says  Comenius,  "  Vives  understood  better  where  the  fault  was,  than 
what  was  the  remedy. 

Comenius  received  a  second  impulse  from  Thomas  Campanella,f 
who,  however,  did  not  satisfy  him.  "But  when,"  he  says  "Bacon's 
Instaurativ  Magna  came  into  my  hands,  a  wonderful  work,  which  I 
consider  the  most  instructive  philosophical  work  of  the  century  now 
beginning.  I  saw  in  it,  that  even  Campanella's  demonstration  was  want- 
ing in  that  thoroughness  which  is  demanded  by  the  nature  of  things.J 

*  The  preface  was  written  at  Lissa  in  1633.    The  information  following  is  from  it. 

t  Campanella  was  born  in  1063,  at  Slilo  in  Calabria,  and  died  in  1639  at  Paris.  He  was  a 
Dominican,  Being  accused  of  a  state  offense  against  the  Spanish  monarchy,  he  was  iin- 
prisoned  in  1599  and  only  released  in  1G2G,  at  the  request  of  Urban  VIII.  Of  his  works,  those 
which  had  mott  influence  Upon  Comenius.  were  his  Prodromun  philosophise  rcntaurutidae, 
Realis  philoaopkia  epitogiatiea,  and  Liliri  de  rerum  tensu. 

1 1  may  here  be  permitted,  in  order  to  a  complete  characterization  ofCnmenlus,  to  repeat 
atimething  of  what  I  have  already  said  of  Bacon's  influence  on  teaching.  In  this  connection 
1  shall  quote  the  Opp.  did.,  1,  426,  where  he  says,  "  ffon  est  nihll,  qitod  Vrrulamimi  mirabili 
tuo  organo  rerum  naturat  inline  scmtandi  modum  infallibilem  detetit."  And  in  another 
place,  (p.  432,)  he  praises  Bacon's  "urtijlciosam  inductiontm,  quae  rttera  in  naturae  abdita 
penelrandi  reclusa  via  est."  Elsewhere,  Comenius  cites  Bacon,  or  uses  expressions  (E.  g., 
'•  Infetit  divortium  rerum  et  tcrborum,")  and  states  N'iews,  which  refer  Us  to  Bacon. 


JOHN  AMOS  COMENIU8.  3g5 

Yet  again,  I  was  troubled,  because  the  noble  Verulam,  while  giving 
the  true  key  of  nature,  did  not  unlock  her  secrets,  but  only  showed^ 
by  a  few  examples,  how  they  should  be  unlocked,  and  left  the  rest  to 
future  observations  to  be  extended  through  centuries."  He  goes  on, 
in  the  preface  to  the  Physics,  from  which  these  extracts  are  taken,  to 
say  that  he  is  convinced  that  it  ia  not  Aristotle  who  must  be  master 
in  philosophy  for  Christians,  but  that  philosophy  must  be  studied 
freely  by  the  indications  of  nature,  reason  and  books.  "  For,"  he  con- 
tinues, "are  we  not  as  well  placed  in  the  garden  of  Eden,  as  were 
our  predecessors?  Why  can  we  not  use  our  eyes,  ears,  and  nose  as 
well  as  they  could  ?  And  why  did  we  need  other  teachers  than 
these,  in  learning  to  know  the  works  of  nature?  Why,  say  I,  should 
we  not,  instead  of  these  dead  books,  lay  open  the  living  book  of  na- 
ture ?  In  this  there  is  much  more  to  display  than  one  person  like 
myself  can  relate,  and  the  display  will  bring  much  more,  both  of 
pleasure  and  profit."  "  Moreover,"  he  adds,  evidently  following  Ba- 
con, "  we  are  so  many  centuries  beyond  Aristotle  even  in  experience." 
From  these  extracts  it  is  evident  that  Comenius,  like  Bacon,  aimed 
at  a  real  realism,  not  at  a  simply  verbal  one ;  at  one  which  should 
operate  by  the  direct  observation  of  things  by  the  senses,  not  by  the 
narratives  and  descriptions  of  others.  This  appears  clearly  also,  from 
many  portions  of  his  other  works.  Thus,  he  says,  in  the  Didactica 
Magna:  ''To  instruct  youth  well,  is  not  to  cram  them  with  a  mish- 
mash of  words,  phrases,  sentences  and  opinions,  gathered  from  read- 
ing various  authors,  but  to  open  their  understandings  to  the  things 
themselves,  so  that  from  them,  as  from  living  springs,  many  streamlets 
may  flow."  Again  :  "  Hitherto,  the  schools  have  done  nothing  with 
the  view  of  developing  children,  like  young  trees,  from  the  growing 
impulse  of  their  own  roots,  but  only  with  that  of  hanging  them  over 
with  twigs  broken  oflf  elsewhere.'1  They  teach  youth  to  adorn  them- 
selves with  others'  feathers,  like  the  crow  in  ^Esop's  fables.  They  do 
not  show  them  things  themselves,  as  they  are,  but  tell  them  what  one 
and  another,  and  a  third,  and  a  tenth,  has  thought  and  written  about 
them ;  so  that  it  is  considered  a  mark  of  great  wisdom  for  a  man  to 
know  a  great  many  opinions  which  contradict  each  other.  Thus  it 
has  come  to  pass,  that  most  scholars  do  nothing  but  gather  phrases, 
sentences  and  opinions,  and  patch  together  their  learning  like  a  cento. 
It  is  of  such  that  Horace  says,  '0  imitatorum  servum  pecusf'  Of 
what  use  is  it  to  vex  one's  self  about  others'  opinions  of  things,  when 
that  which  is  needed  is,  the  knowledge  of  the  things  themselves  ?  Is 
all  the  labor  of  our  lives  to  be  spent  in  nothing  except  in  running 
after  others  who  are  employed  in  all  sorts  of  directions  ?  Oh  ye 


386  JOHN  AMOS  COMEXIUS. 

mortals,  let  us  hasten  without  circuit,  toward  our  object.  If  our 
eyes  are  fast  and  clearly  fixed  upon  this,  why  do  we  not  together  steer 
toward  it  ?  why  should  we  prefer  to  see  with  others'  eyes,  rather  than 
with  our  own  ?  Almost  no  one  teaches  physics  by  actual  observa- 
tion and  experiment :  all  instruct  by  the  oral  explanation  of  the 
works  of  Aristotle  or  some  body  else.  In  short,,  men  must  be  led  as 
much  as  possible,  to  gather  their  learning,  not  from  books,  but  from 
the  observations  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  oak  trees  and  books ; 
that  is,  he  must  know  and  investigate  things  themselves,  not  merely 
the  observations  and  explanations  of  others  about  them.  And  thus 
we  shall  be  again  following  in  the  footsteps  of  the  ancients."  Co- 
menius'  meaning  is  too  clear  to  need  an  explanation.  Further  on,* 
he  goes  more  fully  into  the  method  of  instruction.  The  object  must 
be  a  real,  true,  useful  thing,  capable  of  making  an  impression  upon 
the  senses  and  the  apprehension.  This  is  necessary,  that  it  may  be 
brought  into  communication  with  the  senses  ;  if  visible,  with  the  eyes, 
if  audible,  with  the  ears,  if  odorous,  with  the  nose,  if  sapid,  with  the 
taste,  if  tangible,  with  the  touch.  The  beginning  of  knowledge  must 
be  with  the  senses.f  "  Must  not,  therefore,"  he  asks,  "  the  beginning 
of  teaching  be,  not  at  all  with  the  verbal  explanation  of  the  things, 
but  with  the  real  intuition  of  them  ?  and  then  first,  after  the  pre- 
sentation of  the  thing  itself,  may  the  oral  explanation  be  added,  for 
the  further  elucidation  of  it."  What  has  thus  been  perceived  by  the 
senses,  sinks  deep  into  the  memory,  and  can  not  be  forgotten  ;  an  event 
is  better  remembered,  if  one  has  lived  through  it,  than  if  he  has  heard 
it  related  a  hundred  times.  Thus  says  Plautus,  "  One  showing  to  the 
eye  is  more  than  ten  showings  to  the  ear."J  One  who  has,  with  his 
own  eyes,  seen  a  corpse  dissected,  better  understands  the  anatomy  of 
the  human  body,  and  gets  more  insight  into  it,  than  if  he  had  read 
the  greatest  quantity  of  anatomical  books,  without  having  seen  it. 
Hence  the  old  proverb,  "Demonstration  must  make  up  for  intuition." 
If  here  and  there  a  thing  is  wanting,  one  or  another  thing  may 
make  up  for  it.  So,  for  example,  pictures,  such  as  are  to  be  found  in 
botanical,  zoological,  geographical,  and  other  books.  Such  should  be 
in  every  school ;  for  although  they  cost  much,  they  are  of  much  use. 

IV.       COMENIUS'  THREE  SCHOOL  BOOKS,  THE  VEBTIBULUM,  THE  REVISED  JANUA 

KI.M  it  M  A,  AND  THE  ATRIUM. 

1       Veatibulum. 
Boon  after  publishing  the  Janua  reserata,  Comenius  wrote  a  small 

•  Didictica  Magna,  p.  115,  etc. 

t  Comenius  repeatedly  refers  to  his  maxim,  ffifiil  eat  in  intellfctu,  quod  nonpri-us  in  aensu 

;  Comenius  also  quote*  Horace's  "  Scgnius  irritant  animus,"  etc. 


JOHN  AMOS  COMENIUS.  ggf 

school  book  called  Januae  reseratae  Vestibulum*  of  only  42V  short 
sentences. 

About  1648  he  published  a  revisal  of  it,f  and  a  second  in  1650, 
while  at  Patak,  employed  in  re-organizing  the  schools  there.};  He 
intended  this  second  revisal  as  a  manual  for  the  lower  classes  of  this 
school ;  I  will  briefly  describe  its  form  and  contents. 

It  begins  with  an  Invitatio;  the  teacher  promising  to  the  scholar 
an  introduction  to  wisdom,  to  the  knowledge  of  all  things,  to  the 
ability  to  do  right  always,  and  to  speak  correctly  of  every  thing, 
especially  in  Latin,  which,  as  a  language  common  to  all  nations,  is 
indispensable  to  a  learned  education.  In  the  Vestibulum  the  founda- 
tions of  language  are  laid,  in  the  Janua  the  materials  for  building  are 
furnished ;  and  in  the  Atrium,  the  decoration  of  the  edifice  is  begun. 
After  this  the  scholar  may  enter  the  palace  of  authors ;  that  is,  their 
wise  books ;  by  the  perusal  of  which  he  may  become  learned,  wise 
and  eloquent. 

The  second  part  treats  of  the  classification  of  things ;  that  is,  of 
substantives  only,  E.  g. :  Sidera  sunt,  sol,  luna,  stella.  In  sole  sunt, 
lux,  radius,  lumen.  Sine  lumine  est ;  umbra,  callgo,  lenebrae. 

Apld  uanionem;  farcimen,  perna,  lardum,  arvina,  adeps,  sebum,  etc. 

In  the  third  part,  the  modifications  of  things  are  brought  forward, 
adjectives  being  the  most  prominent  words,  E.  g. ;  Sol  est  clarus  vel 
obscurus.  Luna  plena  vel  dimidia.  Stella  fixa.  vel  vaga. 

The  fourth  part  is  headed  mentiones  rerum.  E.  g. ;  Quis  ibi  est? 
Is  quern  vides.  Quidfert?  Id  quod  vides.  It  explains  especially 
the  pronouns. 

In  the  fifth  section,  headed  motus  rerum,  verbs  are  introduced. 
E.  g. ;  Quaeque  res  potest  aliquid  esse,  agere,  pati.  Dei  aclio  est 
creare,  sustentare,  beare.  Sentire  est,  videre,  audire,  etc.  After  this 
comes  the  varieties  of  human  action,  e.  g.,  per  membra  corporis,  per 
animam,  etc. 

The  sixth  section,  headed  Modi  actionum  et  passionum,  includes 
the  adverbs.  E.  g..  Ubi  est  ?  hie,  illic,  ibi,  etc. 

The  seventh,  headed  Circumstantiae  rerum  et  actionum,  brings  in 
the  prepositions.  E.  g.,  Quod  movetur,  movetur  ab  aliquo  praeter 
aliquid,  ad  aliquid. 

The  eighth,  headed  Cohaerentiae  rerum  et  actionum,  contains  con- 
junctions. E.  g.,  Ego  et  tu,  illeque  sunms  homines,  etc. 

*  Opp.  did.,  1,  302.    Preface  dated  4th  January,  1633. 

t  Opp.  did., 2, 293.    Preface  undated.    This  Vestihuhim  immediately  followed  the  Metfiodut 
Nvcissima,  in  which,  (p.  163, 173,)  it  Is  described.    Only  a  fragment  of  it  is  in  the  Opp.  did. 
J  Opp.  did.,  3,  141. 

No.  13,-[Vol.  V.  Xo.  T.]— 18. 


388  JOHN  AMOS  COMENIU9. 

The  ninth,  Compendia  rerum  et  verborum,  contains  interjections. 
E.  g.,  ffeus  tu  !  Ecce  me  !  etc. 

The  tenth  is  entitled  Multiplicatio  rerum  et  verborum  ;  and  con- 
tains some  examples  of  the  derivation  and  relation  of  words.  E.  g. ; 
Doctus,  doctor,  docet,  dociles,  doctrinam,  etc. 

The  Janua  and  the  Atrium  contain  each  1,000  sentences,  but  the 
Vestibulum  only  half  as  many,  500. 

To  the  Vestibulum  are  subjoined  the  rudiments  of  grammar. 
Chap.  1  treats  of  the  letters;  chaps.  2 — 10  correspond  with  the  same 
of  the  Vestibulum,  e.  g. ;  chap.  2  treats  of  nouns,  and  gives  briefly 
the  declensions;  chap.  5  of  verbs,  conjugation,  etc.;  chap.  10  explains 
the  ideas  of  primitives,  derivatives,  compounds,  etc.,  and  chap.  11 
gives  fifteen  simple  rules  of  syntax. 

This  grammar  is  followed  by  a  Repertorium  vestibuhre  sive  lexici 
Latini  rudimentum,  containing  all  the  words  in  the  Vestibulum, 
alphabetically  arranged,  with  the  number  of  that  sentence  of  the 
five  hundred  where  it  is  found.  E.  g.:  Cano,  (cecini,  cantum,)  45  V. 
And  sentence  457  is,  Cantoris  est  canere. 

In  a  letter  to  Tolnai,*  teacher  of  the  first  (lowest)  class  at  Patak, 
Comenius  writes  of  his  duties  as  a  teacher,  and  especially  of  the  use 
of  the  Vestibulum,  etc.  He  (Tolnai)  receives  scholars  who  can  read 
and  write  their  mother  tongue;  and  he  is  to  teach  them  the  grounds 
of  Latin  and  the  rudiments  of  grammar  and  arithmetic. 

The  arrangement  of  the  Vestibulum  might  seem  to  be  exclusively 
grammatical,  as  it  begins  with  substantives,  and  proceeds  to  adjec- 
tives, etc.  It  is  in  fact,  however,  in  the  profoundest  sense,  an  arrange- 
in  the  order  of  things ;  for  it  began  with  the  enumeration  of  the 
things  themselves,  and  goes  on  to  their  principal  qualities,  (primaria 
rerum  accidentia,)  and  so  on. 

Comenius  would  have  been  glad  to  illustrate  the  Vestibulum  with 
such  cuts  as  the  text  requires,  to  amuse  the  boys  and  to  enable  them 
better  to  remember,  but  was  prevented  for  want  of  competent  artists. 
The  want  of  such  cuts  must  be  supplied  by  the  teacher,  by  explana- 
tions of  the  things,  showing  them,  or  by  such  delineations  of  them 
as  may  be  accessible.  If  there  be  not  some  such  reference  to  them, 
the  instruction  will  be  entirely  lifeless.  "This  parallelism  of  the 
knowledge  of  words  and  things  is  the  deepest  secret  of  the  method." 
In  order  that  this  may  be  more  easily  done,  this  nomenclature  (of  the 
Vestibulum)  is  to  be  translated  into  the  mother  tongue,  and  with  this 
translation  the  scholars  are  to  be  first  taken  over  the  ground  before 
any  study  of  Latin.  Thus  their  whole  attention  will  be  confined  to 

*  This  latter  reminds  us  strongly  of  Scurm's  Epintolat  daisicae. 


JOHN  AMOS  COMENIUS.  3gg 

the  things  ;  they  will  not  be  required  at  the  same  time  to  attend  to 
unknown  things  and  unknown  languages,  but  only  to  the  first. 

B.     Janua. 

I  have  already  described  the  Janua  reserata  of  1631,  the  first 
edition.  But  the  Janua  which  Comenius  describes  in  the  •  Methodus 
Novissima,  is  different  from  this.  The  latter  consists  of  a  text,  simi- 
lar to  that  of  the  original  Janua,  but  to  whieh  is  added  a  lexicon,  and 
to  this  a  grammar  ;  there  being  thus  three  parts,  as  in  the  Vestibu- 
lum* 

Comenius  brought  out  the  third  edition  of  the  Janua,  at  the  same 
time  with  the  third  of  the  Vestibulum,  for  the  schools  at  Patak.  It 
does  not,  however,  like  the  latter,  begin  with  the  text  and  go  on  to  the 
grammar  and  lexicon,  but  in  a  reversed  order,  with  lexicon,  grammar 
and  text.  The  lexicon  is  entitled,  Sylva  Latinae  linguae  vocum  deri- 
vatarum  copiam  explicans,  sive  lexicon  januale.\  It  is  etymological, 
showing  the  derivation  of  each  word.  E.  g.  :  fin-is-it  omnia,  et  os- 
tendit  rei-em£  k.  e.  -  alem  causam.  De-ibus  agrorum  saepe  sunt 
lites,  quas-itor  de-it  distinguens  agrum  lam  ab  agris  -  itimis  (sen  af-et 
con-ibus)  quam  a  con-its  inde-itis.  Si  vero  inter  af-es  (af-itate  junc- 
tos)  jurgia  exoriuntur,  judex  prae-it  diem  prae-itum,  quo  ea-aliter  de- 
itat  ;  nam-ita  esse  convenit  ;  non  in-ita  ;  in-itas  Dei  est. 

In  this  manner  are  arranged  some  twenty-five  hundred  roots  and 
their  derivations  and  compounds,  with  the  rules  of  derivation  and 
composition. 

The  teacher  is  to  occupy  some  four  months,  in  the  beginning,  in 
taking  his  scholars  through  this  lexicon  ;  for  they  must  first  become 
acquainted  with  words,  which  are  the  simple  elements  of  language. 
He  calls  the  lexicon  the  forest,  in  which  the  radical  words,  with  their 
derivations  and  compounds,  are  the  trees  and  their  branches.  These 
form  the  material  in  which  the  second  book,  the  Grammatica  janua- 
lis  continens  residuum  grammatical  vestibularis,  is  to  be  used  and 
prepared  for  the  construction  of  speech. 

In  the  introduction  to  the  grammar,  Comenius  laments  the  faults 
of  the  earlier  teachers  of  language,  quoting  especially  the  valuable 
teacher  Gerard  Vossius.  "  Our  grammars,"  says  Vossius,  "  contain  a 


'  According  to  Opp.  did.,  2,  299,  this  second  edition  contained  only  the  Janu 
grammatiea.    Camp.  Melh.  nor.;  Opp.  did.,  2,  181. 
t  Opp.  did.,  3,  219. 

T  I.  e.,  Fint'g  Jinit  omnia.  et  ottendit  reijintm,  h.  e.  finalem  causam,  eic.  For  Ihc  sake  of 
greater  clearness,  Comenius  afterward,  (Opp.  4,  60,)  required  the  German  equivalent  to  b« 
added,  as 

Am-are-or-ator, 
Lieb-m-e-tiaber. 
(Lor-e-e-tr  .) 


390  JOHN  AMOS  COMENIU8. 

mass  of  rules  and  exceptions  which  overwhelm  the  boys,  who  are 
obliged  to  learn  much  that  is  superfluous,  only  soon  to  forget  it ;  and 
besides,  how  many  false  rules  do  these  grammars  contain  !  "  "  Lip- 
sius,"  continues  Comenius,  "  calls  them  silly  ;  and  Caselius,  more  than 
silly,  and  they  agree  that  it  would  be  better  to  learn  Latin  only  from 
authors."  Comenius,  however,  does  not  coincide  with  them  in  this  ; 
mere  practice,  he  says,  is  .blind ;  it  is  only  by  rules  that  they  attain 
to  the  sure  comprehension.  He  says  further,  in  speaking  of  the 
Grammatica  Janualis,  subjoined  to  the  Vestibulum,  that  it  follows 
especially  G.  Vossius. 

The  succession  of  chapters  in  this  grammar  is  :*  De  Litera,  Syl- 
laba,  Voce,  Phrasi,  Sententia,  Periodo,  Oratione.  It  proceeds  from 
the  simple  beginnings  of  the  Grammatica  Vestibularis,  leaving,  how- 
ever, the  subtilities  and  delicacies  of  the  language  for  a  higher  class. 

From  this  grammar  the  scholar  goes  on  to  a  third  part,  a  Janualis 
rerum  et  verborum  contextus,  historiolam\  rerum  continens.  This  is 
a  revision  of  the  earlier  Janua  reserata,  but  more  extensive  and  com- 
plete, although,  like  it,  containing  a  thousand  paragraphs,  in  a  hun- 
dred sections.  In  the  first  Janua  each  paragraph  usually  consisted 
of  one  short  period ;  but  in  the  second  the  paragraphs  are  often 
much  longer. 

C.    Atrium. 

Comenius  describes  the  Atrium^  in  his  Methodus  novissima  ;  but 
lie  first  published  it  for  the  school  at  Patak.§  Like  its  predecessor,  it 
is  divided  into  three  parts ;  but  its  arrangement,  like  that  of  the 
Janua,  varies  from  that  of  the  Vestibulum  ;  a  grammar  coming  first, 
then  the  text,  and  then  the  lexicon.  Comenius  calls  the  grammar 
of  the  Atrium,  Ars  ornatoria,  cive  grammatica  eleyans.  He  defines 
it,  "  The  art  of  speaking  elegantly.  To  speak  with  elegance  is,  to 
express  the  thoughts  otherwise  than  the  laws  of  the  mother  tongue 
require,  and  yet  to  be  understood  with  more  pleasure  than  if  we  had 
spoken  according  to  those  laws.''  From  this  definition  it  follows,  that 
Comenius  was  not  speaking  of  what  they  called  fine  Latin,  free  from 
barbarisms,  but  of  such  Latin  as  was  then  used  in  rhetorical  ex- 
ercises. 

After  the  grammar  follows  the  Atrium  itself;  which,  also,  is  an 
encyclopaedia  of  one  thousand  paragraphs,  in  one  hundred  sections, 
but  more  extensive  and  advanced  than  that  in  the  preceding  Janua. 

*  Opp.  did.,  3,  428.  t  lb.,  474. 

J  Ib.,  451.    There  it  her*  a  great  error  in  the  paging ;  p.  451  following  592. 

*  Opp.  did.,  2,  163, 197,  453.    David  Bechner  published  before  Comenius,  in  1636,  a  frag- 
ment  entitled  Proplasma  templi  Latinitatia,  (O.i;  .  did.,  1,  318,)  which,  like  the  Atrium,  was 
to  follow  the  Janua. 


JOHN  AMOS  COMEMUS.  39! 

To  this  Comenius  had  intended  to  add  a  Lexicon  Lalino-latlnum  ; 
which,  however,  did  not  appear. 

V.     THE  CLASSICS. 

After  the  scholars  had  used,  in  their  first  year,  the  Vestibulum,  in  the 
second  the  Janua,  and  in  the  third  the  Atrium,  as  preparatory  manuals, 
they  were  next,  in  a  fourth  class,  to  enter,  from  the  Atrium,  into  the 
palace  of  authors.  "For,"  says  Comenius,*  "  if  we  should  not,  through 
the  Vestibulum,  the  Janua,  and  the  Atrium  introduce  the  scholars 
into  the  palace  of  authors,  we  should  be  as  foolish  as  one  who,  after 
with  much  pains,  seeking,  finding  and  pursuing  his  road  to  the  very 
gates  of  a  city,  should  refuse  to  enter."  The  scholars  of  this  fourth 
class  are,  in  their  first  quarter  of  a  year,  to  practice  the  ordinary 
Latin  style ;  in  the  second,  speeches  from  the  Roman  histories, 
and  the  Ciceronians,  for  the  sake  of  the  oratorical  style ;  in  the 
third,  to  read  Ovid,  Horace  and  Virgil,  to  learn  the  poetical  style ; 
and  afterward  to  study  the  laconic  authors,  especially  Seneca  and 
Tacitus,  and  to  begin  studying  the  composition  of  letters,  speeches 
and  poetry. 

In  his  Methodus  Novis$ima,\  he  gives  fuller  directions  what  au- 
thors to  read  and  how  to  read  them.  His  three  text-books,  he  says 
here,  enable  the  scholar  to  understand  Latin,  and  to  write  and  read 
it  not  unlatinistically.  He  must  then  proceed  to  the  authors,  in  order 
from  them  to  gain  a  fuller  knowledge  of  real  things,  a  better  style, 
and  practical  readiness.  He  must  not  restrict  himself  to  Cicero,  as 
he  neither  contains  all  Latinity,  nor  all  subjects.  Terence  and  Plau- 
tus  must  be  read  with  caution,  on  account  of  the  immoral  character 
of  some  of  their  contents.  For  speaking  Latin,  however,  they  are 
the  best ;  as  is  Cicero  for  the  construction  of  periods.  For  the  laconic 
style,  Seneca  is  the  model,  Virgil  for  the  epic,  Ovid  for  the  elegiac, 
and  Horace  for  the  lyric.  An  acquaintance  with  real  objects  can 
be  gathered  from  Pliny,  Vitruvius,  Cresar,  and  others.  Authors  must 
be  read  thoroughly,  and  extracts  and  imitations  may  be  written  ;  this 
last  in  part  by  means  of  translations  and  re-translations;  and  then 
abridgments  and  continuations  come,  and  finally  the  contents  of  the 
classics  are  to  be  transferred  to  other  persons,  relations,  etc.  For  this 
purpose  the  scholar  must  adopt  only  a  single  model,  Cicero  for  in- 
stance, and  train  himself  to  a  style  by  daily  and  hourly  exercises^ 

*  This,  he  says  in  his  treatise  upon  the  school  at  Patak  in  three  classes,  the  necessity  of  ad- 
ding a  fourth,  and  its  purpose.  See  below,  Schola  pansophica. 

t  Opp.  did.,  2. 199. 

J  "  For  he  must  feel  himself  so  transferred  into  his  author's  spirit,  that  nothing  will  be 
grateful  to  h:s  ears,  which  has  not  the  sound  of  Cicero.'1  lb.,  203. 


392  JOHN  AMOS  COMENIUS. 

upon  that  model.  Yet  he  must  be  very  careful  lest  he  become  a 
mere  empty  phraseologer.* 

Comenius  expresses  himself  with  greater  rigor  against  the  heathen 
books,  in  his  earlier  Didactica  Magna.\  "  Our  schools,"  he  says, 
"  are  Christian  only  in  name ;  Terence,  Plautus,  Cicero,  rule  over 
them.  Therefore  it  is 'that  our  learned  men,  even  our  theologians,  be- 
long to  Christ  only  in  externals,  while  Aristotle  has  the  real  authority 
over  them.  Day  and  night  they  study  the  classics,  and  neglect  the 
Holy  Scriptures.  Shall  our  boys,  for  the  sake  of  a  style,  study  the 
indecency  of  Terence,  Plautus  and  the  like  ?  Shall  we  in  this  way 
cast  oil  upon  the  fire  of  men  already  lost?  Although  these  authors 
have  many  good  portions,  still,  the  evil  they  contain  sinks  at  once 
deep  into  the  souls  of  the  boys.  Even  the  better  of  the  classics, 
Cicero  and  Virgil  for  instance,  have  whole  pages  entirely  unchristian. 
Yet,  as  Israel  took  the  vessels  of  the  Egyptians,^  so  many  learned 
men  of  confirmed  Christian  character,  make  collections  of  extracts 
from  the  classics,  which  may  be  read  by  youth  without  danger.  Per- 
haps Seneca,  Epictetus  and  Plato,  only,  may  be  put  whole  into  the 
hands  of  youth  already  confirmed  in  Christianity."  But  to  avoid  any 
misunderstanding,  as  if  he  had  forbidden  without  explanation,  to  read 
the  classics,  he  refers  to  the  promise  of  Christ,  that  believers  shall  be 
harmed  neither  by  serpents  nor  by  poison.  Only  boys  who  are  yet 
weak  in  the  faith,  must  not  be  exposed  to  such  serpents,  but  fed  with 
the  pure  milk  of  God's  word. 

He  expresses  himself  in  the  strongest  manner  upon  the  study  of  the 
ancients,  in  one  of  his  latest  pedagogical  works,  which  he  has  named 
"  The  Winnowing-fan  of  Wisdom."§  Here  he  says,  "  We  have  seen 
in  very  recent  times  frightful  examples  of  kings  and  queens,]]  who, 
seduced  by  heathen  books,  have  despised  the  simplicity  of  the  gospel. 
If  such  learned  men  as  Lipsius  and  others,  who  have  become  drunk 
with  the  classics,  should  be  examined,  there  would  be  found  in  them 
nothing  like  David's  pleasure  in  the  law  of  God,  but  on  the  other 
hand  a  disgust  with  it." 

*  "Not  without  reason  did  the  wise  Buchhottzer  write,  '  I  dislike  the  Italian  Ciceronians, 
because  they  speak  only  words  ;  not  things.  Their  rhetoric,  for  the  most  part,  is  Ko\aictvTiicii. 
It  is  a  glo*s  without  a  text,  a  nut  without  meat,  a  cloud  without  rain.  Their  feathers  are  bet- 
ter than  (he  birds  themselveu.' "  Comenius  was  evidently  acquainted  with  the  Cicnronianus 
of  Erasmus;  and  like  him,  he  found  especial  fault  with  the  paganism  of  Uembo  and  the 
other  Italians. 

t  Opp.  did.,  147. 

J  Thi*  same  comparison  occurs  in  Augustine's  Confessions,  (7,  9,)  in  relation  to  the  read* 
ing  of  the  heathen  philosophers  by  Christians. 

J  Ventilabrum  sapientiae.    Ojtp.  did.,  4,  47.    A  remarkable  retractation. 
I  Referring  apparently  to  Christina  of  Sweden. 


JOHN  AMOS  COMENIU8.  393 

As  to  the  reading  of  the  ancients,  Comenius  was  in  the  same  per- 
plexity with  many  other  Christian  teachers.  He  feared  the  influence 
of  the  heathen  books  upon  youth ;  but  at  the  same  time  these  samo 
Christian  youth  must  learn  thoroughly  to  speak  and  read  Latin. 
Latin  would  be,  without  doubt,  best  learned  by  the  repeated  reading 
of  Terence ;  but  then  again  Terence  is  so  indecent !  How  was  this 
dilemma  to  be  solved  ? 

VI.     ORBIS  PICTUS. 

Besides  the  three  school  books  with  which  we  have  become  ac- 
quainted, the  Vestibulum,  the  Janua  and  the  Atrium,  Comenius 
wrote  a  fourth.  This  is  the  Orbis  Pictus,  which,  since  its  first  ap- 
pearance in  the  year  1657,  has  been,  during  nearly  two  hundred 
years,  down  to  the  present  time,  and  in  the  most  various  forms,  the 
favorite  book  for  children.  Comenius  had  deeply  felt  the  imperfec- 
tion of  his  school  books  in  one  respect.  He  desired  that  the  begin- 
ning of  teaching  should  be  always  made,  by  means  of  dealing  with 
actual  things ;  and  in  the  school-room,  there  was  nothing  which 
could  be  thus  used.  "  It  may  be  observed,"  he  writes  to  the  book- 
seller, Michael  Endter,  of  Nuremburg,*  "  that  many  of  our  children 
grow  weary  of  their  books,  because  these  are  overfilled  with  things 
which  have  to  be  explained  by  the  help  of  words ;  things  which  the 
boys  have  never  seen,  and  of  which  the  teachers  know  nothing."  By 
the  publication  of  the  Orbis  Pictus,  however,  he  says,  this  evil  will  be 
remedied. 

We  have  seen  that  Comenius  was  desirous  that  the  text  of  his 
Vestibulum,  long  before,  should  contain  pictures ;  but  he  could  find 
no  artists  capable  of  designing  the  pictures,  and  cutting  them  on 
wood  under  his  supervision.  In  the  letter  above  alluded  to,  he  most 
earnestly  thanked  Endter  for  having  undertaken  the  designs.  "  This 
work,"  he  writes  to  him,  "  belongs  to  you ;  it  is  entirely  new  in  your 
profession.  You  have  given  a  correct  and  clear  edition  of  the  Orbis 
Pictus,  and  furnished  figures  and  cuts,  by  the  help  of  which,  the  at- 
tention will  be  awakened  and  the  imagination  pleased.  This  will,  it 
is  true,  increase  the  expense  of  the  publication,  but  it  will  be  cer- 
tainly returned  to  you."  Comenius  says  further,  that  the  book  will 
be  very  welcome  in  schools,  since  it  is  entirely  natural  to  look  at 
pictures ;  and  still  more  welcome,  since  now  instruction  may  progress 
without  hindrance,  and  neither  learning  nor  teaching  need  delay, 
since  what  is  printed  in  words  may  be  brought  before  the  eyes  by 
sight,  and  thus  the  mind  may  be  instructed  without  error. 

•  The  letter  is  dated  at  Lissa,  1655,  and  is  printed  before  the  edition  of  the  Atrium  issued  by 
Endter  in  1659. 


394  JOHN  AMOS  COMENIUS. 

I  have  thought  it  scarcely  necessary  to  give  a  detailed  description 
of  this  celebrated  school  book,  for,  as  I  have  said,  it  has  been  pub- 
lished in  innumerable  editions,  down  to  the  present  day.  The  old  Or- 
bis  Pictus,  varies  little  as  to  text,  from  the  Janua  reserata  ;  it  is  the 
Janua  with  illustrations.  The  cuts  in  the  later  editions  are  clearer 
than  in  the  old  ;  but  the  variations  of  the  texts  are  not  successful. 
The  comparison  is  especially  strikingbetween  the  forty-second  cut,  en- 
titled "Of  the  soul  of  man,"  in  the  edition  of  1659,  and  the  same  in 
the  edition  of  1755.  In  the  first,  the  soul  is  very  ingeniously  repre- 
sented in  a  bodily  shape,  by  uniform  'points,  without  light  or  shade, 
like  a  phantom.  The  artist  evidently  wished  to  indicate  that  the 
soul,  so  to  speak,  was  present  throughout  the  whole  body.  In  the 
Orbis  Pictus  of  1755,  on  the  other  hand,  the  picture  is  an  eye,  and 
on  a  table  the  figures  I.I. II.  I.I.II.  It  is  difficult  to  recognize  in  this 
an  expressive  psychological  symbol,  and  to  explain  it. 

The  Janua  reserata  of  Comenius,  notwithstanding  its  former  great 
celebrity,  is  forgotten ;  the  Orbis  Pictus,  on  the  contrary,  is  known 
and  liked  by  many,  if  not  in  its  old  form,  at  least  in  a  new  one.  The 
principle  that  the  knowledge  of  things  and  of  words  should  go  hand 
in  hand,  was,  it  is  true,  laid  down  by  Comenius  in  the  preface  of  the 
Janua,  but  was  not  realized  in  the  book  itself.  Hence,  very  naturally, 
the  complaints  of  teachers  and  scholars,  of  the  incompleteness  of  the 
book. 

But  in  the  Orbis  Pictus  this  principle  was  found  to  be  realized  as 
far  as  possible ;  and  many  persons*  said  that  they  did  not  need  the 
Vestibulum  and  the  Janua,  fur  that  the  shorter  way  in  the  Orbis 
Pictus,  was  enough.  There  was,  it  is  true,  a  world-wide  difference 
between  what  Comenius  originally  sought — an  acquaintance  with 
things  themselves,  before  any  knowledge  of  words  relating  to  those 
things — and  the  actual  use  made  of  the  scarcely  recognizable  pictures 
of  these  originals  in  the  Orbis  Pictus,  in  connection  with  the  reading 
of  the  text.  Yet  this  is  at  least  a  beginning ;  and  who  can  tell  what 
may  be,  in  the  course  of  time,  developed  from  it  ?  Basedow's  elemen- 
tary book  is  the  Orbis  Pictus  of  the  ,  eighteenth  century.  Chodo- 
wieck's  pictures  in  this  work,  are  much  superior  to  the  old  wood-cuts 
of  the  Orbis;  but  in  other  respects,  how  far  does  the  godless  Elemen- 
tary Book,  filled  with  false  explanations  and  superficial  and  materialis- 
tic realism,  fall  behind  the  ancient  earnest  and  religious  Orbis  Pictus  ! 

A  very  valuable  commendation  of  the  Orbis  Pictus  is  to  be  found 
in  the  luagoye  of  Joh.  Matth.  Gesner.f  "  For  beginners  in  language," 
says  Gesner,  "  books  are  proper,  from  which,  at  the  same  time,  a 

•  Opp.  did.,  3,  830.  1 1,112. 


JOHN  AMOS  COMENIU8.  395 

knowledge  of  things  themselves  may  be  gained.  For  the  younger 
scholars,  especially,  the  Orbis  Pictus  of  Comenius,  which  T  very  much 
like.  Not  that  the  work  of  Comenius  is  complete ;  but  we  have  no 
better." 

I  repeat,  the  Orbis  Pictus  was  the  forerunner  of  future  develop- 
ment; and  had  for  its  object,  not  merely  the  introduction  of  an  in- 
distinct painted  world  into  the  school,  but,  as  much  as  possible,  a 
knowledge  of  the  original  world  itself,  by  actual  intercourse  with  it. 

VII.       COMENIUS'    PLAN    OF   STUDY. 

A.     Three  schools.     Academy. 

Comenius,  in  his  Didactica  Magna,  gives  a  general  plan  of  study, 
which,  upon  comparison  with  the  school  ordinances  of  Saxony  and 
Wurtemberg,  already  mentioned,  appears  to  have  been  generally 
similar  to  existing  ones.  He  proposes  the  four  following  classes  of 
institutions;  A.  Schola  materna,  (mother's  school;)  B.  Schola  ver- 
nacula,  (vernacular  school ;)  C.  Schola  Latino,  (Gymnasium ;)  D.  Ac- 
ademia,  (University.) 

A  mother's  school,  he  says,  should  be  in  every  house ;  a  vernacu- 
lar school  in  every  municipality ;  a  Latin  school  in  every  city,  and  a 
university  in  each  kingdom  or  large  province. 

Pupils  are  to  remain  in  the  mother  school  until  their  sixth  year, 
from  the  sixth  to  the  twelfth  in  the  German,  and  from  the  twelfth  to 
the  eighteenth  in  the  Latin,  and  from  the  eighteenth  to  the  twenty- 
fourth  at  the  university.  In  the  mother  school  the  external  senses 
especially  are  to  be  trained  in  the  right  apprehension  of  things;  in 
the  German  school,  the  inner  senses ;  the  imagination  and  the 
memory.  Here,  also,  must  the  pictures  of  things  which  are  impressed 
upon  the  mind  through  the  external  senses,  be  together  brought  out 
into  expression,  by  the  hand  and  the  tongue,  by  reading,  writing, 
drawing,  singing,  etc.  In  the  gymnasium,  the  understanding  and  the 
judgment  are  to  be  trained  by  comparing,  distinguishing,  and  the 
deeper  investigation  of  things.  In  the  university,  the  will  is  to  be 
cultivated. 

After  this  Comenius  proceeds  to  describe  each  of  his  four  schools, 
A.  The  Mother  School. 

\Ve  should  pray  for  the  Menu  sana  in  corpore  sano,  but  should 
use  means  for  it  also.  Even  during  pregnancy,  the  mother  should 
pray  for  the  well-being  of  the  embryo,  should  live  upon  suitable  diet, 
and  should  keep  herself  as  quiet  and  comfortable  as  possible.  She 
herself  must  nurse  the  new-born  child  ;  it  is  a  most  injurious  custom 
which  prevails,  especially  among  nolU  ladies,  of  employing  nurses; 


396  JOHN  AMOS  COMENIU8. 

a  custom  harmful  both  to  mothers  and  children,  and  contrary  to 
God  and  to  nature.  Even  the  wolves  and  the  swine  suckle  their  own 
young.* 

From  vanity  or  convenience,  nurses  are  often  employed  who  are 
weaker  than  the  mothers  themselves. 

No  high-seasoned  food  should  be  given  to  children,  and  still  less 
any  heating  drink ;  the  Spartans  dared  drink  no  wine  until  their 
twentieth  year.  Unnecessary  medicine  is  poison  to  children.  They 
should  be  aMowed  to  play  as  much  as  they  wish. 

During  the  first  six  years,  the  foundation  should  be  laid  for  all  that 
they  are  to  learn  in  all  their  lives. 

In  physics,  they  should  begin  to  learn  to  know  stones,  plants, 
beasts,  etc. ;  and  the  names  and  uses  of  the  members  of  their  own 
body. 

In  optics,  they  should  begin  to  distinguish  light  and  darkness  and 
colors ;  and  to  delight  their  eyes  with  beautiful  things. 

In  astronomy,  they  should  learn  to  know  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars, 
and  that  the  moon  is  sometimes  full  and  sometimes  sickle-shaped. 

They  should  begin  geography  with  the  knowledge  of  the  cradle, 
the  room,  the  farm,  the  streets,  the  fields ;  chronology,  with  the 
knowledge  of  day  and  night,  hours,  weeks,  and  festivals ;  history, 
with  the  knowledge  of  what  happened  to  themselves  yesterday  and 
the  day  before ;  politics,  with  the  knowledge  of  domestic  economy ; 
arithmetic,  with  counting,  etc. ;  geometry,  with  understanding  the 
ideas  of  length  and  breadth,  lines,  circles,  an  inch,  an  ell,  etc. ;  music, 
with  hearing  singing,  (in  the  third  year  they  will  be  able  to  join  in 
psalm  singing;)  grammar,  with  the  pronunciation  of  syllables  and 
easy  words ;  rhetoric,  with  the  making  of  gestures,  and  the  under- 
standing of  the  gestures  of  others. 

Thus  we  see  the  beginning  of  all  the  sciences  and  arts,  in  the 
earliest  childhood.  Even  then  the  children  will  take  pleasure  in 
poetry,  rhythm  and  rhyme.f 

Comenius  now  proceeds  to  the  beginning  of  the  first  or  ethical  part 
of  religious  instruction  ;  he  requires  above  all  things,  that  the  par- 
ents should  set  a  good  example ;  and  he  inveighs  strongly  against 
the  unjustifiable  spoiling  of  children,  and  the  want  of  a  wholesome 

•  4>Have  you  nourished  with  your  own  blood  the  child  which  you  carried  beneath  your 
heart  for  so  many  months,  to  deny  it  milk  now,  when  that  very  milk  was  given  by  God  for 
the  chUd.  not  for  the  mother  7  It  is  much  more  conducive  to  the  health  of  the  infant,  to 
suckle  its  own  mother  than  a  nurse,  because  it  has  in  the  womb  already  become  accustomed 
to  nutriment  from  its  mother's  blood." 

t  Comenius  give*  specimens  of  rhyme^o  amuse  the  children,  as: 
"  O  mi  pulle,  mi^ttllt.  dormi  belle  ; 
Claude  bellot  tu  ocellot,  euros  pelle." 


JOHN  AMOS  COMEMOS.  397 

Strictness.*  He  also  gives  directions  how  to  train  them  to  modera- 
tion, purity,  and  obedience ;  and  to  silence,  as  soon  as  they  cau  speak 
fluently,  and  not  to  speak  merely  in  order  to  learn  to  speak.  In 
baptism,  children  should  be  given  back  to  their  Creator  and  Saviour; 
and  from  that  time  they  should  be  prayed  for  and  taught  to  pray ; 
should  learn  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  creed,  <fcc. 

In  the  sixth  year  the  child  will  be  ready  to  go  to  school,  which 
should  not  be  described  to  him  as  an  institution  of  punishment.  We 
often  hear  people  say,  "  If  you  are  not  good  I  will  send  y<~u  to  school, 
and  there  you  will  be  kept  in  order  with  the  rod."  It  should  rather 
be  represented  as  delightful,  so  that  the  child  shall  be  pleased  with 
the  idea  of  going. 

B.     Oerman  School. 

1.  This  is  peculiarly  a  school  of  the  mother  tongue/f 

In  this  school,  says  Comenius,  the  children  should  not  be,  as  many 
would  have  them,  put  at  first  to  the  study  of  Latin. 

All  children  should  be  instructed.  Whether  or  no  they  prove  apt 
at  study,  and,  therefore,  proper  to  be  carried  forward  to  the  Latin 
school,  is  not  a  thing  to  be  determined  in  the  sixth  year.  That 
school  is  not  for  the  children  of  the  noble  alone ;  the  wind  bloweth 
whither  it  listeth,  and  does  not  begin  to  blow  at  any  fixed  time. 
My  method,  continues  Comenius,  does  not,  by  any  means,  look  sim- 
ply to  the  Latin,  most  often  so  vainly  beloved,  but  rather  regards  a 
common  way  of  instruction  in  all  the  mother  tongues.  To  teach  a 
scholar  a  foreign  tongue  before  he  knows  his  own,  is  to  instruct  him 
in  riding  before  he  can  walk.J  Finally  he  says,  I  aim  at  knowledge 
of  real  things ;  these  can  be  learned  just  as  well  in  the  mother 
tongue  as  in  Lalin  or  Greek  ;  and,  above  all,  all  technical  terms 
should  be  learned  in  German,  instead  of  in  Latin  or  Greek. 

He  then  proceeds  to  enumerate  the  studies  in  the  German  school ; 
as,  to  read  German,  to  write  well,  to  reckon,  so  far  as  ordinary  life 
will  require,  to  measure,  to  sing  common  melodies,  to  learn  certain 
songs  by  rote,  the  catechism,  and  the  Bible,  a  very  general  knowledge 
of  history,  especially  of  the  creation,  the  fall  of  man,  and  the  re- 
demption ;  a  beginning  of  cosmography,  and  a  knowledge  of  trades 
and  occupations.  All  these  are  necessary,  not  only  for  those  who  are 
to  be  students,  but  also  for  future  farmers,  mechanics,  <kc.  The  Ger- 

*  "  I  can  not  refrain  from  reproring  the  apiah  and  asinine  conduct  of  acme  part  mi  to- 
ward their  children. 

tOpp.  did.  172. 

t  At  a  subsequent  period  Comenins  found  fault  with  himself  for  haTing  written  his  FV«f/- 
bulum  in  Lalin.  "no/a  docendo  pfr  ignuta^  TtTnaculam per  Latinam.  Quicyuid  notmieil 
praecedat.  ternacvla  La'inae  letnptr  proteat ."  Opp.  did.  4.  61. 


398  JOHN  AMOS  COMENIUS. 

man  school  should  be  divided  into  six  classes,  and  for  each  class  a 
text-book  should  be  prepared  in  German. 

C.     The  Latin  School. 

Here  are  to  be  learned  four  languages,  and  the  seven  studies  of  the 
Trivium  and  the  Quadrivium ;  grammar,  dialectics  and  rhetoric ;  and 
arithmetic,  geometry,  music,  and  astronomy.  Also  physics,  chronol- 
ogy, history,  ethics,  and  biblical  theology.  The  school  is  to  be  di- 
vided into  the  six  following  classes,  to  pass  through  which  will  require 
six  years  :  1.  grammar,  2.  physics,  3.  mathematics,  4.  ethics,  5.  dia- 
lectics, 6.  rhetoric. 

The  scholars  are  to  finish  their  studies  in  German  and  Latin,  and  to 
gain  a  sufficient  grammatical  knowledge  of  Greek  and  Hebrew. 

Dialectics  and  rhetoric,  says  Comenius,  are  to  be  learned  only  after 
a  knowledge  of  real  things  has  been  acquired.  Without  the  knowl- 
eidge  of  things,  it  is  impossible  for  one  to  speak  practically  upon 
them.*  He  places  physics  before  the  abstract  mathematics,  as  ad" 
dressed  to  the  senses,  and,  therefore,  easier  for  beginners.f 

D.      The   University. 

Although,  Comenius  says,  his  method  does  not  extend  to  the  univer- 
sity, yet  he  will  express  a  few  views  concerning  it.  For  a  university  he 
would  have  a  universal  course  of  study,  and  an  examination  of  all 
students  entering,  to  determine  for  what  pursuit  each  is  best  fitted, 
&c.  He  has  one  remarkable  recommendation ;  to  found  a  schola 
scholarum  or  collegium  didacticum,  for  those  of  all  countries.  The 
learned  men,  members  of  this,  should  bind  themselves  to  use  their 
united  powers  to  promote  the  sciences,  and  to  make  new  discoveries. 
He  thus  suggests  the  idea  of  an  academy  of  sciences,  before  the  Royal 
Society  of  London,  the  first  academy  of  the  kind,  was  established  ; 
following  Bacon,  however,  in  this  also. 

B.     Schola  panxophica. 

Iii  1050,  as  before  related,  Comenius  was  invited  to  Patak  in  Hun- 
gary, to  reorganize  the  schools  there.  The  plan  which  he  drew  up 
bears  the  strange  title,  Scholae  punsophicae  delineatio.^  And  the 
plan  itself  is  strange.  The  names  of  the  seven  classes  are,  in  part, 
given  upon  very  singular  grounds.  The  school  books  of  the  three 
lower  classes,  the  vctstibularis,  janualis  and  atrialis,  were  the  Vestibu- 
Idm,  Janua,  Atrium.  After  the  Atrium  came,  as  class  fourth,  the 

*  (ft  virginem  non  imprtifgnalamparfrt  imposyibile  eat,  ita  res  rationabilitereloqtii  itupos- 
lit/He  eum,  qui  re.rum  cognitions  praeimbtitus  nun  est. 

*  Apparently  following  Bacon's  remark,  "  Mathematica  qitae  phitotophiam  naturalem  ter 
minare,  non  genernre  out  procreare  debtt.''    Nov.  Org.  1,  96. 

}  Opp.  did.  3,  20. 


JOHN  AMOS  COMEMUS.  399 

philosophical ;  then  the  logical,  political,  and  theological  or  theosophi- 
cal.  These  seven  classes  were  arranged  to  occupy  the  seven  years 
from  the  tenth  to  the  seventeenth. 

From  Comenius'  plan,  it  appears  that  it  was  not  his  intention  that 
Latin  and  real  studies,  from  the  three  above  named  books,  should  be 
the  onlf  occupation  of  the  three  lower  classes.  The  catechism,  writ- 
ing, arithmetic,  geometry,  and  music,  were  to  be  added. 

The  idea  of  proceeding  methodically  from  the  elements  forward,  is 
to  be.  recognized  everywhere.  The  first  class  is  to  study  geometry, 
with  points  (!)  and  lines  ;  the  second  with  plane  figures,  and  the  third 
with  solids.* 

In  the  fourth  class,  Greek  was  to  be  studied,  and  Latin  quite  passed 
over ;  so  that  it  was  in  the  fifth  that  the  Latin  authors  were  first  to 
be  read,  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring  a  style.f 

In  each  week  Comenius  set  apart  an  hour  for  the  reading  of  the 
newspapers  of  the  day,};  in  order  to  learn  cotemporary  history  and 
geography.  Sacred  music  was  to  be  sung  daily,  and  no  one  not  even 
of  noble  birth,  was  to  be  excused ;  and  specified  hours  were  set  for 
choral  music. 

Plays  and  gymnastics,  he  says,  are  so-far  from  being  to  be  forbid- 
den, that  they  are  rather  to  be  promoted ;  as,  for  instance  running, 
jumping,  wrestling,  ball,  ninepins,  <fec. ;  and  walks  are  to  be  taken 
*vith  the  boys. 

Comenius  strongly  recommends  dramatic  exhibitions,  among  other 
reasons,  because  the  boys  will  learn  "to  act  well  any  part."  lie, 
however,  forbids  the  immodest  pieces  of  the  ancients,  and  instead, 
recommends  other  strange  ones,  which  may  be  played  by  the  classes. 
Thus,  the  fourth  class  may  play  Diogenes,  the  Cynic,  or  Compendi- 
ous Philosophy.  "  The  fifth,"  he  says,  "  may  give  a  very  beautiful  play, 
namely,  the  Contest  of  Grammar,  Logic  and  Metaphysics,  who  strive 
for  the  preeminence,  and  in  the  end  kiss  each  other  in  a  friendly 
manner,  thus  showing  how  they  will  all  labor  wisely  together  in  the 
realm  of  wisdom,  which  drama,  including  fifty  persons,  is  very  de- 
I'ightful."  The  sixth  class  is  to  represent  Solomon,  and  the  Seventh 
David. 

The  walls  of  the  school-room  of  each  class  are  to  be  ornamented 
with  pictures  and  inscriptions,  relating  to  the  employments  of  the 
classes. 

"These  examples  indicate  the  same  error  which  afterward  appeared  in  the  Pe*talorzi«n 
school. 

t  "  Verba  rara.  phrases  pulchras,  imprimis  eti?m  sententias  elegante*,  et  sic  succum  om- 
nem  extrahant,  aus  Cicero,  Sallust,  Ac." 

:  lh..29.  "  praelegantur  ordinariae  mercatorum  novellae."    The  Mercuriui  Oallo-De 
for  example 


400  JOHN  AMOS  COMEX1U8. 

The  whole  school  and  each  single  class,  should  represent  a  repub- 
lic, and  should  have  a  senate,  consul,  and  praetor. 

Of  the  hours  of  study,  three  should  come  in  the  forenoon  and 
three  in  the  afternoon,  and  between  each  two  study  hours,  a  half 
hour  of  recess  should  come. 

Only  the  three  lower  classes  of  the  pansophistic  school  w^nt  into 
operation  ;  the  Hungarian  nobility  not  approving  of  the  four  others, 
which  very  much  grieved  Comenius,  "When  only  patchwork  is  re- 
quired," he  says,  "  a  more  complete  course  of  study  is  impossible ; 
and  nothing  new  can  come  to  pass  when  people  stick  to  their  old  hab- 
its." He,  however,  accommodated  himself  to  his  station,  and  com- 
posed the  treatises  "  upon  an  easy,  short,  and  convenient  way  to  read 
the  Latin  authors  fluently  and  to  understand  them  clearly,  in  schools 
of  three  classes."* 

VIII.    LATIN  AND  THIS  MOTHER  TONOUK. 

According  to  Comenius,  the  mother  tongue  was  to  be  studied. 
For  this  purpose  he  required  a  schola  vernacula,  through  which  each 
child  was  to  pass,  whether  afterward  to  become  a  student  or  not.  If 
he  was,  then  he  was  to  go  from  the  schola  vernacula  into  the  schola, 
Latino.  He  expresses  himself  most  strongly  opposed  to  the  neglect 
of  the  mother  tongue,  and  speaks  with  approbation  of  Schottel  and 
the  Society  of  Usefulness,  who  devoted  themselves  to  the  German. f 

Why  did  he  insist  upon  having  Latin  so  diligently  studied  by  the 
boys  ?  His  strictness  in  this  respect  was  not  surpassed  by  that  of 
Trotzendorf  or  Sturm,  who  altogether  neglected  the  German.  Come- 
nius requires  from  the  boys  "  daily,  even  hourly  exercises  in  Latin 
style ;"  and  imitation  of  Cicero  even  to  entire  Ciceronization,  and  thn 
constant  speaking  of  Latin,  both  in  and  out  of  school.}; 

His  object  was  that  Latin  should  become  a  universal  language  upon 
the  earth,  as  an  antidote  against  the  confusion  of  tongues  at  Babel. 
What  the  Romish  church  sought  for  the  unity  of  the  church,  Come- 
nius sought  for  the  unity  of  humanity ;  that  all  nations  should  bo 
nble  to  understand  each  other  by  means  of  a  common  speech. 

He  laid  down  the  principle,  that  the  Latin  must  be  understood  in 
its  fullest  extent.§  By  this,  however,  he  did  not  mean  that  every 
man  must  understand  every  word  of  the  language.  Even  Cicero 
himself  did  not  understand  the  expressions  of  artizans ;  and  very  rea- 
sonably, because  he  had  not  studied  their  business.  In  like  manner, 
we  do  not  blame  any  one  for  not  understanding  similar  expressions  in 

*  Opp.  did.  3.  1)3.    The  treatise  is  dated  1G51 ;  and  includes  many  things  which  Comenius 
had  already  said  in  ihe  Methodtu  ffovinaima. 

t  Opp.  did.  8,  219.  Jib,  201,  305.  Ub.,  132. 4c. 


JOHN  AMOS  COMENIUS.  401 

liis  own  language.  But  what  he  means  by  the  understanding  of  the 
language  in  its  whole  expression  is,  an  understanding  according  to 
each  man's  own  condition  and  necessities.  All  must  understand  the 
common  portions  of  the  language,  and,  in  addition  to  this,  the  apoth- 
ecary must  know  the  technical  terms  of  medicine,  the  theologian 
those  of*  theology,  <fec.* 

Comenius  has  not  remained  true  to  this  correct  principle  in  his 
school  books.  They  are  crammed  with  esoteric  and  technical  ex- 
pressions, which  are  expected  to  serve  the  purposes  of  general  educa- 
tion. He  has  collected,  with  inexpressible  industry,  a  multitude  of 
phrases  in  trade-Latin  and  market-Latin,  it  is  difficult  to  say  whence ; 
and  many  of  them  are,  probably  of  his  own  composition.  Such  La- 
tin, Doderlein  himself  would  never  understand ;  and  he  would  usual- 
ly seek  in  vain  for  aid  from  the  lexicon.  Take,  for  instance,  the  chap- 
ter on  baking,  butchering,  or  cooking.  In  the  Latin  we  read  ;  "  I'la- 
centarum  species  sunt;  similae,  spirae,  crustulae,  lagana,  liba,  scribli- 
tae,  (striblitae,)  teganitae,  globuli,  boletini,  obeliae,  tortae,  artocreata." 
Comenius  had  good  reason  for  adding  a  translation  here ;  the  kinds 
of  cake  are,  wheat  bread,  pretzels,  iron-cakes,  pan-cakes,  short-cakes," 
&c.  The  poor  boys  are  to  be  pitied  who  had  to  study  such  words  as 
lucanicac,  botuli,  tomatula,  hillae,  apexabones,  tuceta,  isicia,  <fcc.  And 
for  what  purpose  are  they  to  be  studied  ?  to  talk  Latin  to  the  butch- 
er? and  if  native  Germans  were  to  be  addressed  in  classical  Latin, 
what  should  they  say  in  reply  ?  in  fact,  what  have  been  their  criti- 
cisms upon  the  Latin  of  the  Janua  restrain?  "  Scatet  barbarismi* 
Janua"  says  Morhof,  for  instance.  Comenius  allowed  that  boys  and 
even  men  know  as  little  of  most  of  the  technical  terms  in  their  na- 
tive language,  as  Cicero  did  of  those  in  his.  Why,  therefore,  does 
he  lay  upon  the  boys  the  unendurable  labor  of  learning  them  all  in 
Latin  ?  Even  if  Latin  were  to  become  the  universal  language  of  all 
nations,  of  which  there  is  not  the  remotest  prospect,  it  is  altogether 
impossible  that  a  German  butcher  would  be  able  to  converse  with  a 
Turkish  or  Japanese  butcher,  in  Comenian  butchers'  Latin. 

Eventually,  therefore,  the  Latin  of  one-third  and,  probably,  of  one- 
half,  of  the  Orbis  Pictus,  is  of  no  use  to  the  scholar ;  so  that  the  half 
of  the  book  would  be  of  more  value  than  the  whole. 

But  what  was  it  that  caused  Comenius  to  write  so  superfluous  a 

"  See  Didaclira  Magna.  p,  127 ;  w here  Comenius,  agreeably  to  our  citation  from  the  .V'lfi- 
odus  X'Vissima,  says ;  u  Thence  it  follows,  that  the  knowledge  of  the  whole  of  a  language  it 
not  necessary  to  any  one  ;  ami  that  if  any  one  undertakes  it,  he  will  only  make  himself  ridic- 
ulous and  silly.  For  Cicero  himself,  even,  did  not  know  the  whole  of  the  tatin  language  ; 
he  himself,  confessed  that  he  was  ignorant  of  the  technics  of  artizans;  he  had  nfrrr  sought 
the  conversation  of  shoemakers,  butchers  and  the  like,  to  examine  their  operations  and  to 
learu  the  names  of  all  their  works  and  timls.  And  to  what  end  would  lie  have  learned  them  7" 

Z 


402  JOHN  AMOS  COMEN1US. 

school  book,  in  opposition  to  the  principle  which  he  himself  had  laid 
down  ?  I  think  it  was  his  view  of  the  parallelism  between  things 
and  words.  A  world  of  language  corresponding  to  a  world  of  things 
was  the  ideal  before  his  mind.*  And  if  the  Orbis  Pictus  was  to  in- 
clude the  whole  real  world,  the  verbal  explanation  of  the  illustrations 
in  it  must  be  equally  comprehensive. 

IX.     MKTHODUB  NoviseiMA.t 

Twenty  years  after  Comenius  wrote  the  Didactica  Magna,  he  pub- 
lished the  Methodus  Novissima,  which  he  had  written  on  the  requisi- 
sition  of  Chancellor  Oxenstiern.  This  work  has  not  the  freshness 
and  boldness  of  the  Didactica,  but  is  constructed  upon  a  more  reg- 
ular plan.  In  truth  it  was  intended  to  be  a  plan  of  studies ;  to  con- 
tain the  principles  which  must  lie  at  the  basis  of  every  rational  plan 
of  study  .J 

In  this  work  Comenius  names,  as  the  three  chief  principles  of  his 
method,  the  parallelism  of  things  and  words,  the  uninterrupted  suc- 
cession of  introduction,  and  the  easy,  natural,  and  rapid  progress 
made  by  his  system ;  the  scholar  being  kept  in  continual  activity.§ 
"  If  the  method,"  he  says,  "  could  be  as  clearly  written  out  as  it  lies 
in  my  thoughts,  it  would  be  like  a  well  made  clock,  that  goes  on  stead- 
ily, and,  by  its  movements,  marks  out  the  hours  for  sleeping  and  for 
all  occupations,  without  varying;  and,  if  it  does  vary,  is  easily  set 
right  again. || 

The  mind  thinks,  the  tongue  speaks,  the  hand  makes ;  hence 
sciences  of  things,  and  arts  of  working  and  speaking. 

In  God  are  the  ideas,  the  original  types,  which  he  impresses  upon 
things ;  things,  again,  impress  their  representations  upon  the  senses, 
the  senses  impart  them  to  the  mind,  the  mind  to  the  tongue,  and  the 
tongue  to  the  ears  of  others,  by  a  bodily  intercourse ;  for  souls,  shut 
up  in  bodies,  can  not  understand  each  other  in  a  purely  intellectual 
way.^f 

Any  language  is  complete,  in  proportion  as  it  possesses  a  full  no- 
menclature ;  has  words  for  every  thing ;  as  the  signification  of  its 
words  are  consistent ;  and  as  it  is  constructed  after  fixed  grammatical 
laws.** 

It  is  a  source  of  errors,  when  things  are  made  to  accommodate 
themselves  to  words,  instead  of  words  to  things.ff 

*  •'  Condendam  wmdemus  rerum  et  verborum  tabulaluratn  quandam  uuiversalem,  in  qua 
miui'li  fabrica  tola  et  sermonis  human!  apparatus  tolus,  parallele  disponantiir."  Opp.  did. 
2,53. 

t  Opp.  did.  2,  I,  Ac. 

}  Various  extract*  from  the  Method.**  will  be  given  in  the  proper  place. 

lib. 211.  lib.  14,  nib..!M.  **Ib.  50.  Mlb.  (52. 


JOHN  AMOS  COMENIUS.  403 

The  same  classification  prevails  for  words  as  for  things ;  and  who- 
ever understands  the  relation  of  words  among  themselves,  will,  so 
much  the  more  easily,  study  the  analogous  relations  among  things.* 

The  most  complete  language,  says  Vives,  would  be  that  in  which 
the  words  express  the  nature  of  things,  such  as  must  have  been  the 
speech  of  Adam,  in  which  he  gave  names  to  things.  Comenius  be- 
lieved that  there  could  be  composed  a  real  language,  in  which  each 
word  should  be  a  definition,  and  which,  even  by  its  nouns,  should  re- 
present the  nature  of  the  things  spoken  of.f 

To  know,  isj  to  be  able  to  represent  any  thing,  either  by  the 
mind,  or  the  hand,  or  the  tongue.  For  all  is  done  by  such  repre- 
senting and  imagining  of  the  pictures  of  things.  If,  for  instance, 
I  perceive  a  thing  by  the  senses,  its  image  is  impressed  upon  the 
brain ;  if  I  represent  a  thing,  I  impress  its  image  upon  the  material. 
But  if  I  express  in  words  the  thing  which  I  have  thought  of  or  re- 
presented, I  impress  it  upon  the  atmosphere,  and  through  this  upon 
the  ear,  brain  and  mind  of  another.  The  first  kind  of  representation 
is  called  scire,  wissen;  the  second  and  third  kinds  are  called  scire, 
konnen.  Thus,  Comenius  includes  in  one  idea  of  representation, 
knowing,  the  power  of  representing  and  the  art  of  speaking.  To 
know  is  to  him  a  mode  of  representing  in  which  the  individual  holds 
himself  in  a  receptive  condition,  and  the  mind  receives  impressions 
through  the  senses,  like  a  living  daguerreotype  plate.  Such  is  his 
process  of  conception.  Opposed  to  this  is  a  process  of  expression,  in 
•which  the  mind  performs  its  creative  operations  by  the  arts  of  repre- 
sentation and  speech. 

In  every  thing  known,  continues  Comenius,  there  are  three  things; 
which  he  calls  /</<?»,  Ideatum,  and  Ideans.  Idea  is  the  original  image, 
{Imago  archetypa,)  of  the  object  of  knowledge ;  Ideatum  the  con- 
ception, the  product  of  the  knowledge ;  and  Ideans  the  producing 
instrument,  the  sense,  the  hand,  the  tongue. 

To  learn,  is§  to  proceed  from  something  known,  to  the  knowledge 
of  something  unknown  ;  in  which  there  are  also  three  things,  viz., 
the  unknown,  the  known,  and  the  mental  effort  to  reach  the  unknown 
from  the  known. 

*Meth  nov.,62.  tlb.,67,68. 

}  Ib.,  M.  This  difficult  passage  is,  in  the  original,  "  Scire  est  aliquid  efflgiare  pocse ;  «u 
mente,  seu  maim,  seu  lingua.  Omnia  enim  fiunt  effigiando,  sen  imaginando,  h.  e.  imajrinw 
et  simulacra  rerum  effingendo.  Nempe  cum  rem  sensu  percipio,  inipriinitur  imago  rjug  ce- 
rtbro.  Cum  similem  efficio,  imprimo  imaginem  ejua  materiae.  Quaodo  vero  id  0.111*)  cogiio, 
aut  eflkio,  lingua  enuntio,  imprimo  e ju»lem  rei  imaginem  ae'ri,  et  per  aereni  altering  auri, 
certbro,  menti.  Primo  modo  imaginari  dicitur  Scire,  Wissen  :  secundo,  et  tertio  |K»se  im- 
aginari,  dicitur  Scire.  Kiinnen." 

$  Ib.,  95. 
No.  13.— [VOL.  V.,  Xo.  1.1—19. 


404  JOHN  AMOS  COMENIUS. 

Every  thing  is  to  be  learned  by  examples,  rules  and  practice.  Be- 
fore the  understanding,  truth  must  be  held  up  as  the  example  ;  before 
the  will,  the  good  ;  and  before  the  forming  powers,  the  possible ;  and 
to  this  must  be  added  practice,  under  the  government  of  rules.  Rules 
should  not  be  given  before  examples.  Artizans  understand  this  well. 
None  of  them  would  give  their  apprentice  a  lecture  upon  his  trade, 
but  would  show  him  bow  he,  the  master,  went  about  it,  and  then 
would  put  the  tools  into  his  hands,  and  show  him  how  to  do  the  like, 
and  to  imitate  himself.*  Doing  can  only  be  learned  by  doing,  writ- 
ing by  writing,  painting  by  painting. 

A  second  pointf  must  not  be  undertaken  until  the  first  is  learned  ; 
and,  with  the  second,  the  first  must  be  repeated. 

Learning^  is  by  steps,  and  proceeds  from  the  easy  to  the  difficult ; 
from  little  to  much ;  from  the  simple  to  the  compound ;  from  the 
nearer  to  the  more  distant ;  from  the  regular  to  the  anomalous. 

We  first  proceed  toward  knowledge  by  the  perception  and  under- 
standing of  the  present,  and  afterward  go  on  from  the  present  to  the 
absent,  by  the  information  of  others. § 

Sight  will  supply  the  place  of  demonstration.  It  is  good  to  use 
several  senses  in  understanding  one  thing.||  A  thing  is  understood 
when  one  comprehends  its  inward  nature  as  well  as  he  does  its  out- 
ward nature,  by  his  senses.  To  this  inner  conception  are  requisite  a 
healthy,  intellectual  perception,  a  distinct  subject,  and  deliberate 
consideration.^ 

The  attention  should  be  fixed  upon  only  one  object  at  a  time ;  and 
upon  the  whole  first  and  the  parts  afterward. 

By  the  understanding,  are  compared  the  original  object  and  its  re- 
presentation. (Ideatum  cum  idea.}** 

The  memory  has  three  offices ;  to  receive,  to  retain,  and  to  recol- 
lect.ff 

The  subject  to  be  apprehended  must  be  clear,  consistent,  and  or- 
derly ;  the  faculty  to  be  directed  to  it  must  not  be  too  full  of  impress- 
ions, which  are  liable  to  confuse  each  other ;  it  must  be  calm,  direct- 
ed only  to  one  thing,  and  that  with  love,  (animo  affectuoso,)  or  rever- 
ence. 

Retaining  will  be  made  easier  by  repetition,  extracts,  etc. ;  recol- 
lecting by  means  of  the  inner  relations  of  things. 

The  youngest  must  be  instructed  in  visible  things  ;  pictures  impress 
themselves  upon  their  memory  most  firmly  ;J|  for  these  are  suitable 
examples,  copies,  but  not  abstract  rules. 

*  Meth.  nov.,  103, 129.       fib.,  106.       Jib.,  109.       Jib..  113.       lib.,  114.       IT  ID.,  116. 
**  Ib.,  130.  ft  lb.,  121.  j;  lb.,  132. 


JOHN  AMOS  COMENIUS.  4Qg 

The  teacher  should  not  be  intellectually  too  quick ;  or  if  he  be,  let 
him  learn  patience.*  Cicero  says  well,  that  the  more  skillful  and  in- 
tellectual the  teacher  is,  the  more  irritably  and  impatiently  will  he 
teach  ;  since  it  will  annoy  him  to  see  his  scholars  slow  in  learning 
what  he  learned  quickly. 

The  scholars  who  learn  quickest  are  not  always  the  best.f 

The  scholar's  indolence  must  be  made  up  by  the  teacher's  industry. 

Beginners  must  keep  strictly  to  the  copy ;  those  more  advanced 
may  go  on  more  independently  of  it ;  beginners  must  work  slowly, 
and  the  more  advanced  faster  and  faster. 

Whoever  wishes  to  teach  rapidly,  must  fasten  his  eyes  at  once  up- 
on his  object,  and  go  straight  toward  it,  without  regarding  collateral 
points ;  must  have  all  his  instrumentalities  ready  at  hand ;  and  one 
and  the  same  method  for  all  studies ;  so  that  his  scholars  need  not 
be  required,  at  the  same  time,  to  undertake  new  matter  and  new 
forms.J 

Learning  will  become  easy  to  the  scholars,  if  their  teacher  man- 
ages them  in  a  friendly  manner,  and  according  to  the  dispositions  of 
each  one  ;  if  he  explains  to  them  the  object  of  their  work ;  not  only 
makes  them  look  on  a  lesson,  but  take  part  in  the  work  and  conver- 
sation ;  and  is  careful  to  have  a  proper  variety.§ 

To  teach  thoroughly ||  are  necessary,  distinct,  carefully  chosen  illus- 
trations and  copies,  reliable  rules,  and  persevering  drill ;  solid  founda- 
tions of  knowledge,  a  judicious  continuation  of  it,  and  completeness, 
examining  and  repetition.  It  is  of  especial  importance  that  every 
scholar  be  made  himself  to  teach.  Fortius  says  that  he  learned  much 
from  his  teachers,  more  from  his  fellow  scholars,  and  most  from  his 
own  scholars.^}" 

The  school  is  a  manufactory  of  humanity ;  it  ought  to  work  its 
subjects  into  the  right  and  skillful  use  of  their  reason,  speech  and 
talents  for  occupation  ;  into  wisdom,  eloquence,  readiness,  and  shrewd- 
ness. 

Thus  will  the  teacher  shape  these  little  images  of  God,  or  rather 
fill  up  the  outlines  of  goodness,  power  and  wisdom  impressed  upon 
them  by  the  divine  power.** 

The  art  of  teaching  is  no  shallow  affair,  but  one  of  the  deepest 
mysteries  of  nature  and  salvation. 

X.       U.NUM    NECE95ARIU1I. 

As  we  have  looked  back  upon  the  predecessors  of  Comenius,  so  wo 

*  Meth.  nov.,  133.         t  Ib.,  134.        ;  Ib.,  139,  Ac.        S  Ib.,  1 1->,  Ac.        .  lb.,  U3. 
'Ib,  I'-O.    Saepe  rogare ;  rogata  tenere  ;  retenta  docere.    Hacctria  discipulum  fnciunt  *u- 
perare  magistrum. 

*«Ib.,251 


406  JOHN  AMOS  COMENIUS. 

may  look  forward  for  a  glance  at  his  followers.  Erasmus,  Vives,  Cam- 
panella,  and  especially  Bacon,  had,  as  we  have  seen,  great  influence 
upon  him.  A  fifth  stands  in  still  closer  relation  to  him,  both  in  time 
and  intellectual  connection  ;  namely,  Wolfgang  Ratich.*  Many  of 
Comenius'  principles  seem  to  have  been  taken  from  Ratich.  Among 
these  are,  the  recommendation  of  the  natural  method  instead  of  the 
prevailing  unnatural  one,  the  insisting  upon  the  study  of  the  mother 
tongue,  the  rejection  of  punishment  in  instruction,  the  preference  of 
practice  over  theoretical  rules,  the  acquisition  of  a  knowledge  of  sub- 
stiinces  before  the  analytical  treatment  of  their  accidents,  &c.  By  a 
comparison  of  our  descriptions  of  the  characters  of  Ratich  and  Co- 
menius, the  reader  will  find  still  other  similarities,  and  also  important 
differences.  Although,  for  example,  both  were  Christians;  Ratich 
was  a  decided  adherent  of  the  Lutheran  confession,  while  Comenius' 
highest  ideal  was  a  union  of  all  confessions.  Ratich's  method  of 
teaching  Latin  is  entirely  different  from  Comenius' ;  for  while  the  lat- 
ter requires  every  scholar  to  be  continually  taking  an  active  part  in 
the  instruction,  Ratich  makes  the  teacher  only  read,  and  imposes  up- 
on the  scholar  a  Pythagorean  silence. 

The  influence  of  Comenius  upon  later  pedagogues,  and  especially 
upon  the  Methodians,  is  immeasurable.  It  is  often  difficult  to  judge 
whether  they  knew  him,  or  in  their  own  way  discover  the  same 
things.  In  Rousseau,  Basedow,  and  Pestalozzi,  we  shall  find  much 
that  is  entirely  in  agreement  with  Comenius,  of  which,  however,  I 
will  not  here  anticipate  my  description.  In  the  course  of  this  history 
I  shall  have  frequent  occasion  to  mention  this  extraordinary  man,  for 
the  reason  that  his  works  contain  the  germs  of  so  many  later  devel- 
opments. 

Comenius  is  a  grand  and  venerable  figure  of  sorrow.  Wandering, 
persecuted  and  homeless,  during  the  terrible,  and  desolating  thirty 
years'  war,  he  never  despaired ;  but  with  enduring  and  faithful  truth, 
labored  unweariedly  to  prepare  youth,  by  a  better  education,  for  a 
better  future.  His  undespairing  aspirations  seem  to  have  lifted  up,  in 
a  large  part  of  Europe,  many  good  men,  prostrated  by  the  terrors  of 
the  times,  and  to  have  inspired  them  with  the  hope,  that  by  a  pious 
and  wise  system  of  education,  there  would  be  reared  up  a  race  of 
men  more  pleasing  to  God.  Adolph  Tasse,f  a  learned  professor  at 
Hamburg,  writes :  "  In  all  the  countries  of  Europe,  the  study  of  a 
better  art  of  teaching  is  pursued  with  enthusiasm.  Had  Comenius 

*  Comenius.  as  we  have  related,  applied  to  Ratich  by  letter,  for  information  respecting  the 
hitter's  method,  but  received  no  answer.  He,  however,  knew  Helwig's  Report;  and  proba- 
oly  the  Methodiu  institutionia  nota  Ralichii  et  Jtatichianorvm,  which  appeared  in  H'26. 

t  Tasse,  author  of  many  mathematical  work*,  died  1654.  The  letter  seems  to  be  dated,  1010. 
Opp.  did.,  1,  155. 


JOHN  AMOS  COMEMUS. 


407 


attempted  nothing  more  than  to  sow  such  a  seed  of  suggestions  in 
the  souls  of  all,  he  would  have  attempted  enough." 

I  have  mentioned  that  Comenius  wrote,  in  his  77th  year,  a  Con- 
fession, from  which  we  may  become  acquainted  with  his  piety,  his 
deep  love,  his  unwearied  aspirations  to-do  good  in  the  most  various 
ways.  The  title  of  this  book  is,  "  The  one  thing  needful  to  know ; 
needful  in  life,  in  death,  and  after  death,  which  the  old  man,  Amos 
Comenius,  weary  with  the  uselessness  of  this  world,  and  turning  to 
the  one  thing  needful  for  himself,  in  his  77th  year,  gives  to  the  world 
to  consider."  I  will  conclude  my  description  with  an  extract  from 
this  remarkable  book.* 

"I  have  described  the  universal  labyrinthf  of  the  human  race; 
shall  I  now  record  my  own  errors  ?  I  would  pass  them  over  in  silence, 
did  I  not  know  that  there  have  been  spectators  of  my  deeds  and  of 
my  sorrows ;  did  I  not  fear  to  cause  scandal  by  errors  not  repaired. 
But  since  God  gives  me  a  heart  desirous  of  serving  the  common  good, 
and  has  caused  me  to  play  a  public  part ;  and,  since  some  of  my  ac- 
tions have  been  blamed,  I  have  thought  it  necessary  to  make  mention 
of  it,  to  the  end  that,  although  some  have  thought  me,  or  still  think 
me,  a  model  of  forwardness  and  gratuitous  pains,  they  may  see,  by 
my  example,  how  a  man  may  err  with  the  best  intentions,  and  may 
learn,  by  my  recollections,  either  to  avoid  the  same,  or,  like  me,  to 
repair  them.  The  apostle  says,  '  For  whether  we  be  beside  ourselves, 
it  is  to  God ;  or  whether  we  be  sober,  it  is  for  your  cause.'  This 
ought  every  true  servant  of  God  to  apply  to  himself,  so  that  if  he  has 
committed  any  error,  he  may  confess  it  to  God,  and  if  lie  has  learned 
to  amend  it,  he  may,  as  soon  as  possible,  make  use  of  his  knowledge. 

"  I  also  thank  God  that  I  have,  all  my  life,  been  a  man  of  aspira- 
tions. And,  although  he  has  brought  me  into  many  labyrinths,  yet 
he  has  so  protected  me  that  either  I  have  soon  worked  my  way  out 
of  them,  or,  he  has  brought  me  by  his  own  hand,  to  the  enjoyment 
of  holy  rest.  For  desire  after  good,  if  it  is  always  in  the  heart,  is  a 
living  stream  that  flows  from  God,  the  fountain  of  all  good.  The 
blame  is  ours  if  we  do  not  follow  the  stream  even  to  its  source,  or  to 
its  outflow  into  the  sea,  where  is  fullness  and  satiety  of  good.  Yet,  be- 
sides, by  the  goodness  of  God,  who  always  brings  us  through  the  many 
errors  of  our  labyrinths,  by  the  sacred  Ariadne's  clue  of  his  wisdom, 
in  the  end,  back  again  into  himself,  the  spring  and  ocean  of  all  good. 

*  The  Latin  title  of  the  book,  which  lies  before  me,  is:  "  Unum  necessariuin  in  vita  et 
morte  et  post  mortem,  quod  non-necesaariis  mundi  fatigatus  et  ad  unum  necessarium  «e«« 
recipiens  senex  J.  A.  Couienius  anno  aetati  suae  77  miintlo  expendemlum  oflVrt.  Terent. 
Ad  omnia  aetate  sapimus  rectius.  Edit  Amstelodami  1668,  nunc  vero  r  ecu  sum  Lipsi»e  I7W." 

t  In  the  beginning  of  the  book  he  explains  the  story  of  the  labyrinth  of  Mino»,  a*  an  in- 
structive picture  of  the  manifold  errors  of  man  ;  hence  the  frequent  refrrercw  to  It. 


408  JOHN  AMOS  COMENIU8. 

To  me,  also,  this  lias  happened ;  and  I  rejoice,  that  after  so  innume- 
rable longings  after  better  things,  I  have  always  been  brought  nearer 
to  the  end  of  all  my  wishes ;  since  I  see  that  all  my  doings  hitherto 
have  been  the  mere  running  up  and  down  of  a  busy  Martha,  (yet 
from  love  to  the  Lord  and  his  children  !)  or  a  change  from  running 
to  rest.  But  now,  at  last,  I  lie  with  Mary  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and 
say,  with  David,  'This  is  my  delight,  that  I  believe  in  God!' 

"  One  of  my  chief  employments  has  been  the  improvement  of 
schools ;  which  I  undertook,  and  continued  for  many  years,  from  the 
desire  to  deliver  the  youth  in  the  schools,  from  the  difficult  labyrinth 
in  which  they  are  entangled.  Some  have  held  this  business  foreign 
to  the  office  of  theologians ;  as  if  Christ  had  not  connected  together 
and  given  to  his  beloved  disciple,  Peter,  at  the  same  time,  the  two 
commands:  'Feedjny  sheep,'  and,  'Feed  my  lambs  !'  To  him,  my 
everlasting  love,  I  give  everlasting  thanks  that  he  has  put  into  my 
heart,  and  blest,  such  a  love  to  his  lambs,  that  things  have  turned  out 
as  they  have.  I  hope  and  confidently  expect  it  from  my  God,  that 
my  plans  will  come  into  life,  now  that  the  winter  of  the  church  is 
over,  the  rain  has  been  heard,  and  the  flowers  are  springing  in  the 
land  ;  when  God  shall  give  to  his  flock  shepherds  after  his  own  heart, 
who  will  feed  not  themselves,  but  the  Lord's  flock ;  and  when  the 
enmity  which  is  directed  against  the  living,  shall  cease,  after  their 
death. 

"  My  second  wearisome  and  difficult  labyrinth  was,  my  labors  after 
peace ;  or  my  desire  to  unite  together,  if  it  should  please  God,  the 
parties  of  Christians  who  were  contending  together  over  various  arti- 
cles of  faith,  in  a  most  harmful  manner ;  which  effort  cost  me  much 
pains.  Upon  this  subject,  I  have  not  committed  any  thing  to  print ; 
but  may  yet  do  it.  That  I  have  not  published  any  thing,  is  by  rea- 
son of  the  implacableness  of  certain  people,  whose  furious  hatred  true 
friends  thought  it  unadvisable  for  me  to  draw  upon  myself.  But  I 
will  yet  publish  it,  for,  after  all,  we  must  fear  God  rather  than  men.* 
Our  times  have  been  like  the  experience  of  Elias  upon  Horeb,  when 
be  did  not  dare  come  forth  from  the  cave,  by  reason  of  the  storm- 
wind,  the  fire  and  the  earthquake  from  before  the  Lord.  But  the 
time  will  come  when  Elias  shall  hear  the  still  small  voice,  and  shall 
recognize  in  it  the  voice  of  the  Lord.  To  each  one  his  own  Babylon 
yet  seems  beautiful ;  and  he  believes  it  the  very  Jerusalem,  which 
must  give  precedence  to  none,  but  all  to  it.  It  is  called  insolence,  if 
any  one,  trusting  in  God  and  his  own  good  purposes,  dares  to  address 
himself  to  the  whole  world,  and  to  admonish  it  to  amendment.  We 

*  This  work  remained  unaccomplished,  on  account  of  his  death. 


JOHN  AMOS  COMENID8.  409 

are  all  assembled  together  upon  the  great  theatre  of  the  world,  and 
what  happens  here  or  there  concerns  all.  We  are  all  one  great 
family.  By  the  same  right  by  which  one  member  of  a  family  comes 
to  another  for  help,  ought  we  to  be  helpful  to  our  fellow  men.  The 
whole  of  the  Holy  Scripture  preaches  love  of  our  neighbor,  and  sound 
reason  teaches  the  same.  Socrates  died,  rather  than  not  to  teach 
goodness;  and  Seneca  says,  that  if  wisdom  were  to  be  given  him  for 
himself  only,  and  he  were  not  to  communicate  it  to  any  other,  he 
would  rather  not  have  it. 

"  Besides  this,  I  fell,  but,  according  to  the  will  of  God,  into  another 
strange  labyrinth :  in  that  I  published  the  divine  prophecies  which 
have  been  accomplished  down  to  our  times,  under  the  title,  Lux  in 
tenebris,  or  e  tenebris.  This  brought  upon  me  much  pains  and  labor, 
and  also  much  fear,  enmity,  and  hate ;  and  I  was  derided  for  my  cre- 
dulity. Although  some  of  these  prophecies  may  not  come  to  fulfill- 
ment, I  shall  avoid,  being  angry  thereat,  as  Jonah  was,  to  his  sorrow. 
For  perhaps  God  has  cause  to  change  his  purposes,  or,  at  least,  the 
revelation  of  them ;  perhaps  he  chooses  thus  to  show  that  without 
him  men  know  nothing;  in  order,  at  a  future  time  to  show  what  he 
can  do  without  man,  or  by  means  of  them,  if  he  shall  have  brought 
them  into  accordance  with  his  own  will. 

"  Where  shall  I  now  begin,  after  so  many  labyrinths  and  Sisyphian 
stones,  with  which  I  have  been  played  all  my  life  ?  Shall  I  say  with 
Elias  :  '  Now,  Oh  Lord,  take  away  my  life  from  me,  since  I  am  no  bet- 
ter than  my  fathers;'  or  with  David  :  'Forsake  me  not,  Oh  Lord,  in 
my  age,  until  I  shall  have  prophecied  all  that  thine  arm  shall  bring 
to  pass.'  Neither,  that  I  may  not  be  unhappy  with  painful  longing 
for  the  one  or  the  other ;  but  I  will  have  my  life  and  death,  my  rest, 
and  my  labor,  according  to  the  will  of  God ;  and  with  closed  eyes 
will  follow  wherever  he  leads  me,  full  of  confidence  and  humility, 
praying,  with  David :  '  Lead  me  in  thy  wisdom,  and  at  last  receive 
me  into  glory.'  And  what  I  shall  do  hereafter,  shall  happen  no  oth- 
erwise than  as  if  directed  for  me  by  Christ,  so  that  the  longer  I  live 
the  more  I  may  be  contented  with  what  is  needful  for  me,  and  may 
burn  up  or  cast  away  all  that  is  unnecessary.  Would  that  I  were 
soon  to  depart  to  the  heavenly  country,  and  leave  behind  me  all 
earthly  things !  Yea,  I  will  cast  away  all  the  earthly  cares  which  I 
yet  have,  and  will  rather  burn  in  the  fire,  than  to  encumber  myself 
further  with  them. 

"To  explain  this,  my  last  declaration,  more  clearly,  I  say  that  a  little 
hut,  wherever  it  be,  shall  serve  me  instead  of  a  palace ;  or  if  I  have 
no  place  where  to  lay  my  head,  I  will  be  contented  after  the  example 


410  JOB  N  AMOS  CQMENIUS. 

of  my  master,  though  none  receive  me  under  his  roof.  Or  I  will  re- 
main under  the  roof  of  the  sky,  as  did  he  during  that  last  night 
upon  the  Mount  of  Olives,  until,  like  the  beggar  Lazarus,  the  angels 
shall  receive  me  into  their  company.  Instead  of  a  costly  robe,  I  will 
be  contented,  like  John,  with  a  coarse  garment.  Bread  and  water 
shall  be  to  me  instead  of  a  costly  table,  and  if  I  have  therewith  a  few 
vegetables,  I  will  thank  God  for  them.  My  library  shall  consist  of 
the  threefold  book  of  God ;  my  philosophy  shall  be  with  David,  to 
consider  the  heavens  and  the  works  of  God,  and  to  wonder  that  He, 
the  Lord  of  so  great  a  kingdom,  should  condescend  to  look  upon  a 
poor  worm  like  me.  My  medicine  shall  be  a  little  eating  and  frequent 
fasting.  My  jurisprudence,  to  do  unto  others  as  I  would  that  they 
should  do  unto  me.  If  any  ask  after  my  theology,  I  will,  like  the 
dying  Thomas  Aquinas — for  I,  too,  shall  die  soon — take  my  Bible, 
and  say  with  tongue  and  heart,  '  I  believe  what  is  written  in  this 
book.'  If  he  asks  further  about  my  creed,  I  will  repeat  to  him  the 
apostolical  one,  for  I  know  none  shorter,  simpler,  or  more  expressive, 
or  that  cuts  off  all  controversy.  If  he  ask  for  my  form  of  prayer,  I 
will  show  him  the  Lord's  Prayer;  since  no  one  can  give  a  better  key 
to  open  the  heart  of  the  father  than  his  only  son,  his  own  offspring. 
If  any  ask  after  my  rule  of  life,  there  are  the  ten  commandments ; 
for  I  believe  no  one  can  better  tell  what  will  please  God  than  God 
himself.  If  any  seek  to  know  my  system  of  casuistry,  I  will  answer, 
every  thing  pertaining  to  myself  is  suspicious  to  me  ;  therefore  I  fear 
even  when  I  do  well,  and  say  humbly,  '  I  am  an  unprofitable  servant, 
have  patience  with  me !' 

"  But  what  will  admirers  of  earthly  wisdom  say  to  this  ?  they  will, 
no  doubt,  laugh  at  the  old  fool,  who,  from  the  highest  pinnacle  of  his 
honors,  falls  to  the  lowest  self-abasement.  Let  them  laugh,  if  it 
pleases  them ;  my  heart  will  also  laugh,  that  it  has  escaped  from 
error.  '  I  have  found  the  harbor,  farewell  fate  and  accident  !'  says 
the  poet.  I  say,  I  have  found  Christ ;  depart,  ye  vain  idols !  He  is 
all  to  me.  His  footstool  is  more  to  me  than  all  the  thrones  of  the 
earth,  and  his  lowliness  more  than  all  grandeur.  It  seems  to  me  that 
I  have  found  a  heaven  below  the  heavens,  since  I  see  more  clearly 
than  of  old  the  footsteps  of  this  guide  toward  heaven.  To  follow 
these  footsteps  without  departing  from  them,  will  be  my  surest  way  to 
heaven.  My  life  here  was  not  my  native  country,  but  a  pilgrimage ; 
my  inn  was  ever  changing,  and  I  found  nowhere  an  abiding  resting 
place.  But  now  I  see  my  heavenly  country  near  at  hand,  to  whose 
gates  my  Leader,  my  Light,  my  Saviour,  who  has  gone  before,  to 
prepare  a  place  for  me  in  his  father's  house,  has  brought  me.  He 


PEDAGOGICAL  WORKS  OF  COMENIUS.  4  J  j 

will  soon  come  to  take  me  to  be  where  he  is.  Yea,  Lord  Jesus,  I 
tharfk  thee,  thou  beginner  and  finisher  of  my  faith,  who  hast  brought 
me,  a  foolish  wanderer,  straying  a  thousand  ways  from  the  direction 
of  my  journey,  diverted  and  delayed  in  a  thousand  by-occupations,  so 
far  that  now  I  see  before  me  the  bounds  of  the  promised  land,  and 
have  only  to  cross  the  Jordan  of  death,  to  attain  even  unto  thy  love- 
liness. I  praise  and  glorify  thy  holy  wisdom,  O  my  Saviour,  that 
thou  hast  given  me  on  this  earth  no  home ;  but  that  it  has  been  for 
me  only  a  place  of  banishment  and  pilgrimage ;  and  I  can  say  with 
David,  'I  am  thy  pilgrim  and  thy  citizen.'  I  can  not  say,  like  Ja- 
cob, 'My  days  are  few,  and  they  attain  not  unto  the  days  of  my  fa- 
thers,' for  thou  hast  caused  it  to  come  to  pass  that  they  surpass  the 
days  of  my  father  and  my  grandfather,  and  many  thousands  who 
have  passed  with  me  through  the  desert  of  this  life.  "Why  thou  hast 
done  this,  thou  knowest.  I  commit  myself  into  thine  hands.  Thou 
hast  always  sent  an  angel  unto  me,  as  unto  Elias  in  the  desert,  with 
a  morsel  of  bread  and  a  draught  of  water,  that  I  should  not  die  of 
hunger  and  thirst.  Thou  has  preserved  me  from  the  universal  foolish- 
ness of  men,  who  always  mistake  pleasure  for  real  good ;  the  road 
for  the  destination  ;  striving  after  rest;  the  inn  for  a  home;  and  pil- 
grimage for  their  country ;  but  me  hast  thou  led,  and  even  forced,  to 
thy  Horeb.  Blessed  by  thy  holy  name !" 

PEDAGOGICAL  WORKS  OF  COMEMUB. 

1.  J.tNUA    LlNGUARUM    RE8ERATA    AUREA    8IVE    8EMINAR1FM    LINGCARUM    ET 
8CIENTIARUM  OMNIUM,  hoc  est,  compendiosa  Latinam  (ft  quarnlibet  aliam)  linguam, 
una  cum  scientiarum  artium  que  omnium  fundamentis,  perdiscendi  meihodus,  sub 
titnlis  centum,  periodis   mille   comprehensa.     Kditio   postrema,  prioribus  castiga- 
tior  et  mille  eirciter  vocabulis  auctior,  cum  versions  Germanics  et  Gallic*,  abso- 
lutissimoque  titulorum  et  vocum  indice.     Amstelodami  apud  Joannem  Jansaoni- 
nm.     1642. 

I  am  not  acquainted  with  the  first  edition.  Comenius'  preface  is  signed  with 
•'  Scribebam  in  exilio  4  Martii.  1631." 

2.  PHYSICAE  AD  LUMEN  DIVINUM  REFORMATAE   SYNOPSIS.     Lipsiae,  1633. 

3.  ORBIS  SENSUALISM  PICTUS,  hoc  est  omnium  fundamentalium  in  mundo  re- 
rum  et  in  vita  actionum,  picture  et  nomenclature.     Kditio  secunda,  multo  emacu- 
latior  et  emendatior.     Noribergae  typis  et  sutnptibus  Michaelis  Emlti-ri,  1639. 
The  visible  world ;  that  is,  the  representation  and  names  of  all  the  principal 
things  of  the  world  and  occupations  of  life. 

I  am  unacquainted  with  the  first  edition.  Of  the  later  ones,  I  have  an  Orbis 
Pictus  Quadrilinguis,  in  Latin,  German.  Italian,  and  French,  which  was  edited  by 
Coutelle  and  published  by  Endter,  in  1755. 

4.  OPERA  DIDACTICA  OM.VIA,  variis  hucusque  ocoasionibus  scripta,  diversis  que 
locis  edita,  nunc  antem  non  tantum  in  unum,  nt  simul  sint,  collect*,  xed  et  ultimo 
conntu  in  systema  unum   mechanice  constructum,  redacta.     Amsterdam)  impen- 
sis  D.  Lanrentii  de  Geer  excuderunt  Christophorus  Conradus  et  Gabriel  a  Roy. 
Anno,  1657.     4  vols.,  folio. 

Volume  I.  contains  the  following,  written  between  1627  and  1642  : 

1.  De  primis  occasionibus  quibus  hue  studiorum  delatus  fuit  author,  brevissima 
relatio. 

2.  Didactics  Magna.     Omnes  omnia  docendi  artificia  exhibens. 

3.  Schola  materni  gremi,  sive  de  provida  juveiitutis  primo  sexennio  education*. 


412  PEDAGOGICAL  WORKS  OF  COMENIUS. 

4.  Scholae  vernaculae  dclineatio. 

5.  Janua  Latinae  linguae  pritnum  edita.     (The  first  edition  of  the  Janua.) 

6.  Vestibulum  ei  pracstructa. 

7.  Proplasma  tcmpli  Latinitatis  Dav.  Vechneri. 

8.  I  >«•  M-ninitiis  Latin!  studio. 

9.  Prodromus  Pansophiae. 

10.  Variorum  de  eo  censurae,  &c. 

Volume  II.  contains  treatises  written  from  1642  to  1650;  especially  those  of 
his  Swedish  engagement,  viz. : 

1.  De  novis  didactica  studia  continuandi  oceasionibus. 

2.  Methodus  linguarum  novissima. 

3.  Latinae  linguae  vestibulum,  rerum  et  linguae  cardines  exhibens. 

4.  Januae  liuguarum  novissimae  elavis,  grammatica  Latino-vernacula. 
Volume  III.  contains  treatises  written  by  Comenius  in  Hungary,  from  1650  to 

1654,  viz. : 

1.  De  vocatione  in  Hungarian*  relatio. 

2.  Scholae  pansophicae  delineatio. 

3.  De  repertis  studii  pansophici  obicibus. 

4.  De  ingeniorum  cultura. 

5.  De  ingenia  colendi  primario  instrumento,  libris. 

6.  De  reperta  ad  authores  Latinos  prompte  legendos  et  clare  intelligendos  faci- 
li,  brevi,  amoenaque  via. 

7.  Eruditionis  seholasticae  pars  1.     Vestibulum,  rerum  et  linguae  fundamenta 
ponens.  • 

8.  Eruditionis  seholasticae  pars  II.     Janua  rerum  et  linguarum  structuram  ex- 
ternam  exhibens.     This  includes 

a.  Lexicon  januale. 

b.  Grammatica  jaaualis. 

c.  Janualis  rerum  et  verborum  contextus,  historiolam  rerum  continens.     This  is 
a  revision  of  the  Janua  reserata,  in  one  hundred  chapters  and  one  thousand  para- 
graphs, as  in  the  first  edition. 

9.  Eruditiones  seholasticae  pars  III.     Atrium,  rerum  et  linguarum  ornamenta 
exhibens.     This  is,  like  the  Janua,  in  one  hundred  chapters  and  one  thousand 
paragraphs,  but  one  grade  above  it. 

10.  Fortius  redivivus,  sive  de  pellenda  scholis  ignavia. 

11.  Praecepta  morum  in  usutn  juventutis  collecta.     Anno  1653. 

12.  Leges  bene  ordinatae  scholae. 

13.  Orbis  Pictus.     Merely  a  sort  of  announcement  of  the  work. 

14.  Schola  ludus  ;  hoc  est,  Januae  linguarum  praxis  comica.     This  is,  substan- 
tially the  contents  of  the  Janua  linguarum  in  the  form  of  a  dialogue. 

15.  Laborum  scholasticorum  in  Hungaria  obitorum  coronis.     An  educational 
address  delivered  at  his  departure  from  Patak,  in  1654. 

Volume  IV.  includes  the  treatises  written  by  Comeuius  in  Amsterdam,  up  to 
the  year  ]  657,  viz. : 

1.  Vita  gyms,  sive  de  occasionibus  vitae  et  quibus  autorem  in  Belgium  deferri, 
iterumque  ad  intermissa  didactica  studia  redire  contigit. 

2.  Parvulis  parvulis,  omnibus  omnia,  hoc  est,  Vestibuli  Latinae  linguae  aucta- 
riuni.  voces  primitivns  in  sentontiolas  redigens. 

3.  Apologia  pro  Latinitate  Januae  linguarum. 

4.  Ventilabrum  sapientiae,  sive  sapienter  sua  retractandi  ars. 

5.  E  pcholasticis  iabyrinthus  exitus  in  planum,  sive  machina  didactica  mechau- 
ice  constructa. 

6.  I.atium  redivivum,  hoc  est,  de  forma  erigendi  Latinissimi  collegii,  seu  novae 
Romanae  civitatulae,  ubi  l.atiiia  lingua  usu  et  consuetudine  addiscatur. 

7.  Typographeum  vivum,  hoc  est ;  arscom  pendiose  et  tamen  copiose  ac  ele- 
gantcr  sapientiam  non  chartis  sed  ingeniis  imprimendi. 

8.  Paradisus  juventuti  Christianae  reducendus,  sive  optimus  scholarum  status, 
ad  primae  paradisiaeae  seholae  ideam  delineatus. 

9.  Tr.-ulitio  lampadis,  hoc  est  studiorum  sapientiae  Christianaeque  juventutis  et 
Bcholarum,  Deo  et  hominibus  devota  commendatio. 

10.  Piiralipomena  didnctica. 

It  may  be  added,  that  Comenius  revised  an  edition  which  appeared  in  1661, 
of  the  Theologia  naturalis  sive  liber  creaturarum  of  Raymundus  de  Sabunde. 


EDUCATION  IN  PERIODS  OF  WAR  AND  PEACE. 

[Translated  from  the  German  of  Karl  Von  Raumer,  for  the  American  Journal  of  Education  ) 


I.       THE    THIRTT    YEARS'    WAR    IN    GERMANY. 

THE  "  Thirty  Years'  War/'  which  broke  out  in  1618-19,  is  the 
most  dreadful  period  in  the  history  of  Germany.  Its  armies  were 
great  bands  of  murderers  and  robbers.  The  spirit  of  peace  and  holy 
order  had  entirely  perished  ;  and  murder,  license,  and  robbery  reigned 
without  opposition.  So  fearful  were  the  results  of  devastation  and 
impious  recklessness,  that  pious  men  began  to  doubt  even  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  God.  "The  country  was  desolated,  plundered,  empty  of 
men — a  desert  for  wolves  and  savage  beasts.  Of  schools  and  teach- 
ers nothing  was  said."* 

The  histories  of  those  German  institutions  which  date  back  to  the 
thirty  years'  war  confirm  these  statements.  I  shall  quote  a  few  of 
them. 

The  Protestant  school  at  Friedberg,  in  Hesse,  suffered  during  that 
time  "immeasurable  evils."  The  pestilence  and  poverty  which  re- 
sulted from  the  war  robbed  it  of  many  of  its  scholars.  In  1630  it 
was  almost  destroyed  by  the  Austrians  and  Bavarians;  but  was  re- 
established f  in  1631,  when  the  Swedes  entered  Friedberg,  after  the 
siege  of  Leipzig  by  Gustavus  Adolphus.  The  Protestant  gymnasium 
flt  Hersfeld  was  put  in  possession  of  Catholic  priests  and  Jesuit 
teachers  in  1829.  Tilly  was  at  hand  to  enforce  the  Edict  of  Restitu- 
tion by  arms,  and  raved  fearfully  about  it.  In  1G32  the  gymnasium 
received  its  Protestant  teachers  back  again ;  but  was  entirely  destroyed 
in  1634  by  the  imperial  general,  Gotz — the  teachers  fleeing  to  Kassel 
and  elsewhere.  In  1636  instruction  was  again  commenced;  and,  in 
1637,  when  the  imperialist  troops  again  came  to  Hersfeld,  it  had  to 
be  closed.  It  was  soon  reopened,  and  vegetated  painfully  through 

*  Raumer's  "History  of  Europe,"  HI  ,  506.  Two  religions  hymns,  of  the  time  of  the  thirty 
years'  war.  afford  the  deepest  glimpse  into  the  melancholy  feelings  of  upright  men.  One  by 
Meder,  a  pastor  in  the  Circle  of  Leipzig,  begin?,  "  When,  oh  when  will  it  appear,  our  much- 
longed-for  day  of  peace?"  The  other,  by  Martin  Rinckart,  (15<f>— 1W9.)  it  a  parorty  upon 
the  Lord's  Prayer.  It  begins,  "  Our  father  will  no  longer  be  the  father  of  the  miserable  :  " 
and  azain,  "Shall  thy  name  be  entirely  forgotten  upon  earth?"  and,  -'Shall  thy  will  ncTer 
more  be  done  upon  earth  ?  "  It  ends,  however,  with  a  hopeful  prayer  for  relief,  ami  wi;h  the 
words,  "Thou  hast  the  kingdom,  and  the  power,  and  the  glory  over  hell  and  drain." 

t-'  Account  of  the  Augustine  School  at  Friedberg,"  by  Trof.  Ditffrnbach.  Programme, 
1325,  p.  12,  ice. 


414  EDUCATION  IN  PERIODS  OF  WAR  AND  PEACE. 

those  troubled  times,  until  its  first  accession  of  renewed  vigor,  after 
the  Peace  of  Westphalia.* 

Gottingen  was  besieged  for  nearly  two  months  in  1626,  and  terribly 
bombarded.  Under  the  pressure  of  the  extremest  want,  the  then 
celebrated  rector,  Georg  Andreas  Fabricius,  accepted  a  call  to  the 
gymnasium  at  Mulhausen ;  and  with  him  there  departed  the  other 
teachers  and  the  pupils  from  other  places.f  He  was  afterward  invited 
back  to  Gottingen,  but  in  1641  was  without  income  and  five  hundred 
thalers  in  arrear. 

Schulpforte  suffered  much  by  the  war.  The  minister,  Martin 
Caulbel,j  came  to  Pforte,  August  2d,  1632,  through  the  midst  of 
Wallenstein's  army.  In  the  same  year  the  pupils  were  dispersed  by 
hostilities,  and  returned  next  year.  In  1636  they  were  twice  dis- 
missed, on  account  of  attacks  by  the  enemy;  in  1647,  when  Field- 
Marshal  Leslie  had  his  winter-quarters  near  Pforte,  they  were  dis- 
missed for  seventeen  weeks ;  there  being  no  means  of  subsistence 
either  for  them  or  the  teachers.  On  the  18th  of  February,  1639, 
both  teachers  and  pupils  were  again  dispersed  by  Bannier's  cavalry. 
When  the  minister  of  Schulpforte  returned,  on  the  23d  of  the  same 
month,  with  five  scholars,  they  were  obliged  by  necessity  to  eat  oaten 
bread  until  the  next  harvest.  On  the  16th  of  April,  1641,  the  boys, 
twelve  in  number,  were  hunted  away  again  by  Duke  Bernhard's 
forces,  under  General  Rose.  "  God  will  repay  the  general  and  his 
soldiers  at  the  last  day,"  writes  Besold,  then  the  minister  ;  "  for  they 
tortured  two  of  the  pupils  by  cords  twisted  round  their  heads."  On 
the  21st  of  May,  Besold  and  two  scholars  returned  to  Pforte.  The 
centennial  festival  of  the  institution  fell  in  the  year  1643;  but  such 
was  the  devastation  of  the  war  that  only  eleven  boys  sorrowfully  cele- 
brated the  memory  of  the  foundation  of  the  school. 

It  was  only  to  the  school  at  Schweinfurt  that  the  war  seemed  to 
bring  good  fortune.§  After  the  battle  of  Leipzig,  Gustavus  Adolphus 
entered  Schweinfurt,  October  2d,  1631.  The  citizens  treated  his 
troops  exceedingly  well,  and  gave  much  assistance  in  fortifying  th.e 
city.  In  return,  the  Swedish  king  presented  them  with  seventeen 
valuable  villages,!  wil.h  the  express  condition  that  the  rents  and  in- 
comes should  be  in  part  devoted  "  to  the  erection  of  a  gymnasium  for 
the  glory  of  God  and  the  benefit  of  studious  youth."  After  the 
death  of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  at  Lutzen,  and  the  evacuation  of  the 

*  "  Hertfeld  Gymnasium  Programme,"  by  Director  Dr.  Mtlnscher.  1836,  p.  8,  &c. 
t "  GSttingen  Gymnasium  Programme,"  by  Director  Dr.  Hirsleu.  1829,  p.  22,  &c. 
}  H.  E.  Schmiederi,  "  Commenturii  dt  ritis  Pastorum  ct  Inttpectorum  Porlensium."  1838, 

p.  31,  AT. 

i  "  History  of  the  Latin  School  and  Gymnasium  at  Schieeirifurt,"  by  Prof.  Wuinich.    Pro- 
gramme for  1831.  p.  4,  &c. 
I  The  letter  of  gift  wa»  dated  at  Frankfort  on  the  Main,  March  3d,  1638. 


EDUCATION  IN  PERIODS  OF  WAR  AND  PEACE.  415 

territories  of  Wurtzburg  by  the  Swedes,  the  bishop  resumed  posses- 
sion of  the  villages,  which  had  been  his  property  before.  Notwith- 
standing, the  magistrates  added  to  the  already  existing  six  classes  of 
their  Latin  school  a  seventh,  with  the  name  of  Gymnasium  Gustavia- 
num.  This  was  consecrated  in  1634,  and  the  burgomaster,  (Dr. 
Bausch,)  a  senator,  and  several  clergymen,  undertook  to  give  instruc- 
tion in  it  gratis.  The  honorable  public  spirit  of  the  citizens  maintained 
the  school  under  the  severest  misfortunes  of  the  war;*  and  it  only 
ceased  to  exist,  at  the  end  of  one  hundred  and  seventy  years,  in  1804. 

A  gymnasium  was  founded  in  Stargard  by  the  legacy  of  Burgo- 
master Peter  Groning,  and  was  opened  in  September,  1633.  But,  in 
1635,  the  city  was  besieged  by  the  imperialists,  and  became  a  prey  to 
the  flames — only  the  church  of  St.  Peter  and  nineteen  houses  remain- 
ing. The  gymnasium  building  itself  was  also  burnt,  and  the  teachers 
were  dispersed.  For  some  time  there  was  no  school  held.  Two 
teachers  then  gradually  gathered  the  scholars  again,  and  one  of  them, 
Conroctor  Bindemann,  was  appointed  rector,  after  there  had  been 
none  for  eleven  years.f 

The  gymnasium  at  Goldberg,  once  famous  far  and  wide,  by  means 
of  Trotzendorf,  quite  perished  in  1621,  as  did  that  of  Beuthen,  in 
1629.  Thaftof  Oels  fell  into  great  distress.  In  1639  an  imperial 
regiment  was  quartered  in  Oels;  in  1640  the  city  was  besieged,  un- 
successfully, by  the  Swedes,  taken  and  plundered  by  them  in  1642, 
and  afterward  taken  by  the  imperialists.  Biebing,  rector  of  the  gym- 
nasium, wrote  at  that  time,  "  Truly,  among  so  many  and  so  groat 
miseries,  to  live  in  Oels  means  to  starve,  to  die  before  our  time,  and 
daily  to  have  a  foretaste  of  the  torments  of  hell."J 

In  1648,  the  year  of  peace,  Duke  Georg  Rudolph  established  a 
school  for  princes  in  the  church  of  St.  John,  at  Liegnitz.  He  be- 
stowed upon  it  the  revenues  of  the  late  Goldberg  gymnasium,  as  he 
says  in  his  decree  of  establishment,  dated  28th  of  April,  1646,  "for 
the  re-establishment,  renovation,  and  improvement  of  all  the  praise- 
worthy institutions  of  our  forefathers,  for  church  and  school,  which  it 
has  been  an  impossibility  to  maintain,  by  reason  of  the  thirty  years' 
war."§ 

So  much  may  suffice  to  show  how  destructive  was  the  effect  of  the 
terrible  desolation  of  the  thirty  years'  war  on  the  schools  of  our  un- 
fortunate fatherland. 

*  Octavio  Piccolonlini  bombarded  Schweinfurt,  after  the  battle  of  Norrtlinfen,  with  redliot 
balls,  and  took  it ;  and  the  Swedish  general,  Wangel,  took  it  in  1647.  The  imperial  fronpc 
alone  had  exacted  from  (he  cily  ransoms  to  the  amount  of  2SJ.610  ftilden. 

t  "  History  of  the  Gymnasium  of  Stargard,"  by  Director  and  School-Councilor  F»ltw. 
1831,  p.  6,  &c. 

J  '•  Gymnasium  Programme,"  by  Director  Dr.  I-ange.     1841,  p.  1C.  Ac. 

$  "  Gymnasium  Programme  of  Li'gnitt,"  by  Prorector  M.  K0hl«r.     1837,  p.  14. 
No.  19.— iVou  VII.,  No.  2.]—  24. 


416  EDUCATION  IN  PERIODS  OP  WAR  AND  PEACE. 

When,  however,  the  war  came  to  an  end,  this  destruction  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  period  of  "  re-establishment  and  renovation."  We  shall 
consider  this  more  in  detail,  after  we  shall  have  become  acquainted 
with  the  life  and  labors  of  Comenius,  who  lived  and  suffered  through 
the  whole  of  the  thirty  years'  war. 

II.       THR    CKNTURY    AFTER   THE    PKACE    OF   WESTPHALIA. 

After  the  conclusion  of  the  peace  of  Westphalia,  all  good  princes 
and  magistrates  of  free  cities  took  an  interest  in  the  re-establishment 
of  schools.  This  was  the  more  necessary  since  the  generation  which 
had  grown  up  since  and  during  the  desolating  thirty  years'  war  had 
degenerated  as  well  in  morals  and  religion  as  in  knowledge. 

The  plans  of  school  organization  which  appeared  first  after  the  war 
agree  mostly  with  those  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Latin  continued 
the  chief  study ;  and  next  was  Greek. 

Programmes  of  a  later  date,  in  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  and  the 
first  ten  years  of  the  next  century,  show  a  much  altered  character. 
The  old  studies  were  pursued  no  longer  after  the  old  methods ;  and 
an  increasing  number  of  new  ones  were  gradually  introduced  into  the 
circle  of  learning. 

We  will  first  consider  the  methods  followed  in  teaching  Latin. 

In  the  school-plan  published  in  1654,  by  the  council  of  Frankfort 
on  the  Main,  daily  exercises  in  speaking  Latin  were  required.  "Any 
one,"  it  says,  "  who  shall  speak  otherwise  than  in  Latin,  or  any  thing 
indecent  or  blasphemous,  shall  be  punished  at  the  time  of  his  trans- 
gression, but  with  good  discretion.1'  Entirely  in  agreement  with 
Trotzendorf,  Sturm,  and  the  Jesuits.  Whether  this  kind  of  speaking 
Latin  were  judicious,  Feuerlein,  inspector  of  the  Nuremberg  Gymna- 
sium, doubts.*  "Hitherto,"  he  says,  "our  leges  have  required  of  the 
boys  even  in  the  lower  classes,  sub  pocna,  to  speak  nothing  but  Latin  ; 
with  the  intention,  besides  the  usu  expeditiore  kujus  Zm«7WC5,that  they 
should  not  be  able  to  chatter  so  much  with  each  other."  Others,  on 
the  other  hand,  were  so  "scrupulos"  that  they  would  not  require  any 
speaking  whatever  of  Latin  from  the  boys,  in  order  that  they  might 
not  become  used  to  a  vulgar  Latin.f  There  should  be  a  middle  way 
between  this  excessive  scrupulosity,  "  for  the  sake  of  preserving  the 
language  of  the  young  by  means  of  Latin,  or  rather  the  Latin  by 

*  "  The  Falet  hitherto  of  the  Nuremberg  Gymnasium  of  St.  jEgidius.  rebuilt  from  the 
ground  out  of  its  ashes,  in  three  completed  periods;  and  the  institution  for  instruction  and 
discipline  as  renewed  and  improved  in  the  fourth  period,  now  passing,"  &•<;  By  J.  C.  Feuer- 
lein.  pastor  of  St.  JSgidius  and  inspector  of  the  gymnasium.  1£99,  p.  95. 

>  Feuerlein  Cites  here  Wagenseil's  "  Prttcepta  dt  copia  terborum  "  and  "  De  stylo."  (Joh. 
Chrirtoph  Wagenseil,  born  at  Nuremberg,  1633;  died  in  1706.  while  professor  at  Altorf;  an 
eminent  man  of  learning  in  his  day.  tie  wrote,  among  oilier  things,  upon  the  education  of  a 
prince,  who  abhors  study  above  all  things.)  He  says,  in  the  place  quoted,  ''Infants  are  forth- 
with taught  to  attempt  I  .at  in  expressions ;  boys  are  forbidden,  under  severe  penalties,  from 


EDUCATION  IN  PERIODS  OF  WAR  AND  PEACE.  417 

means  of  their  tongue,  and  the  fear  that  the  boys  would  become  ac- 
customed to  mere  sorry  kitchen-Latin."  They  must  not  speak  Latin 
among  themselves,  but  only  under  the  oversight  of  their  teacher.* 
"As  for  the  rest,"  says  Feuerlein,  "I  do  not  believe  it  is  necessary  to 
forbid  our  youth  from  speaking  Latin  among  themselves. 

Evidently  speaking  Latin  began  to  be  regarded  with  other  eyes  in 
the  previous  century,  for  it  was  required  of  all,  even  the  youngest 
scholars.  Having  been  regarded  as  a  second  mother-tongue  for  the 
boys,  it  had  been  taught  like  the  mother-tongue.  Just  as  the  latter 
is  at  first  spoken  by  infants  in  mere  attempts,  in  a  most  disfigured 
manner,  and  only  gradually  with  fewer  faults,  so  the  youngest  scholars 
had  been  permitted  to  speak  the  most  helpless,  gibberish  Latin.  But 
now  a  different  rule  was  established.  The  boys  were  rather  to  bo 
silent  than  to  speak  bad  Latin ;  and  good  Latin  was  to  be  learned  by 
the  continued  reading  of  the  classics.  Was  the  Latin  then  no  longer 
regarded  as  a  second  mother-tongue  ?  Such  an  altered  state  of  af- 
fairs is  indicated  by  the  following  facts.  Previously,  Latin  had  been 
learned  from  the  Latin  grammars;  a  practice  which  Ratich  was  the 
first  to  oppose.f  He  was  followed  by  the  school  ordinances  of  the 
second  half  of  the  seventeenth  century  and  the  first  decennium  of  the 
eighteenth.  "  In  Quinta,'1^  says  the  Frankfort  school  ordinance,  "the 
new  German  grammar  shall  be  used  instead  of  the  '  Compendium 
Grammaticce  Giessensis?  "§  Feuerlein,  of  Nuremberg,)]  says  that  it  is 
a  question  to  be  considered,  "  whether,  in  learning  Latin,  the  use  of 
a  grammar  written  in  Latin  should  be  continued,  or  whether  it  would 
not  be  found  best  to  introduce  one  written  in  German  ?  "  Some  made 
use  of  the  German  grammar  of  Seybold.  The  celebrated  Mark 
grammar,  prepared  in  1728,  by  the  rectors  of  Berlin,  was  in 
German. 

uttering  a  word  except  Latin  at  home,  at  school,  or  amongst  their  playfellows.  Thus  it  hap- 
pens that,  by  saying  whatever  comes  into  their  mouths,  and  many  words  which  it  would  be 
better  not  to  hear,  they  contract,  unwisely,  the  habit,  not  of  latin  eloquence,  but  merely  of 
Latin  talk." 

*  In  like  manner,  it  is  said,  in  the  "  Ordinance  of  the  Honorable  Council  of  Hamburg  for 
the  Public  St.  John's  School,  1732,"  that  '-the  youth  shall  speak  Latin,  especially  in  the  two 
higher  classes,  and  that  there  shall  be  examinations  under  the  charge  of  the  preceptor,  to  see 
that  the  boys  speak  Latin  with  each  other."  Page  15. 

t  Anil  after  him  Comenius  and  Balthazar  Srhuppius  (1610—1661.)  The  latter  says :  '-The 
first  hindrance  which  makes  the  grammar  difficult  and  unnatural  is  that  (hey  have  to  learn 
it  in  a  language  unknown  to  them  ;  that  the  pretcrpta  grommaticti  are  laid  before  them  in 
Latin  ;  and  thus  it  is  naught  to  teach  them  ignotum  per  tt'/ur  ignolum,  and  to  bring  them,  by 
means  which  they  do  not  understand,  to  the  attainment  of  a  subject  which  they  do  not  under- 
stand."— B.  Schuppius'  Works,  p.  161.  J.  M.  Gesner's  opinion  was.  that  the  une  in  German 
schools  of  grammars  written  in  .Latin  was  not  at  all  suitable  for  beginners,  but  only  for  Mich 
a*  had,  by  other  means,  already  obtained  some  knowledge  of  Latin. — Qesner's  "  Minor  Ger- 
man Writings,"  302. 

I  Sc.  classi*  ;  5lh  c'ass. 

$  In  Quarta,  however,  the  Giessen  grammar  was  used. 

I  L.  c  ,  64.  2  A 


418  EDUCATION  IN  PERIODS  OF  WAR  AND  PEACE. 

A  comparison  of  the  earlier  dramatic  representations  in  the  schools 
with  the  later  ones  is  in  place  here.*  Sturm  required  that,  every 
week,  a  piece  from  Terence  or  Plautus  should  be  acted  ;  his  design 
being  the  attainment  of  facility  in  speaking  Latin.  Many  schools 
followed  his  advice.f  In  Oels,  Terence  or  the  Colloquies  of  Erasmus 
were  used;  in  Liegnitz,J  in  1617,  "  Terentius  Christianus"  was  rec- 
ommended. "Notwithstanding,"  the  recommendation  continue?,  "let 
us  adhere  to  the  opinions  of  the  renowned  Herr  Sturmius,  whose 
counsel  is  to  make  use  in  the  schools  rather  of  recitations  and  scenic 
performances  than  of  tedious  readings  and  explanations  of  the  come- 
dies and  tragedies.  In  Gottingen,  also,  pieces  from  Plautus  and 
Terence  were  represented.§ 

But  this  principle  was  not  adhered  to.  At  one  time  the  teachers 
of  gymnasiums  themselves  began  to  write  pieces,  sometimes  very  ex- 
traordinary, in  Latin ;  with  the  purpose  of  attaining  the  original  end 
of  practice  in  speaking  Latin,  and  at  the  same  time  of  avoiding  the 
indecencies  of  Terence ;  but  after  a  time  the  use  of  German  compo- 
sitions, which  began  as  early  as  in  the  sixteenth  century,  seems  to 
have  altogether  prevailed.  There  was  no  longer  any  pains  taken 
about  practice  in  speaking  Latin.  Among  the  Latin  school -dram  as, 
the  "Behasar,  Lutherus,  and  Jesulus  comoedia  sacra  de  nativitate" 
by  Hirtzwig,  rector  at  Frankfort,  was  celebrated. ||  Rector  Tesmar 
caused  to  be  exhibited,  at  Neustettin,  in  1684,  a  comedy  "De  rustico 
ebrio  qui  princeps  creabatur"^ 

At  the  gymnasium  at  Salzwedel,  Alexander  the  Great,  after  Cur- 
tius,  was  exhibited.**  It  contained,  besides  the  historical  persons,  the 
Angel  Gabriel,  Fame,  a  multitude  of  pages,  a  ghost,  and  a  courier. 
Another  piece  was  Epaminondas  before  the  criminal  court  at  Thebes. 
Between  two  Latin  acts  was  introduced  an  entirely  inappropriate  Ger- 
man interlude,  which  represented  the  strife  between  choral  and  figural 
music ;  in  which  Apollo  and  the  muses  appeared.  In  the  drama  of 
Hercules  at  the  parting  of  the  ways,  there  appeared  the  seven  arts, 
three  soldiers,  three  students  who  sang  the  students'  song,  <fec.  And 
these  pieces  were  much  exceeded  by  the  later  German,  or  rather  Ger- 
man-Latin and  German-French,  school-dramas  in  deplorable  tasteless- 
ness.  Thus  there  was  exhibited  at  the  gymnasium  at  Thorn,  in  1723, 

'  I  only  touch  upon  the  German  school-dramas,  and  refer  to  Genrinus  for  a  rich  array  of 
facts  relating  to  them,  to  which  I  make  a  few  additions.  R«e  his  celebrated  "  History  of  No- 
timin!  1'oelical  Littrnture  of  thf.  Germans."  III.,  69,  etc.  ;  among  others,  pp.  83  anU  87—94. 

t  ••  Oels  Gymnasium  Programme."  by  C.  Leissing.     1841,  p.  21. 

}  "  Lifgnilz  Gymnasium  Programme,"  by  Director  M.  KChler.    1841,  p.  21. 

I  Director  Kirslrn,  1827,  p.  15. 

I  Vumel,  1.  •-..  13. 

*  ''  Ilis/ory  of  ffeustettin  Gymnasium,"  by  Director  A.  Giesebrecht     Page  19. 

"  "  Invitation  to  the  School  Festival  of  the  Gymnasium  at  Snlzuedel."  by  Rector  DanneiL 
1833,  p.  64. 


EDUCATION  IN  PERIODS  OF  WAR  AND  PEACE.  419 

an  "Actus  dramaticus  of  Joseph  distressed  and  exalted,"  in  which 
the  author,  a  teacher  in  the  gymnasium,  himself  played.  "  Xow,"  he 
says,  "I  have  selected  a  biblical  subject,  and  have  obtained  permis- 
sion from  our  masters,  the  school  officers,  to  represent  the  same  in  this 
theater ;  and  also  to  invite  to  the  same,  with  our  most  humble  obliga- 
tions, all  and  every  one  of  the  high  patrons  and  patronesses  of  our 
Parnassus — requesting  them  with  friendly  kindness  to  favor  us  with 
their  presence  for  some  few  hours,"  <fcc.  The  play  is  a  mixture  of 
rococo-gallantry  and  coarseness.* 

The  drama  called  Stargaris,  on  the  bad  and  good  fortune  of  the 
town  of  Stargard,  which  the  Stargard  scholars  acted  apparently  in 
1668,  in  a  large  warehouse,  must  have  been  without  gallantrv,  but 
still  coarser.  In  the  third  act,  there  appeared  two  adulterers,  with  an 
adulterous  and  loose  woman,  who  conversed  not  in  the  most  decent 
manner ;  until  there  appear  the  wives  of  the  faithless  husbands,  who 
assault  them  with  slippers  and  distaffs.  In  the  second  act,  where  the 
masons,  at  the  command  of  the  magistrates,  are  building  the  wall  of 
the  city,  there  occurs  some  violent  quarreling.  And  this  play  was 
acted  before  the  assembled  authorities  of  the  vicinity.f 

Although  Sturm  and  others,  by  these  Latin  school-dramas,  pro- 
posed that  the  scholars  who  acted  them  should  learn  to  speak 
Latin,  and  others  again  sought  the  edification  and  at  the  same 
time  the  amusement  both  of  scholars  and  spectators,  and  therefore 
exhibited  German  plays,  Miiller,  rector  at  Zittau,  describes  the  object 
of  these  plays  to  be  "  The  exercising  of  the  students  by  public  come- 
dies in  oratory  and  political  decorum.''  Of  six  comedies  exhibited,  he 
himself  wrote  four,  by  the  exhibition  of  which  many  had  "acquired 
better  morals,  and  had  learned  to  fill  better  than  before  their  places 
in  the  political  world."  They  are  designed  for  the  training  of  the 
memory  ;  "  since,"  he  says,  "  we  did  not  seek  the  empty  pleasure  of 
idle  minds,  but  benefited  in  study  and  in  conduct.  For  we  would 
not  willingly  rank  among  those  whom  men  call  Merry  Andrews,  and 
who  divert  the  mob  with  vulgar  follies." 

Who  can  not  trace  here,  as  well  as  in  the  above  introduction  to 
the  play  at  Thorn,  the  influence  of  the  age  of  Louis  XIV.?  But  I 
shall  speak  of  this  point  further  on ;  and  at  present  will  only  say 
this  :  The  ne\v  principle,  that  the  youngest  scholars  were  not  to  sjx-ak 
Latin,  and  were  not  to  learn  from  the  grammar  in  Latin  ;  the  decline 
of  Latin  school-dramas,  previously  acted  by  the  scholars,  in  order  to 
facilitate  speaking  Latin ;  all  these  indicate  that  Latin  was  no  longer 
sought  to  be  made  a  second  mother-tongue,  and  that  the  true  mother- 
tongue  was  beginning  to  attain  to  its  natural  and  real  rights.  This 

*  Richter's  "  Prutsiun  Provincial  Journal,"  Nov.,  1S41,  p.  456.          t  Falbe,  p   14,  13. 


420  EDUCATION  IN  PERIODS  OF  WAR  AND  PEACE. 

will  now  be  made  strikingly  evident  to  us  from  other  sources ;  and  it 
will  become  quite  clear  when  we  shall  have  glanced  over  the  history 
of  Latin  in  Germany,  and  especially  of  its  relations  with  the  German 
language  from  the  earliest  times  to  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 
century. 

The  requirement  to  speak  and  write  Latin  is  the  last  echo  of  the 
old  Romish  dominion  over  a  great  part  of  Europe  ;*  for  the  Romans 
forced  their  language  upon  the  conquered  nations.  The  Romish  pa- 
pacy, as  well  as  the  German  emperors,  inherited  this  ruling  language, 
which  was  that  both  of  church  and  state.  In  general,  however,  Ger- 
man was  the  language  of  government,  and  French  of  diplomacy ; 
and  thus,  after  the  Reformation,  Latin  remained  the  language  of  the 
Bible,  of  religion,  and  of  the  courts  of  justice,  only  among  the 
Catholics. 

Thus  partly  driven  from  the  church  and  the  state,  the  speaking  and 
writing  of  Latin  fled  to  the  domain  of  learning;  it  should  serve  as 
the  general  medium  of  intercourse,  written,  printed,  and  oral,  among 
all  the  learned  men  of  Europe. 

It  however  gradually  withdrew  itself  from  this  sphere  also,  espe- 
cially at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  and  in  the  beginning  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  Burmann,  in  an  oration  at  Leyden,  in  the  year 
1715,  complained  that,  "  Within  a  little  time,  the  serious  German  na- 
tion has  proceeded  toward  the  disuse  of  the  Latin  speech,  so  that 
in  university  chairs  and  in  schools  only  the  mother-tongue  is  heard." 

The  intellectual  and  learned  Matthias  Gesner  expresses  himself 
clearly  upon  this  subject.  "  In  vain,"  he  says,f  "  it  has  been  held  a 
sin  to  speak  any  thing  but  Latin  in  our  universities.  And  yet,  sixty 
or  seventy  years  ago,  none  dared  to  break  the  rule.  But  when  the 
University  of  Halle  was  founded,  in  1695,  some  few  began  to  violate 
it.  The  first  was  Christian  Thomasius,  who  read  German  because  he 
did  not  understand  Latin.  But  he  had  quite  sufficient  reasons  be- 
sides this  for  doing  so.  For  at  that  time  learned  men  spoke  Latin, 
it  is  true ;  but  after  such  a  manner  that  it  would  have  been  better  for 
them  to  speak  German.  Yes,  even  had  Latin  not  been  taught  in  the 
schools  and  universities,  that  language  would  not  have  been  injured 
by  it.  Thus  then  the  ignorance  of  Thomasius  was  the  first  reason  for 
this  change,  but  the  second  and  entirely  just  one  was  that  the  Latin 
language  should  not  come  to  entire  destruction.  It  was  that  men 
of  education,  who  understood  Latin,  were  in  favor  of  the  use  of  the 
German,  and  advised  in  future  to  teach  it,  while  the  few  barbarians 

* "  Leges  sermone  mio,  imperiutn  quasi  pne  ec  ferent  contcriptas,  imposuerunt  debellata: 
fenli." 

t "  lungoge,"  Vol.  1.,  102.  Oener'i  lectures,  (Primce  lintct  liagogei  in  eruditionem 
univerialem,)  began  about  1742. 


EDUCATION  IN  PERIODS  OF  WAR  AND  PEACE.  ^l 

defended  the  use  of  Latin.*  But  the  German  made  rapid  progress, 
and  in  few  years  was  entirely  predominant.  And  now  even  royal 
edicts  were  of  no  more  avail  against  the  practice  of  teaching  in 
German." 

Life  and  teaching  go  hand  in  hand.  When  state  and  church  no 
longer  required  the  speaking  and  writing  of  Latin,  it  was  vain  to  at- 
tempt to  require  that  it  should  be  used  as  the  living  mother-tongue 
by  the  literati.f 

As  in  the  universities,  so  in  the  schools,  the  use  of  German  in- 
creased ;  it  was  soon  made  one  of  the  branches  of  instruction.J  Even 
that  very  school  ordinance  of  Frankfort,  of  1654,  which  was  so  strict 
in  requiring  the  speaking  of  Latin,  requires  the  scholars  in  the  seventh 
class  to  "  read  fluently  German  and  Latin."§  Feuerlein  of  Nuremberg! 
cites  stronger  instances.  "  Most  people,"  they  say,  "  will  in  future 
have  occasion,  in  their  spiritual  or  worldly  employments,  for  the  pow- 
er of  speaking  well  in  German  almost  always,  and  only  to  the  least 
possible  extent  in  Latin  ;  and  yet  they  give  almost  no  application  to 
German."  But  they  add,  as  if  fearful  that  they  have  said  too  much, 
"notwithstanding  the  Latin  is  to  be  studied  more  than  any  thing  else 
in  the  Latin  schools,  and  is  not  to  be  neglected." 

The  Hamburg  school  ordinance,  above  quoted,  goes  still  further.^" 
The  scholars  must,  it  is  true,  according  to  it,  speak  good  Latin ;  but 
as  to  the  German,  it  is  said  that  "the  German  language  shall  be  be- 
times studied,  both  in  Quarto,  after  they  have  been  well  grounded, 
and  afterward  in  Tertia,  Secunda,  and  Prima,  as  well  by  reading  the 
commendation  of  good  German  books  as  by  the  practical  imitation 
of  the  same  in  German  letters,  speeches,  and  otherwise  ;  so  that  no  one 

*  Gesner  had  spoken  in  the  game  way  as  early  as  1715.     "  Institution*,"  p.  109. 

1 1  say.  as  a  living  mother-tongue;  for  lam  not  speaking  of  the  other  instruction  of  the 
schools  in  speaking  and  writing  Latin.  Of  this  I  shall  treat  hereafter.  Gervinu*  says,  1.  c., 
91 :  "  At  first,  the  chief  purpose  of  the  school  comedies  was  strictly  practical ;  Latin  wa»  to 
be  practiced  by  the  scholars,  and  their  practice  in  conversation  had  the  same  design." 

J  Gervinus  gives  details  on  the  way  in  which  the  German  language  became  honored  again 
in  Germany.  He  shows  how  the  Society  of  Usefulness  was,  above  all,  the  cause  of  it.  It  i« 
worthy  of  observation  that  the  first  idea  of  this  society  happened  when  Prince  Ludwig  of 
Anhalt  was  attending  the  burial  of  his  sister,  Duchess  Dorothea  Maria  vou  Weimar,  in  1617. 
It  was  this  same  Duchess  who  had  so  zealously  espoused  the  cause  of  Ratich  as  early  as  1613, 
and  had  bestowed  upon  him  two  thousand  gulden  ;  it  was  this  came  Prince  Ludwig  who  did 
so  much,  at  his  capital  of  Ktfthen,  for  the  introduction  of  Ratich's  plans  of  school  organiza- 
tion. It  was  also  Ratich  who  had  said,  in  1613,  that  it  was  the  course  of  nature  for  boyg  first 
to  learn  well  and  fluently  to  read,  write,  and  speak  their  mother-tongue  ;  and  in  all  the  facul- 
ties the  German  language  could  be  used.  When  the  Society  of  Usefulness,  in  1630,  published 
Terence,  in  Kothen,  in  German  and  I-atin,  this,  as  we  have  shown,  was  brought  about  by 
Ratich  ;  and  his  own  school-books  appeared  there  in  the  yenr  1619.  And  the  question  may 
be  asked  whether,  if  Ratich  did  not  himself  give  the  first  impulse  to  the  establishment  of  the 
Society  of  Usefulness,  he  was  not  the  occasion  of  the  movement  from  which  it  came.  Comp  , 
p.  23.  remark  2. 

$  P.,  5. 

!  L.  c.,  93. 

1  L.  c.,  14. 


422  EDUCATION  IN  PERIODS  OF  WAR  AND  PEACE. 

shall  leave  the  school  for  the  gymnasium  who  shall  not  have  passed 
a  sufficient  examination  in  pure  composition  in  this  language. 

Many  entertained  similar  opinions.  Baumeister,  rector  at  Gorlitz, 
says:  *  "It  is  a  very  harmful  opinion  to  believe,  that  at  school  men 
must  trouble  themselves  only  about  the  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew 
tongues ;  but  that  the  German  does  not  belong  among  the  learned 
tongues.  The  example  of  the  Romans  ought  to  be  remembered, 
who  never  dishonored  their  native  tongue  in  such  a  way.  I  seek  on 
every  occasion  to  remove  this  prejudice  among  youth."  He  says  fur- 
ther that,  if  they  would  strictly  require  thorough  study  and  practice 
of  the  mother-tongue,  the  Germans  have  their  classical  authors  as 
well  as  the  Romans. 

Wenzky,  rector  in  Prenzlau,f  says :  "  It  is  fitting  that  men  should 
learn  their  own  mother-tongue  well,  and  that  youth  should  acquire 
the  same  in  the  school.  This  principle  will  be  acknowledged  just  now 
by  many  persons.  If  men  had  had  regard  to  this  in  past  times,  there 
would  not  have  been  all  the  mortification  which  has  been  felt  at  see- 
ing our  greatest  and  most  learned  men  make  such  blunders  in  Latin 
as  would  have  been  severely  punished  in  a  scholar  at  school." 

Muller,J  already  mentioned  as  rector  of  the  gymnasium  at  Zittau, 
expresses  the  same  opinion.  "Among  the  languages,"  he  says,  "the 
mother-tongue  holds  the  pre-eminence ;  both  because  it  is  the  model 
by  which  all  other  languages  must  be  learned  and  judged  and  is  the 
chief  means  by  which  we  apply  to  practical  \ise  all  our  acqusitions. 
For  these  reasons  should  the  German  language  be  diligently  studied  in 
all  schools,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  ;  and  be  made  the  chief  in- 
strument of  the  development  of  all  the  powers  of  the  understanding." 

It  is  a  matter  of  astonishment  that  rectors  of  gymnasiums  should 
have  entertained  such  views  upon  the  German  language ;  for  at  that 
time  it  was  in  a  state  of  the  deepest  decay.  While  previously  there 
had  been  written  a  compound  of  German  and  Latin,  there  had  lately 
entered  into  it  a  third  element — the  French ;  it  was  a  truly  Babelish 
language.  The  proverb  "The  style  is  the  man"  might  apply  both  to 
the  upper  classes  and  the  people.  In  the  second  half  of  the  seven- 
teenth and  the  first  of  the  eighteenth  century,  there  was  apparent,  in 
the  style,  the  taste,  and  even  in  the  opinions  and  character  of  the 
German  men  of  learning,  a  heterogenous  and  intolerable  mixture  of 
stiff  German-Latin  erudition  and  pedantry  with  frivolous  gallantry 
and  a  disgustful  servilism  to  France. 

There  now  began  the  strife  between  the  Latin  and  Latin  litera- 

•  •'  Account  of  an  Important  Improvement  in  the  Gymnasium  at  GSrlilz."  By  F.  Ch.  Bau- 
meister. rector  of  GUrlitz  Gymnasium. 

I  "  Thf.  Mode  of  Teaching  Used  by  Georg  Wenzky,  Adjunct-Rector  in  Prenzlau,"  1746,  p.  5. 
;  L.  c.,  7. 


EDUCATION  IN  PERIODS  OF  WAR  AXD  PEACE.  403 

ture  and  French  and  French  literature.  Vainglorious  Frenchmen 
made  themselves  and  others  believe  that  their  poets  and  prosemen 
excelled  the  ancient  classics.*  In  diplomacy  French  unfortunately 
gradually  took  the  place  of  Latin  as  the  universal  language  of  kings 
and  princes.  It  had  also  become  the  language  of  conversation  among 
the  higher  classes  in  German,  having  been  introduced  by  the  influ- 
ence of  the  profligate  Louis  XIV.  and  the  crowd  of  abandoned  court- 
iers who  adored  him  as  the  highest  model  of  courtly  training. 
The  shallow  and  traitorous  un-German  admirers  of  this  literature 
hoped  that  the  French  would  entirely  drive  out  the  classical  lan- 
guages, and  would  even  become  the  language  of  instruction  at  the 
universities.f 

Is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that  all  this  had  an  influence  upon  schools  ? 
"  It  has  come  to  be  the  case,"  says  Feuerlein,  of  Nuremberg,^  "  that 
some  eminent  people  have  exempted  their  sons  entirely  from  the 
study  of  Greek."  And  again,  "  The  tendency  of  the  times  is  to  con- 
sider a  knowledge  of  French  entirely  indispensable  to  such  persons." 

The  connection  is  evident  between  the  exemption  of  the  sons  of 
these  eminent  people  from  studying  Greek  and  the  considering  a 
knowledge  of  French  indispensable  to  them. 

When  Sturm's  gymnasium,  in  1578,  contained  more  than  one 
thousand  scholars,  and  among  them  about  two  hundred  nobles,  twen- 
ty-four counts  and  barons,  and  three  princes,  yet  all  these  scholars, 
great  and  small,  were  instructed  according  to  one  and  the  same  plan. 
The  Baron  von  Sonneck  was,§  as  we  have  seen,  examined  exactly  like 
his  fellow-scholars  in  rhetoric,  Latin,  and  Greek.  The  same  equality 
among  the  scholars  prevailed  at  Trotzendorf  s  gymnasium,  and  here 
they  even  proclaimed  in  the  school  laws,  He  who  is  a  scholar  can 
no  longer  play  the  noble.|| 

What  honorable  firmness  and  disregard  of  consequences  on  the 

*  "  Among  writers  in  that  tongue,  (French.)  it  can  not  fairly  be  denied  that  there  were 
many  of  very  finished  talents  ;  but  an  all  but  intolerable  conceit  obscured  the  excellencies  of 
some  of  them.  They  boasted,  often  in  a  ridiculously  ostentatious  manner,  that  they  only 
were  men,  that  they  only  possessed  talents,"  &c.  Morhof,  Polyhistor.  I.,  759. 

t  For  the  malignant  and  truly  devilish  way  in  which  the  French  perverted  our  princes,  and 
poisoned  their  morals,  see  Hull's  "  Historical  Developments  of  the  Influence*  if  France  and 
the  French  upon  Germany  and  the  Germans.  Berlin,  1815."  A  book  of  the  greatest  inter- 
est and  value.  Corruption  of  German  princes.  167.  French  education  of  the  young,  174. 
Astonishment  of  an  emigre  upon  finding  that  the  Princess  Sophie  Charlotte  of  lirandenliurg 
understood  German,  as  she  usually  spoke  only  French,  203.  How  French  gradually  came  to 
be  the  language  of  diplomacy,  358.  The  work  contains  many  other  facts  of  the  Mine  kind. 
How  different  the  custom  of  the  Romans  !  "  The  ancient  magistrates  took  the  mo*t  watch- 
ful pains  that  no  answer  should  be  made  to  the  Greeks  except  in  Latin.  So  (hat  those  of  that 
nation,  being  unable  to  use  that  volubility  of  speech  on  which  they  were  accuMomed  chiefly 
to  depend,  were  obliged  to  speak  through  interpreters."  Valerius  Maximus,  2,  2,  2. 

JL.  c.,  118. 

»  Part  I.,  2-19. 

I  •'  Ponit  etiam  personam  nobilis  qui  induit  scholastic!. "    Ib.,  216. 


424  EDUCATION  IN  PERIODS  OF  WAR  AND  PEACE. 

part  of  these  old  rectors !  How  rightly  did  they  feel  that  in  the 
realm  of  learning  there  is  no  respect  for  persons ! 

How  disgusting,  on  the  other  hand,  is  the  conduct  of  later  rectors, 
who  treated  their  noble  scholars  in  a  more  respectful  and  entirely  dif- 
ferent manner  from  the  others !  The  same  France  which,  in  the 
Revolution,  preached  a  thoroughly  false  equality,  preached,  in 
the  time  of  the  tyranny  of  Louis  XIV.,  an  equally  false  in- 
equality of  rank,  and  thus  pointed  out  the  way  to  the  later  preach- 
ers of  equality.  This  French  servility  to  those  of  higher  grade 
spread  into  Germany,  and  even  infected  the  schools.  We  give  a  few 
examples  of  it. 

Baumeister,*  already  mentioned  as  rector  at  Gorlitz,  has  an  especial 
arrangement  of  lessons  for  the  noble  scholars.  Greek,  which  the 
citizen  scholars  studied  assiduously,  is  omitted  from  it.  It  was  prom- 
ised that  a  French  teacher  should  be  appointed.  It  was  said  that 
"  mathematics  chiefly  were  to  be  learned  by  nobles."  The  man  is 
even  not  ashamed  to  say  "  We  make  a  distinction  between  the  chil- 
dren of  nobles  and  gentlemen  and  those  of  lower  birth  ;  in  part  be- 
cause a  more  intimate,  loving,  and  trustful  intercourse  with  their 
teachers  is  proper  for  them,  for  instruction  in  the  manners  appropriate 
to  their  rank,  and  in  part  that  they  may  be  safe  from  faults  into 
which  they  might  fall  by  intercourse  with  the  others.  If  the  children 
of  gentlemen,"  he  continues,  "  bring  a  tutor  with  them,  they  are  not 
strictly  required  to  attend  the  public  recitations."  For  such  lessons 
a  nobleman  paid  double. 

Rector  Miiller,  of  Ziltau,  agrees  with  him  of  Gorlitz ;  and  his  pro- 
gramme, both  in  language  and  in  matter,  is  made  up  of  stiff  pedant- 
ry, plastered  over  with  a  dressing  of  French  gallantry.  Modern  his- 
tory,! according  to  him,  must  be  studied  thoroughly,  but  other  his- 
tory only  in  a  cursory  manner.  "We  study,"  he  says,  "not  for  old 
times,  but  for  the  present.  And  we  might  well  study  also  heraldry 
and  genealogy."  Again,  "The  languages  of  the  present  political 
world  must  not  be  neglected  in  the  schools;"  these  are  of  practical 
use  to  "  many  classes  of  persons,  especially  the  nobility  and  those 
about  the  court."  MiillerJ  assures  patrons  that  in  the  gymnasium 
their  children  will  have  abundant  opportunity  to  acquire  noble  and 
gallant  studies,  especially  mathematics,  French,  Italian,  and  English, 
as  well  as  dancing."  "  Yes,"  he  continues,  "  if  any  one  should  be 
most  graciously  pleased  to  intrust  their  children  to  my  own  house 
and  table,  I  will  myself  instruct  them  in  French  and  dancing,  in 

*  '•  Account  of  the  Gymnatium  at  Gorlitz,"  28,  29,  30. 

1 1.  c.    9,  8.     At  p.  20  we  read,  "  A  lecture  upon  history  entirely  modern,  from  1700  down 
to  the  present  time." 
;  Ib ,  33. 


EDUCATION  IN  PERIODS  OF  WAR  AND  PEACE.  425 

order  to  have  them  more  completely  under  my  own  observation,  and 
when  needful  to  give  them  an  occasional  admonition." 

It  was  always,  however,  an  ungrateful  task  for  the  gymnasium 
rectors  of  that  time  to  instruct  their  noble  scholars  after  the  model 
of  the  French  aristocracy.  The  purpose  of  the  system  of  education, 
the  method,  the  organization,  and  the  character  of  the  teachers  of  the 
gymnasium  were  all  opposed  to  it.  From  the  troubles  arising  from 
these  sources  came  the  practice  of  founding  special  institutions  for 
noble  youth,  such  as  the  Paedagogium  at  Halle,  the  Knights'  Acade- 
my at  Liegnitz,  <fec. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  schools  of  literature,  in  the  century  after  the 
peace  of  Westphalia,  assumed  a  character  very  much  varied  from 
that  of  those  of  the  sixteenth  century.  We  see  that  the  Latin  lost 
its  place  as  a  second  mother-tongue,  and  that  the  German  took  its 
rightful  one  as  the  native  and  honored  language ;  but  that,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  disgusting  influence  of  France  upon  our  country,  the 
French  language  and  French  education  ruled  our  higher  ranks  with 
an  unholy  spell. 

How  deeply  soever  these  influences  had  already  changed  the  idea 
of  the  character  of  our  literary  schools,  still  other  causes  were  at 
work  to  the  same  end. 

"For  a  long  time,"  writes  Rector  Wenzky  of  Prenzlau,  in  1746,* 
"the  old  methods  of  teaching  have  been  discontinued  in  most  places, 
and  others  have  been  adopted  more  in  accordance  with  the  times. 
The  object  now  is,  though  it  is  pursued  in  various  ways,  to  instruct 
scholars  who  may  be  able  to  serve  the  state  best  in  the  present 
emergency.  The  times  change,  and  the  school-teachers  must  vary 
with  them."  We  have  already  seen  how  unfortunately  the  times 
had  varied.  Wenzky  sought  especially  the  introduction  of  a  multi- 
tude of  new  studies,  and  names,  besides  the  already  mentioned  in- 
struction in  the  mother-tongue,  genealogy,  heraldry,  geometry,  mili- 
tary and  civil  architecture,  astronomy,  dialing,  botany,  theoretical  and 
practical  philosophy,  <fcc.,  <fec.  "  I  teach,"  he  says,  "  how  to  judge  of 
books ;  and  show  how  to  compose,  write,  examine,  complete,  and  cor- 
rect the  proof  of  a  book."  "I  dissuade  scholars  from  prejudices  as 
from  irreconcilable  enemies."  "If  one  should  tell  me  these  'subjects 
are  too  many,  and  the  chief  object,  the  learning  of  language,  must 
be  obstnicted  thereby;'  I  answer,  these  subjects  are  nevertheless  all 
useful,  and  are  such  that  the  scholar  must  have  some  knowledge  of 
all  of  them.  Why  are  the  arts  and  sciences  so  many  ? r  In  this 
strange  error  we  see  a  picture  of  the  theory  of  pedagogical  develop- 
ment of  the  second  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  which  has 

•  L.  c  ,  32. 


426  EDUCATION  IN  PERIODS  OF  WAR  AND  PEACE. 

existed  clown  to  our  own  times.  These  exercises  may  be  described  in 
two  words :  rral  subjects,  and  exercises  of  the  understanding.  We 
shall  hereafter  become  sufficiently  acquainted  with  both  of  them : 
but  their  real  objects  remined  us  but  little  of  the  profound  views  of 
Bacon  and  Comenius. 

There  appeared  also  a  third  element  which  lias  been  named  pie- 
tism, which  originated  with  August  Hermann  Francke  and  his  school. 
Before  I  speak  of  this  school,  I  must  discuss  the  pedagogy  of  a  man 
who  is  to  be  considered  a  follower  of  Montaigne  and  Bacon,  and  as  a 
predecessor  of  Rousseau ;  the  pedagogy  of  the  Englishman  Locke. 


JOHN  LOCKE. 

[Translated  for  the  American  Journal  of  Education,  from  the  German  of  Karl  von  Raumer.] 


JOHN  LOCKE  was  born  in  1632,  at  Wrington,  near  Bristol.  His 
father  was  a  captain  in  the  parliamentary  army,  during  the  civil  wars. 
He  brought  up  his  son  strictly  during  his  early  years,  and  in  a  more 
free  and  friendly  manner,  as  he  grew  older. 

Locke  attended  the  Westminster  school  until  165<L/when  he  en- 
tered Christ's  College,  Oxford.  Here  he  found  the  ArMotelian  phi- 
losophy, especially  the  empty  disputations,  repulsive  to  him.  He 
however  studied  Des  Cartes,  and  took  great  pleasure  in  learning 
medicine. 

In  1664  he  went  as  secretary  of  legation  to  Berlin,  and  in  1665 
returned  to  Oxford,  where  he  commenced  those  meteorological  ob- 
servations by  which  Boyle  afterward  profited. 

In  1666  he  befcame  acquainted  with  Lord  Shaftesbury,  the  instruc- 
tion of  whose  son,  then  fifteen  years  old,  he  afterward  conducted. 
This  child  was  very  sickly,  but  under  the  care  of  Locke  recovered, 
afterward  married  and  brought  up  seven  children,  the  eldest  of  whom 
a  son,  Locke  also  educated. 

In  1672  Shaftesbury  was  lord  chancellor,  and  Locke  was  appointed 
his  secretary  ;  both,  however,  lost  their  offices  the  next  year.  In  1682 
Shaftesbury,  forced  by  the  Catholic  party,  left  England,  and  sailed  to 
Holland,  whither  Locke  followed  him  in  1683.  Here  he  became  ac- 
quainted with  Le  Clerc  and  Limborch ;  to  the  latter  of  whom  ho 
wrote  the  epistle  upon  Toleration.  He  did  not  return  to  England 
until  1689,  when  he  came  in  the  ship  in  which  AVilliam  III.  brought 
his  wife.  In  1690  he  published  his  celebrated  work  upon  the  human 
understanding,  and  wrote  against  those  who,  under  the  cloak  of  Chris- 
tianity, defended  a  Turkish  despotism. 

In    1693   appeared   his  "Thoughts  upon   the  Education  of  Chil 
dren;  "*  which  soon  passed  into  other  editions,  and  was  translated 

*  "Some  thought*  concerning  education."  In  part  third  of  "  The  Wort*  of  Locke,  Lomlon, 
printed  for  John  Churchill,  1714."  There  are  many  editions  of  them.  There  is  in  French. 
"De  Veducation  dea  enfana,  troduit  de  I'Angloia  de  Locke  par  Mr.  Coste,  Amsterdam,  1730." 
And  in  German,  "Hundbuch  der  Erziehung  aua  dtm  Englixchen  det  Lnrke,  *nerxrt:t  roit 
Kudo/phi.  1781."  This  is  in  the  ninth  part  of  Campe's  "Reriiion."  Salzmaun.  Tampe, 
Gedike,  Trapp,  and  others,  have  added  remarks  to  this  translation  ;  and  Cost*  hai  fireu 
additions  here  and  there,  and  amongst  them  compared  passages  from  Montaigne. 


428  JOHN  LOCKE. 

into  French,  Dutch,  and  German.     The  book  soon  acquired  great 
reputation,  and  had  much  influence  upon  education. 

Toward  the  end  of  his  life,  Locke  took  more  and  more  interest 
in  the  study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  wrote  commentaries 
on  the  epistles  to  the  Romans,  Corinthians,  Galatians,  and  Ephe- 
sians,  and  also  a  work  upon  the  reasonableness  of  the  Christian 
religion. 

He  passed  the  last  years  of  his  life  in  the  country,  at  Gates,  twenty 
English  miles  from  London.  A  few  months  before  his  death,  he  was 
enjoying  a  supper  with  two  friends,  when  he  declared  "  that  he  was 
in  perfect  charity  with  all  men,  and  in  a  sincere  communion  with  the 
church  of  Christ,  by  what  name  soever  it  might  be  distinguished." 
On  the  last  evening  of  his  life,  he  asked  for  the  prayers  of  his  friends 
in  the  house,  and  said  that  he  had  lived  long  and  happily,  but  that  in 
his  whole  life  he  could  see  only  emptiness.  ^*~ 

He  died  while  listening  to  the  reading  of  a  psalm,  Oct.  28th,  1704, 
in  his  seventy-third  year. 

LOCKE'S  PEDAGOGY. 

From  what  has  been  said  of  Locke's  life,  it  can  be  judged  what  his 
views  upon  pedagogy  would  naturally  be.  As  a  physician  employed 
to  prevent  a  sick  youth  from  dying,  he  would  naturally  pay  special 
attention  to  the  care  of  the  health.  As  the  occupant  of  several  public 
stations,  in  relations  with  the  most  eminent  statesmen,  and  the  pre- 
ceptor of  a  statesman's  son,  he  would  naturally  value  practical  powei 
in  a  system  of  education  more  than  learning.  Accordingly,  he  could 
not  but  recognize  the  principles  of  the  higher  nobility,  in  particular 
those  of  honor,  and  of  what  belong  to  an  educated  nobleman ;  and 
acquire  their  antipathy  to  learned  pedantry.  Locke,  as  he  himself 
says  in  his  conclusion,  looked  only  to  education  at  home,  by  a  private 
tutor,  of  a  rich  and  noble  child;  and,  in  the  common  school  life  of 
youth,  he  saw  only  vulgarity.  But  we  will  listen  to  himself. 

In  the  introduction,  he  gives  a  brief  general  explanation  of  his 
views.  "A  sound  mind  in  a  sound  body  is  a  short  but  full  descrip- 
tion of  a  happy  state  in  this  w^rld  :  he  that  has  these  two,  has  little 
more  to  wish  for ;  and  he  that  wants  either  of  them,  will  be  but  little 
the  better  for  any  thing  else.  *  *  *  He  whose  mind  directs  not 
wisely,  will  never  take  the  right  way ;  and  he  whose  body  is  crazy 
and  feeble,  will  never  be  able  to  advance  in  it  *  *  *  Of  all  the 
men  we  meet  with,  nine  parts  of  ten  are  what  they  are,  good  or  evil, 
useful  or  not,  by  their  education."  Although  the  mind  is  the  chief 
object  of  the  teacher,  he  adds,  yet  the  body  must  not  be  neglecte'd ;  and 
ho  speaks  first  of  the  health  of  the  body. 


JOHN  LOCKE.  4_. 

I  shall  not  here  raise  the  question  whether  man  consists  of 
body,  miud,  and  spirit.  Juvenal,  from  whom  Locke  quotes  his 
Mens  sana,  <&c.,  says  in  another  place : — 

"  MII ii. li 

Principle  indulsit  communis  conditor  illis  (beasts) 
Tantum  animae,  nobis  animuni  quoque." 

In  proportion  aa  this  triplicity  is  important  to  the  teacher,  as  I 
shall  hereafter  show,  in  the  same  proportion  is  it  in  opposition  to 
Locke's  views. 

1.      ESTABLISHMENT    AND    PROMOTION    OF   TUB    HEALTH.* 

/Children  of  eminent  persons  should  be  brought  up,  in  this  respect, 
like  the  children  of  wealthy  land-owners. 

Children  must  not  be  too  warmly  clothed,  not  even  in  winter !  day 
and  night,  in  wind  and  weather,  they  must  go  bare-headed. 

They  should  daily  wash  their  feet  in  cold  water,  so  as  to  make 
them  as  insensible  to  moisture  as  the  hands  are.  Cold  baths  have 
wonderful  effects,  particularly  upon  weak  persons. 

All  boys  must  learn  to  swim.  The  ancient  Germans  learned  this 
of  their  own  accord.  If  the  Romans  desired  to  speak  ill  of  any- 
one's education,  they  said,  "Nee  literas  diditit  nee  natare:"  "He 
understands  neither  learning  nor  swimming." 

Boys  should  run  about  in  the  open  air,  at  all  times  of  the  year. 

Tight  clothes  are  improper 'p.and  particularly  stays  for  girls.   • 

To  small  children  no  meat  snould  be  given,  but  milk.  Food  too 
salt,  or  spice,  is  not  good  for  them.  Between  meal  times  (which 
should  be  as  few  as  possible,)  the  children  should  be  permitted  to  eat 
Ijonly  dry  bread.  They  may  drink  small  beer,  but  no  wine,  or  liquor. 
Melons,  peaches,  most  kinds  of  plums,  and  grapes,  are  to  be  prohib- 
ited to  children  (!)  but  not  strawberries,  currants,  gooseberries,  apples, 
and  pears. 

Early  retiring  and  rising  is  the  rule,  and  eight  hours'  sleep.     They 
should  not  be  awaked  by  frightening  them.    They  should  sleep  on  a 
hard  bed^-a  mattress,  not  a  feather-bed. 
— /  They  should  go  regularly  to  stool ;  the  best  time  is  after  breakfast. 

As  little  medicine  as  possible  should  be  given  to  children,  especially 
by  way  of  preventive.  And  the  physician  should  not  be  sent  for 
upon  every  small  occasion. 

Care  for  the  health  of  children,  first  touched  upon  by  Montaigne, 
was  first  treated  in  a  more  general  way  by  Locke.  lie  recommends 
a  similar  mode  of  life — hardening  and  little  medicine.  Rousseau  went 
further ;  and  Basedow  and  his  school  carried  the  principle  into  actual 
life.  

•  Rudolphi'i  translation,  Pages  9— 32. 


430  JOHN  LOCKE. 

2.     EDUCATION   OF   THE    MIND.* 

Men  should  keep  the  body  strong  that  it  may  be  able  to  serve  the  mind. 
~~  Self-denial,  and  self-control  must  be  early  learned. 

Children's  faults  must  not  be  overlooked,  for  they  grow  up  into  men's  faults,  f 
Animals  are  trained  to  good  habits  while  young,  and  why  not  children? 

But  children  are,  on  the  other  hand,  actually  instructed  in  evil.  Strike  me,  it 
is  said,  or  else  I  will  strike  you.  Their  love  of  dress  is  early  awakened  ;  they 
are  filled  with  false  excuses,  and  accustomed  to  daintiness;  and  thus,  adults  are 
the  corruptors  and  enticers  of  youth. 

The  whims  of  children  are  not  to  be  attended  to;  they  must  first  be  taught 
implicit  obedience,  and  accustomed  to  freedom  as  they  grow  up,  so  that  from 
obedient  children  they  may  become  friends. 

In  this,  Locke  speaks  very  truly.  Rousseau  afterward  went  beyond 
him,  in  that  he  traces  all  the  faults  of  children  to  temptation,  or 
delay  on  the  part  of  their  elders ;  a  necessary  consequence  of  Pela- 
gianisra. 

3.      PUNISHMENT    AND    REWARD.J 

X«>  whipping.  "What  is  beaten  into  boy*  excites  their  repu;rnanee  for  that  very 
reason,  and  whipping  makes  them  cowardly  and  slavish.  As  little  should  they 
be  tempted  to  goodness  by  allurements  or  dainties,  or  rewarded  by  money, 
dress,  &c. 

On  the  other  hand,  they  should  be  influenced  by  praise,  and  blame.  Esteem 
and  disgrace  are,  of  all  others,  the  most  powerful  incentives  to  the  mind,  when 
once  it  is  brought  to  relish  them.  If  you  can  get  into  children  a  love  of  approbation, 
and  an  apprehension  of  shame  and  disgrace,  you  have  put  into  them  the  true 
principles  ;  which  will  constantly  work,  and  incline  them  to  the  right.  .  .  . 
I  This  I  look  on  as  the  great  secret  of  education. 

Children  are  sufficiently  sensible  to  praise  or  blame,  when  their  father  praises 
them  if  they  are  good,  and  when  his  behavior  toward  them  is  cold  and  careless 
whenever  they  are  guilty  of  faults.  Right  conduct  should  be  connected  with 
praise,  and  wrong  with  blame  ;  children  must  learn  how  doing  good  will  make 
them  beloved  by  all,  or  how,  in  the  opposite  case,  they  will  be  despised  and  neg- 
lected. Thus  the  desire  will  grow  up  in  them  to  gain  the  approbation  of  others, 
and  to  avoid  that  which  will  "make  them  contemptible.  This  seeking  after 
approbation  must  be  made  the  motive  of  their  conduct  until,  at  a  riper  age,  they 
shall  bi-  fitter  to  be  governed  by  a  knowledge  of  their  own  duty,  and  that  inward 
content  which  attends  upon  obedience  to  the  Creator. 

What  praise  children  deserve,  they  should  receive  in  the  presence  of  others. 
The  reward  is  doubled  when  the  praise  is  known.  On  the  other  hand,  their  faults 
should  not  be  made  known,  for  it  makes  them  reckless. 

Like  so  many  others  of  the  methodologists,  Locke  here  declares 
himself  against  corporeal  punishment,  except  in  a  few  cases,  as  we 
shall  see.  He  also  forbids  allurements  to  the  senses ;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  both  here  and  elsewhere,  he  recommends  the  worst  of  allure- 
ments, that  of  ambition.  Whoever,  says  Locke,  knows  how  to 
awaken  ambition  in  the  child's  soul,  possesses  the  great  secret  of 
education.  In  this,  he  agrees  entirely  with  his  antipodes,  the  Jesuits. 
"  In  truth,"  says  the  Jesuits'  plan  of  education,  "  he  who  knows  how 
properly  to  awaken  emulation,  possesses  the  most  valuable  help  in 

•  Pages  82—106. 

t  Compare  Augustine,  Conf.,  1,  7.    "It.  is  the  weakness  of  the  limbs  of  infants,  which  is 
innocent ;  not  their  minds." 
;  Pages  106-149. 


JOHN  LOCKE.  431 

the  profession  of  teaching,  and  that  which  is  the  only  thorough  means 
of  instructing  youth  in  the  best  manner."  And  when  the  boys  have 
been  allured  to  goodness  by  this  most  unchildlike  and  unchristlikc 
of  all  motives,  then,  says  the  philo.*opher,  they  will  in  their  riper 
years  adopt  better  principles  without  further  trouble  !  "  Where  there 
are  no  gods,  phantoms  reign." 

4.    PRECEPTS   TO   BE    GIVEN   TO    THE    CHILDREN.* 

Not  too  many  should  be  laid  down,  of  such  rules  as  the  children  are  scarcely 
able  to  obey.  For,  if  the  teacher  holds  them  to  the  observance  of  such,  he  will  be 
too  strict;  and,  if  they  are  laxly  observed,  his  authority  will  perish.  He  should 
rather  endeavor,  by  repeated  friendly  reminding,  to  accustom  them  to  that  in 
which  they  can  learn  well ;  and  thus  he  will  avoid  requiring  too  much  at  once, 
or  what  they  are  not  able  to  comply  with. 

Affectation  is  when  the  outward  conduct  of  children  does  not  conform  to  their 
inward  impulses;  or  when  these  impulses  are  expressed  in  unsuitable  ways.  A 
plain,  rude,  spontaneous  nature  is  better  than  one  shaped  by  affectation. 

5.     MANNERS   OF    CHILDREN.! 

Children  learn  what  are  called  manners,  more  by  intercourse  with  well-man- 
nered men  than  by  precept.  A  dancing-master  will  cure  many  awkwardnesses. 
And  while  nothing  is  so  fitted  to  give  children  a  proper  confidence,  and  good  car- 
riage, and  to  bring  them  into  the  company  of  their  elders,  as  dancing,  xtill  I  am 
of  opinion  that  they  should  only  learn  to  dance  when  their  limbs  are  fit  for  it.  For, 
though  there  is  nothing  more  in  its  movements  than  outward  grace,  yet  it  awakens, 
I  know  not  how,  something  of  a  man's  ways  of  thinking,  and  a  grave  demeanor. 
Care  must  be  taken  not  to  find  too  much  fault  with  the  manners  of  young  children  ; 
many  things  will  come  of  themselves,  as  they  grow  up. 

Above  all  things,  parents  should  not  give  their  .children  into  the  care  of  serv- 
ants, but  should  keep  them  with  themselves,  as  mucli  as  possible,  yet  without 
confining  them. 

In  justice  to  Locke's  dancing-master,  it  should  be  remarked  that 
no  crazy  waltzes  were  danced  in  his  time,  but  polite  and  grave  minu- 
ets ;  and  the  instruction  in  dancing  was  a  very  torture  for  the  feet ; 
now  it  is  different ! 

Locke  often  speaks  with  disapprobation  of  .servants;  yet  mildly,  in 
comparison  with  Rousseau,  who  calls  them  "  the  rabble  of  servants ; 
the  lowest  of  men — except  their  masters." 

6.     ADVANTAGES   OK    PRIVATE    EDUCATIOS.J- 

Instruction  away  from  home  makes  boys  confident,  and  fit  for  intercourse  with 
others ;  and  the  consequent  emulation  has  an  effect  upon  their  progress  in  learning. 
It,  however,  risks  the  innocence  of  the  boys  for  a  little  Gre<--k  and  Latin.  And 
the  confidence  acquired  away  from  home  usually  ends  in  roughness  and  impu- 
dence :  it  is  better  that  the  boy  should  remain  a  little  shy  and  awkward,  for  this  will 
speedily  wear  off  when  he  goes  into  the  world.  Among  the  motley  army  of  wild 
boys,  such  as  are  usually  gathered  together  at  schools,  children  of  pan-nts  of  nil 
conditions,  it  is  difficult  to  guess  what  the  boy  will  gain  with  which  the  fath«  r 
will  be  pleased. 

It  is,  therefore,  better  to  employ  a  tutor  at  home,  who  will  teach  his  pup  1  far 
better  manners,  and  more  manly  ways  of  thinking:  and  a  feeling  for  goodnew 
and  propriety,  will  carry  him  much  f;ister  forward  in  all  kinds  of  knowlrdg".  ami 
will  much  sooner  make  him  a  ripe  and  established  man,  than  is  possible  in  the 
most  extensive  educational  institution.  Among  so  great  a  number  f>f  boy*,  it  i» 
impossible  to  bestow  proper  care  upon  each  one.  It  is  not  the  foolish  tricks  and 

*  Pages  149-161.        t  Pagea  161-172.        I  Pa«f«  172—  193. 


432  JOHN  LOCKE. 

deceits  upon  each  other  of  school-boys,  their  rudeness  to  each  other,  their  artful 
plans  for  robbing  fruit  orchards,  which  make  an  able  and  useful  man  ;  it  ia  the 
virtues  of  uprightness,  magnanimity,  and  moderation,  together  with  observation 
and  activity :  noble  attr.butcs,  which  school-boys  can  not  communicate  to  each 
other. 

Home  education  under  a  tutor  ia  the  best  means  of  teaching  virtue ;  and  that 
is  the  principal  thing. 

Boys  should  be  as  early  as  possible  brought  into  the  company  of  their  elders ; 
but  the  parents,  especially,  must  not  vex  the  boys.  Maxima  debetur  pueris 
reverentia. 

Locke  idolizes  home  education,  and  caricatures  school  life.  Noth- 
ing would  be  easier  than  to  reverse  these  praises ;  to  paint  a  good 
school,  with  a  skillful  rector,  well-disposed  scholars,  loving  each  other 
and  strengthening  each  other  in  every  thing  good  ;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  to  describe  an  incompetent  or  even  wicked  tutor,  in  an  epicu- 
rean and  unchristian,  though  noble,  family ;  a  pupil  exposed  to  cor- 
ruption from  his  parents  and  his  teacher,  abandoned  to  the  care  of 
servants,  &c. 

7,     PARDONABLE    AND    PUNISHABLE    FAULTS   OF    CHILDREN.* 

What  the  children  are  to  do  should  not  be  laid  before  them  as  a  task,  for  it 
then  becomes  a  disgust  to  them.  Even  their  play  would  be  so,  if  they  were  forced 
to  it.  Children  like  an  well  to  be  free  and  independent  as  the  proudest  adults. 

A  liking  should  be  cultivated  in  them  for  what  they  are  to  learn,  and  they  should 
usually  be  kept  to  work  only  when  they  feel  inclined  to  it.  The  child 
will  learn  three  times  as  fast,  if  he  feel  like  it;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  he  will 
need  twice  as  much  time  and  pains,  if  he  is  indisposed  to  the  work.  He  should 
be  made,  if  possible,  himself  to  ask  the  teacher  to  teach  him  something. 

They  must  not,  however,  go  idle ;  and  must  learn  to  control  themselves  so  far 
as  to  give  up  some  favorite  pursuit,  if  necessary,  for  one  less  agreeable. 

If  it  can  be  contrived  that  they  will,  themselves,  perceive  that  what  they  see 
others  do  is  a  privilege  of  riper  years,  their  ambition  and  desire  to  become  equal 
with  those  whom  they  see  to  be  beyond  them  will  awaken  their  industry,  and 
they  will  go  to  work  with  activity  and  pleasure — that  which  they  are  to  do  being 
their  own  wish.  The  consciousness  of  freedom,  which  they  love,  will  be  found 
im  small  stimulus  to  them.  The  hope  of  gaining  a  good  reputation,  and  the 
approbation  of  others,  will  be  found  to  have  great  influence  over  them. 

It  would  be  possible  only  under  a  private  tutor,  to  attempt  the 
plan  of  making  the  children  study,  only  when  they  are  so  disposed. 
It  is  one  of  the  prominent  advantages  of  schools,  that  in  them  every 
thing  goes  by  the  stroke  of  the  bell,  and  the  boys  quickly  learn  to 
conform  themselves  to  strict  regulations,  independent  of  themselves. 
It  is  a  disorder  even  of  our  times,  that  each  one  takes  upon  himself 
to  demand  his  own,  freedom ;  and  for  himself  to  act  in  every  thing 
according  to  his  own  views,  wishes,  or  prejudices ;  and  thus  it  hap- 
pens that  we  have  no  more  valuable  public  servants  either  in  church 
or  state.  Impulse  and  conscience  must  work  together  in  boys,  or  else, 
instead  of  them,  the  obscure,  unloveable,  and  egotistical  motive  of 
ambition  will  act. 

Children  should  not  be  punished  in  anger,  nor  insulted.  Blows  are  of  service 
only  against  obstinacy  and  refractoriness;  and,  even  then,  shame  and  disgrace 

•  P««ei  193-SM2. 


JOHN  LOCKE. 


433 


17  be  made  to  accomplish  more  than  pain.  Stripes  arc  to  break  the  will ;  and 
(hey  must  not  be  discontinued  until  this  is  done.  And,  even  then,  insignificant 
occasions  should  not  be  laid  hold  of  5  and  patience  should  be  used,  except  in 
case  of  malevolence. 

Children  must  be  reasoned  with.  This  they  understand,  as  soon  as  they  have 
a  general  understanding  of  any  thing ;  and  they  prefer,  earlier  than  in  thought, 
to  be  used  like  reasoning  creatures.  This  is  a  pride  which  should  be  carefully 
cultivated,  and  made  as  influential  an  instrument  as  possible.  It  is  evident  of 
itself  that  they  should  be  reasoned  with,  as  far  as  their  age  will  permit. 

Blows  should  not  be  given  immediately  after  their  cause,  and  while  there  may 
remain  some  anger  from  it;  and  it  would  be  better  to  administer  them  by  the 
hand  of  some  intelligent  servant,  so  that  the  pain  may  come  more  from  the  hand 
of  another ;  though  at  the  command,  and  under  the  eyes,  of  the  parents.  Thus 
respect  for  them  will  be  preserved,  and  the  dislike  which  the  pain  awakens  in  the 
child  will  fall  more  upon  the  person  by  whom  it  is  immediately  occasioned. 
"Whipping  in  schools,  hi  the  course  of  instruction  in  Latin  and  Greek,  must  be 
occasioned  either  by  some  thing  unnatural  and  repulsive  to  the  boys  in  those 
studies  themselves,  or  by  the  method  pursued  in  them. 

After  a  child  gets  so  bad  that  all  the  whipping  does  not  benefit  it,  there  remains 
nothing  for  its  father  to  do,  except  to  pray  for  it. 

The  tutor  ought  not  to  whip  a  child  without  the  consent  and  advice  of  the 
father,  until  he  shall  have  been  well  approved  of. 

Blows  given  in  holy  anger  make,  perhaps,  a  deeper  and  stronger 
impression  upon  a  child  than  those  given  by  an  entirely  calm  and 
reasoning  teacher.  More  passionate  anger  is,  of  course,  to  be  avoided. 
A  child  should  never  be  punished  by  one  whom*he  does  not  love ;  as, 
by  a  servant.  Locke's  recommendation  reminds  us  of  the  Jesuits, 
and  of  the  custom  of  the  Spartans,  who  made  their  Helots  drunk,  to 
teach  their  children  abhorrence  for  drunkenness.  These  are  eminently 
unchristlike. 

We  shall,  hereafter,  speak  of  reasoning  with  children. 

8.    THE    REQUISITES    OF    A    TUTOR. 

The  father  should  treat  the  tutor  with  respect,  that  the  child  may  follow  his 
example.  The  tutor  should  present  a  good  example  to  the  child  in  every  thing. 
Such  a  tutor  it  is  hard  to  find  ;  as  hard  as  to  find  a  good  wife  for  one's  son.  It  is 
not  enough  that  the  tutor  understands  Latin  and  logic;  his  manners  must  have 
been  trained  in  and  to  good  society,  or  else  his  learning  will  be  pedantry ; 
his  simplicity  and  plainness,  boorishness ;  and  his  good  nature,  low  hypocrisy. 
Elegant  manners  are  not  to  be  learned  from  books.  In  most  eases,  what  a  man 
accomplishes,  depends  more  upon  his  manners  than  upon  the  affairs  themselves ; 
and  upon  them  only  depends  the  pleasure  or  unpleasantness  with  which  affairs 
are  transacted.  It  is  more  the  duty  of  the  tutor  than  of  any  one  else,  to  draw 
the  attention  of  the  pupil  to  every  branch  of  good  manners ;  for  one's  faults  are 
spoken  of  only  behind  his  back. 

The  instructor  should  have  knowledge  of  the  world,  in  order  to  communicate 
it  to  his  pupil,  especially  that  the  latter  may  learn  to  observe  men,  and  to  estimate 
them  as  they  are,  neither  as  better  nor  worse.  Without  this  instruction,  the 
youth,  when  he  goes  out  into  the  world,  will  be  easily  deceived.  Of  this  he  must 
be  warned  in  time.  Such  knowledge  as  this  is  more  important  for  him  than 
Latin,  and  cramming  his  memory. 

The  tutor  needs  not  to  be  a  man  of  finished  learning,  or  to  be  a  complete  master 
of  all  the  branches  of  knowledge  into  which  the  young  man  of  the  world  is  to  be 
introduced  only,  and  with  which  he  is  only  to  have  a  general  systematic  acquaint- 
ance. The  pupil  is  to  study,  chiefly  in  order  to  use  his  powers  to  advantage,  and 
to  avoid  idleness ;  not  to  become  a  learned  man.  Seneca's  expression  is  too  true, 
among  us :  Non  vitte  ted  scholtt  discimus. 

The  children  ought  to  learn  what  they  can  use  when  men. 

28 


4.34  JOHN 

Parents  should  spare  neither  pains  nor  expense  to  procure  the  services  of  a 
good  tutor. 

Locke,  like  Montaigne  and  Rousseau,  describes  an  ideal  tutor, 
whom  to  find,  in  reality,  can  only  be  expected  by  kings  and  princes ; 
and  such  men  should  have  been  educated  not  only  in  the  schools,  but 
in  life,  travel,  <kc.  Locke  has  here  quoted  many  things,  almost  word 
for  word,  from  Montaigne. 

9.     FAMILIARITY    OF   PARENTS    WITH    THEIR    CHILDREN. 

Your  authority  should  be  as  early  as  possible  confirmed  over  your  child,  so  that 
it  may  operate  upon  him  like  a  natural  principle  whose  origin  he  does  not  under- 
stand. Let  him  fear  and  love  you.  But  in  general,  us  he  grows  up,  the  practice 
of  command  must  cease,  and  that  of  confidential,  friendly  counsel  and  conversa- 
tion take  its  place.  The  sooner  boys  aro  treated  like  men,  the  sooner  they  will 
be  men. 

Locke  seems  to  have  taken  these  rules  from  his  own  father's 
method  with  him.  The  principle  is  a  bad  one,  that  boys  can  and 
should  be  treated  like  men  before  their  time,  and  that  so  they  will 
become  men.  God  preserve  them  from  such  errors ! 

10.    OF  REPRESSING  TOO  HARSHLY  THE    AMBITION  AND  SELF-SEEKING    OF   CHILDREN.* 

Children  desire  to  rule,  and  this  is  the  origin  of  much  evil ;  and  they  also 
desire  to  have,  to  possess.  Early  opposition  must  be  made  to  this  ambition,  and 
love  of  acquisition.  Children  should  not  be  given  what  they  demand  with 
violence,  crying,  and  obstinacy  ;  but  what  they  really  need,  should  be  given  to 
them.  If  they  are  hungry  or  thirsty,  for  instance,  they  should  have  something  to 
eat  or  drink ;  but  not  necessarily  roast  meat  every  time  they  ask  for  it.  They 
must  early  learn  self-control.  They  should  have  entire  freedom  only  in  their 
recreation,  and  at  play. 

From  the  love  of  authority  proceed  the  complaints  of  children  against  their 
fellows.  This  should  usually  be  turned  oft",  or  sometimes  a  peace  should  be 
made. 

Covetousness,  the  root  of  all  evil,  should  be  opposed  in  every  possible  way,  and 
generosity  substituted.  This  virtue  must  be  awakened  by  praise,  and  by  careful 
and  persevering  management  not  to  let  the  child  lose  by  magnanimity  and  gener- 
osity. He  should  be  always  praised  when  he  has  practiced  this  virtue,  without 
exception,  and  with  interest ;  and  it  should  be  made  plain  to  him,  that  testimonies 
of  love  to  others  are  not  bad  economy,  but  that  similar  expressions  from  others 
answer  them,  both  from  those  who  receive  them,  and  those  who  are  only  spectators 
of  them. 

Children  should  be  held  to  strict  honesty,  and  strict  regard  for  the  property 
of  others ;  little  dishonesties  in  children  grow  into  deceitfulness,  when  they  are 
men.  Since  in  our  efforts  we  are  led  much  more  by  egotism  than  by  reason  or 
reflection,  it  is  no  wonder  that  children  very  easily  lose  sight  of  the  difference 
between  right  and  wrong ;  as  the  knowledge  of  it  requires  the  training  of  the 
reason,  and  careful  reflection. 

Locke's  method  for  curing  children  of  covetousness,  and  for  making 
them  generous,  is  fundamentally  wrong;  the  very  opposite  of  the 
teachings  of  Christ;  and  is  well  calculated  to  produce  a  most  selfish 
kind  of  well-doing,  which  must  take  place  in  the  sight  of  man,  and 
from  which  a  return  can  not  fail.  That  would  be  learned,  without 
instruction  in  virtue. 

•  Pages  1280-296. 


JOHN  LOCKE.  43_ 

Reason  and  reflection  do  not  cure  the  egotism  of  adults ;  they 
more  frequently  assist  it. 

11.    WHINING    AND    CRYING    OF   CHILDREN.* 

Obstinate  bawling  must  be  firmly  repressed;  and  children  should  not  be 
encouraged  in  crying  for  pain,  by  permitting  them  lo  do  so,  but  should  rather  be 
hardened  to  endure  it. 

In  direct  opposition  to  this  reasonable  rule  of  Locke,  is  the  unrea- 
sonable crying  behavior  of  grown-up  persons,  when  children  fall  down, 
by  which  the  latter  often  learn  to  make  an  uproar. 

12.     FEAR    AND    FOOL- HARDINESS    IN    CIIILDREN.f 

Children  should  be  taught  not  to  be  afraid,  but  not  in  such  a  way  that  they  will 
become  fool-hardy ;  they  should  learn  true  courage.  This  remains  master  of 
itself  in  every  occurrence,  and  in  every  sorrow. 

Children  should  be  taught  not  to  be  timid;  should  be  accustomed  to  the  sight 
of  strange  beasts,  frogs,  &c.,  and  should  be  hardened  so  that  they  will  willingly 
endure  pain.  Thus,  ambition  can  be  made  useful  to  them.  (!) 

13.    TENDENCY    OF    CHILDREN    TO    CRUELTY.} 

Fear  of  animals  is  especially  to  be  guarded  against.  The  opposite,  however, 
sometimes  happens.  Children  are  taught  to  strike  each  other,  and  their  elders 
laugh  when  they  hurt  each  other.  And  the  whole  course  of  entertainment  which 
history  lays  before  them  is  nothing  but  fighting  and  death.  Conquerors  are  great 
destroyers  of  the  human  race  ;  the  boys  learn  to  admire  them,  and  their  benevo- 
lent feelings  are  thus  destroyed. 

Children  should  be  made  to  be  kind  to  their  inferiors,  especially  to  servants. 

14.     DESIRE    OF   KNOWLEDGE,    AND    INDOLENCE    AND    CARELESSNESS,    IN    CHILDREN. § 

Children  who  ask  questions  must  not  be  sent  away  in  an  unfriendly  manner, 
)r  be  fooled  with  wrong  answers.  Children's  questions  often  help  in  forming 
men.  To  cultivate  their  desire  for  knowledge,  the  knowledge  of  others  may  bo 
talked  about  in  their  presence.  Since  we  are  all  idle  and  proud  creatures,  even 
from  the  cradle,  the  idleness  of  children  should  be  amused  with  things  which 
may  become  useful  to  them  ;  and  their  pride  made  effective  in  a  way  to  be  of 
profit  to  them.  It  is  a  similar  stimulus  to  cause  the  younger  to  be  taught  by  the 
elder. 

Children  who  are  industrious  at  play,  or  lazy  at  learning,  should  be  ordered  to 
spend  a,  whole  day  in  play,  to  make  them  tired  of  it;  their  work,  on  the  other 
hand,  should  be  treated  as  a  recreation,  and  never  made  a  business.  Bodily 
labor  is  likewise  good  for  the  lazy,  where  they  can  be  easily  watched  and 
managed. 

Thus,  pride  is  to  be  made  a  motive  again.  Locke  knew  that  it 
would  please  the  pride  of  the  elder  children  to  make  them  instructors 
of  the  younger.  The  application  may  be  made  to  the  practice  of 
employing  decurions  and  monitors. 

15.    PLAYTHINGS    FOR    CHILDREN.] 

These  should  not  be  provided  in  too  great  abundance,  nor  should  too  many  be 
put  into  their  hands  at  the  same  time.  As  far  as  possible,  they  should  make  their 
own  toys ;  and,  in  this,  they  should  have  assistance,  if  needed. 

16.    LYING    OF   CHILDREN.^" 

This  must  be  represented  to  them  as  something  horrible ;  as  something  *o 
repugnant  to  the  name  and  character  of  a  man  of  honor,  that  no  one,  who  has 

•  Pages  329-333.        *  Pages  333— 355.        J  Pages  355-364.        i  Pa«M  364-394. 
I  Pages  394—399.  *  !*»£««  399—406. 


436  JOHN  LOCKE. 

any  pretensions  to  such  a  character,  will  endure  such  an  accusation.*  Repeated 
lying  is  to  be  punished  with  blows ;  but  an  open  confession  of  a  fault  must  be 
rewarded  with  iU  forgiveness. 

"Men  of  honor" — what  honor  does  he  mean? 

17.    Or   THE    NEAR    OK   GOD    AS   THE    FOUNDATION    OF   TIRTUE.f 

Virtue  is  the  first  and  most  necessary  of  those  endowments  that  belong  to  a 
man  or  a  gentleman,}  since  it  is  absolutely  necessary  in  order  to  procure  them  the 
respect  and  love  of  others,  and  satisfaction  with  themselves.  The  basis  of  this 
is  laid  by  a  right  idea  of  God  the  Creator,^  who  loves  us,  and  whom  we  uught  in 
turn  to  honor  and  love ;  such  an  idea  as  our  confession  of  faith  gives  of  him. 
No  more  than  this  need  be  taught ;  except  that  a  short  form  of  prayer  should  be 
recited  morning  and  evening. 

Nothing  should  be  taught  about  spirits ;  and  the  children  should  be  kept  from 
notions  and  representations  of  goblins  and  ghosts. || 

To  the  instruction  about  God  should  be  added  teachings  in  truth,  love,  and 
benevolence. 

18.  WISDOM.*[[ 

This  i«r  the  art  of  performing  one's  business  in  the  world  with  skill  and  fore- 
sight. Its  constituents  are  understanding  and  honesty.  Deceitful  ness  is  a  fool- 
ish and  dishonest  imitation  of  prudence. 

The  practical  understanding  of  children  should  be  cultivated,  and  they  should 
be  guarded  against  falsehood. 

19.    GOOD    MANNERS.** 

Silly  bashfulness  and  bold  carelessness  should  be  avoided.  Courtesy  is,  to  dis- 
oblige no  one ;  good  manners,  and  the  most  polite  way  of  signifying  our  own 
wishes.tt'  If  there  is  good  will,  good  manners  will  follow  of  themselves,  by  inter- 
course with  the  well-bred.  It  is  not  necessary  to  trouble  one's  self  too  early  with 
the  art  of  making  compliments. 

Pains  must  be  taken  not  to  let  children  interrupt  others  in  their  conversation, 
especially  in  a  presumptuous  manner. 

20.    INSTRUCTION^ 

'•  I  speak  of  knowledge  last,"  says  Locke,  "  because  I  think  it  the  least  im- 
portant subject.  A  high  value  is  set  upon  a  little  Latin  and  Greek ;  boys  are 
chained  to  the  oar  for  from  seven  to  ten  years,  to  learn  these  two  languages, 
which  they  might  learn  with  very  much  less  expenditure  of  time  and  pains,  and 
almost  in  play. 

"A  virtuous  and  wise  man  is  far  to  be  preferred  to  one  of  great  learning." 

Thus  Locke  declares  that  he  knows  a  shorter  and  better  method 

*  La  Coste  translates :  "  Unt  qualite  indigne  d'un  hommr.  de  bonne  maiton,  qui  It  met  au  rang 
de  cequ'ily  a  de  plus  baa  et  de  plus  mtprisable  parmi  la  plus  vile  populace."  (!) 
t  Pages  406—418. 

>  Original ;  "  Gentleman."  I,a  Coste  :  "  La.  vertu  la  plus  errellente  de  eft  echoes,  la  plus  ar>- 
antoffitrf  d  Vhommr.  el  en  particular  d  une  personne  de  bonne  maison."  Locke  had  said, 
previously,  "A  father  should  wish  hie  son  lour  things  besides  wealth :  virtue,  wisdom,  knowl- 
edge of  life,  and  learning." 

<  La  Coste  :  "  Idte  de  dieu,  telle  qu'elle  nous  est  sagement  proposee  dans  le  symbole  del 
Apttres. "  In  the  original,  "  as  the  creed  wisely  teaches." 

I  Funk  and  Gedike  remark  here:  "It  would  be  difficult  to  avoid  telling  children  some- 
thing about  such  thing*,  for  they  can  not  easily  go  into  the  street  without  hearing  a  name 
which,  together  with  the  ideas  connected  with  it,  has,  since  before  the  Reformation,  had  mare 
currency  with  people  of  all  ranks,  and  is  therefore  of  more  importance,  in  some  respects, 
than  the  name  or  idea  of  the  Highest  and  most  worthy  of  love."  It  would  delay  me  too  long 
to  consider  here  the  ethics  of  Locke,  his  conception  of  virtue,  his  motives  to  it,  &c. 


t  Pages  418—421.       "  Pages  421—135. 

ertain  care  that  out 
lemselves."     I.a  Br 

«  Pages  436-683. 


tf  "The  essence  of  politeness  Is  a  certain  care  that  our  speech  and  our  manners  shall  make 
others  contented  with  us  and  with  themselves."    La  Bruyt-re. 


JOHN  LOCKE.  437 

of  teaching.  The  comparison  of  the  man  of  great  learning  and  the 
virtuous  man,  sounds  very  much  like  Montaigne,  and  more  like 
Rousseau. 

21.    READING. 

As  soon  as  the  boy  can  speak,  he  must  learn  to  read ;  and  this  must  be  made 
not  an  affair  of  labor  to  him,  but  an  amusement;  for  at  this  age  all  constraint  is 
hateful.  Toys  may  serve  to  teach  him  to  read.  For  instance  :  a  die  with  twen- 
ty-five faces,  and  the  letters  on  them  ;  and  a  price  set  upon  some  letter  which  is 
to  be  shown.  When  the  boy  has  learned  the  letters  in  this  way,  he  may  go  on 
to  spelling  and  reading. 

The  fables  of  JEaop,  with  as  many  pictures  as  possible,  offer  a  proper  first  read- 
ing-book. Children  should  receive  their  first  impressions,  not  from  words,  but 
from  things  and  the  representations  of  things.  "Reynard  tke  Fox  "  is  also  a 
good  book  for  the  purpose !  * 

The  Lord's  Prayer,  the  creed,  and  the  commandments,  should  not  be  learned 
by  rote  by  reading,  but  by  having  them  repeated  to  the  pupil.* 

The  whole  Bible  is  not  a  proper  reading-book  for  children  ;  but  only  extracts 
from  it  should  be  used,  for  practice  in  reading  and  for  instruction.; 

"Writing  should  be  begun  with  directions  for  holding  the  pen  correctly ;  they 
may  write  red  letters  over  again  with  black  ink. 

Drawing  should  come  in  connection  with  writing ;  especially  learning  to  make 
sketches  of  neighborhoods,  buildings,  machines,  &c.,  which  may  be  of  great  ad- 
vantage in  traveling. 

It  would  also  be  a  good  plan  for  the  children  to  learn  stenography. 

22.    LANGUAGES. 

The  boy  should  learn  French  first,  as  this  can  be  learned  in  the  common  way ; 
that  is,  by  speaking.  French  should  be  learned  early,  as  the  true  pronunciation 
will  be  learned  with  more  difficulty  at  a  later  age. 

Latin,  like  French,  should  be  learned  by  speaking  it.  But  it  should  not  be 
learned  by  all ;  not  by  those  who  will  not  have  any  occasion  for  it  during  the  rest 
of  their  lives;  as,  for  example,  by  those  who  are  to  be  merchants,  or  farmers, 
whose  writing  and  arithmetic  will  be  neglected  while  they  are  spending  all  their 
time  in  Latin. 

The  boy  should  be  spared  the  Latin  grammar ;  and  should  rather  be  put  in 
cnarge  of  a  man  who  shall  always  talk  Latin  with  him.  Thus  he  will  soon  learn 
the  language  like  another  mother  tongue,  as  girls  learn  French  from  women. 

These  Latin  conversations  may  be  made  useful,  by  turning  upon  geometry,  as- 
tronomy, chronology,  anatomy,  and  some  parts  of  history ;  and  upon  things 
which  lie  within  the  sphere  of  the  senses.  The  beginning  should  be  made  with 
things  of  this  kind.  * 

If  no  good  speaker  of  Latin  can  be  found,  an  entertaining  book,  like  ^^Esop's 
fables  should  be  taken,  and  a  translation  written  of  it  in  English,  as  literal  as  pos- 
sible, by  writing  in  between  the  lines,  over  each  Latin  word,  its  English  equiva- 
lent. This  translation  should  be  read  and  reread  daily,  until  he  quite  under- 
stands the  Latin,  when  he  should  take,  in  like  manner,  another  fable ;  reading 
over,  however,  that  which  he  has  already  learned,  to  keep  it  in  his  memory.  He 
should  also  write  off  the  same  fables,  and  learn  the  conjugation  and  declension 
by  rote  at  the  same  time ;  he  will  need  to  know  no  more  than  this  of  the  gram- 
mar for  the  present. 

Locke  here,  and  often  afterward,  follows  Comenius,  who  would 

*  This  sounds  much  like  Comenius. 

tUpon  this.  Campe  remarks :  "  How,  at  this  age  7  I  can  not  *ee  any  (food  reason  for  it." 
And  Resewitz  :  "I  do  not  understand  it."  In  like  manner  Gedike  :  '  Lea*t  of  all  should 
the  ten  commandment.-;  be  learned  then,  since  they  contain  a  morality  only  of  the  mont  par- 
tial, incomplete,  and  indefinite  kind.  But  they  were  not  intended  to  be  a  manual  of  moral- 
ity ;  and  it  is  no  reason  for  blaming  Moses,  that  Christian  teachers  have  made  an  elementary 
class-book  of  morals  out  of  his  criminal  code !  " 

J  Locke  also  recommends  a  catechism,  by  Worthington,  in  which  all  the  answers  are  word 
for  word  from  the  Bible. 


438  JOHN  LOCKE. 

teach  foreign  languages  and  real  things  at  the  same  time,  by  speak- 
ing those  languages.  The  interlinear  version  of  -<Esop,  on  the  con- 
trary, is  altogether  in  Ratich's  manner.  Locke  apparently  knew  the 
writings  of  both. 

Learning  should  be  made  as  easy  and  pleasant  as  possible  to  children  ;  fop  fear 
hinders  their  progress.  *'  It  is  as  impossible  to  draw  fair,  and  regular  characters 
upon  a  trembling  mind,  as  on  a  shaking  paper." 

After  ^Esop,  Justinus  or  Eutropius  may  be  read,  and  the  scholar  may  have  the 
assistance  of  an  English  translation.  To  speak  a  language,  it  should  never  be 
learned  from  the  grammar.  The  complete  study  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  gram- 
mar should  be  left  to  philologists  by  profession.  If  an  Englishman  of  rank  stud- 
ied any  grammar,  it  should  be  that  of  his  own  language  ;  a  thing,  however,  which 
is  not  at  all  thought  of.  Above  all,  the  grammar  of  a  language  should  be  learned 
only  when  the  student  can  speak  it ;  and  it  should  be  made  an  introduction  to 
rhetoric  for  him.  To  one  who  only  wishes  to  read  the  classics,  and  not  to  speak 
or  write  the  ancient  languages,  the  study  of  grammar  is  needless. 

The  scholar's  translations  from  Latin  into  his  mother  tongue  should  be  so  ar- 
ranged, that  he  can  gain  from  the  work  a  knowledge  of  real  things,  as  of  mine- 
rals, plants,  beasts,  and  especially  of  useful  and  fruit-bearing  trees.  Still  more 
important  is  it  that  geography,  astronomy,  and  anatomy  should  be  thus  learned. 

If  the  boy  learns  Latin  at  school,  he  is  made  to  write  Latin  exercises,  that  he 
may  learn  to  be  fluent  in  verse  and  prose.  But  what  he  needs  is,  to  understand 
the  Latin  authors ;  not  to  become  a  Latin  orator  or  poet.  But  themes  are  given 
him  for  these  exercises  which  he  does  not  understand  at  all.  It  would  be  much 
better  to  require  him  to  speak  extempore  upon  subjects  which  he  understands  in 
his  own  language,  or  to  compose  written  exercises  upon  the  like  subjects. 

To  torment  a  scholar  with  Latin  verse-making,  when  he  has  no 
poetical  talent,  is  in  the  highest  degree  unreasonable. 

If  he  have  a  poetic  vein,  it  is  the  strangest  thing  in  the  world,  that  the  father 
should  desire  or  suffer  it  to  be  cherished  or  improved.  Methinks  the  parents 
should  labor  to  have  it  stifled  or  suppressed  as  much  as  may  be  ;  and  I  know  not 
what  reason  a  father  can  have  to  wish  his  son  a  poet,  who  does  not  desire  to  have 
him  bid  defiance  to  all  other  callings  and  business — which  is  not  yet  the  worst  of 
the  case  ;  for,  if  he  proves  a  successful  rhymer,  and  gets  once  the  reputation  of  a 
wit,  I  desire  it  may  be  considered  what  company  and  places  he  is  likely  to  spend 
his  time  in,  nay,  and  estate  too ;  for  it  is  very  seldom  seen  that  any  one  discovers 
mines  of  gold  or  silver  in  Parnassus.  It  is  a  pleasant  air,  but  a  barren  soil ;  and 
there  are  very  few  instances  of  those  who  have  added  to  their  patrimony  by  any 
thing  they  have  reaped  from  thence.  Poetry  and  gaming,  which  usually  go  to- 
gether, are  alike  in  this  too,  that  they  seldom  bring  any  advantage,  but  to  those 
who  have  nothing  else  to  live  on.  If,  therefore,  you  would  not  have  your  son 
the  fiddle  to  every  jovial  company,  I  do  not  think  you  will  much  care  he  should 
be  a  poet,  or  that  his  schoolmaster  should  enter  him  in  versifying.  But  yet,  if 
any  one  will  think  poetry  a  desirable  quality  in  his  son,  reading  the  excellent 
Greek  and  Roman  poets  is  of  more  use  than  making  bad  verses  of  his  own,  in  a 
language  that  is  not  his  own. 

This  is  the  opinion  of  Shakspeare's  countryman  upon  poetry. 
Campe*  says,  "  to  smother  or  to  repress  the  poetical  vein,"  is  too 
strong  an  expression ;  Gedike  is  still  more  decidedly  on  the  side  of 
poetry,  although  he  advises  to  teach  the  youth  who  has  the  gifts  of  a 
real  poet,  that  there  are  much  greater  services  to  be  done,  than  those 
even  of  the  greatest  poet.  It  must,  however,  be  alledged  in  Locke's 
favor,  that  the  most  celebrated  poets  of  his  time,  Dryden,  Cowley,  <fec., 

*  Locke's  Manual,  p.  015. 


JOHN  LOCKE.  43g 

•wrote  poems  of  the  most  immoral  character.  He  is  entirely  in  the 
right,  in  saying  that  the  senseless  hitching  together  of  Latin  verses  is 
not  the  right  training  for  the  true  poet.  On  the  contrary,  he  might 
have  recommended  it  as  an  excellent  means  to  smother  and  repress 
poetical  gifts. 

It  is  not  advisable  to  learn  by  rote  large  extracts  from  the  classics,  but  only  es- 
pecially beautiful  portions.  It  may  be  a  question  whether  the  memory  should  be 
cultivated  by  learning  by  rote.  That  is  best  remembered  in  which  the  rnind  is 
strongly  absorbed,  and  in  which  it  takes  most  pleasure.  If  such  exercises  arc 
made  to  be  conducted  in  a  methodical  order,  all  is  done  that  ean  be  done  to 
strengthen  a  weak  memory. 

The  teacher  should  consider  the  learning  of  Latin  as  the  smallest  part  of  edu- 
cation. This  the  mother  herself  can  teach  the  child,  by  hearing  him  read  the 
Latin  evangelists,  two  or  three  hours  a  day.  If  she  should  read  them  herself  she 
would  soon  learn  to  understand  them  ;  and,  after  understanding  these,  she  could 
in  a  like  manner  read  yKsop's  fables,  and  so  go  on  to  Justin  and  Eutropius. 

A  Gertrude  teaching  Latin  ! 

Geography,  the  knowledge  of  countries  from  the  globe  and  from  maps,  can  be 
begun  early.  The  beginning  of  arithmetic  may  follow  ;  and  after  this  may  come 
the  fuller  knowledge  of  geography,  including  determinations  of  size,  &c.,  and  as- 
tronomy, with  the  help  of  the  celestial  globe.  Next  geometry ;  the  first  six 
books  of  Euclid.  With  geography  the  boy  should,  at  the  same  time,  learn  chro- 
nology, without  which  history  will  be  confused;  and  history  itself  may  be  next 
learned,  by  the  reading  of  the  Latin  classics. 

He  may  next  read  Cicero's  De  Ojficiis,  Pufendorf's  De  qfficio  hominis  et 
civis,  and  then  Grotius'  De  jure  belli  et  puds,  and  Pufundorf  ?s  De  jure  nalu- 
rali  et  gentium. 

A  virtuous  and  well-mannered  young  man,  who  well  understands  so  much 
of  the  civil  law,  knows  Latin  fluently,  and  writes  a  good  hand,  may  be  sent  out 
into  the  world  with  confidence,  and  may  be  sure  that  he  will  find,  somewhere, 
good  employment,  and  the  respect  of  his  fellows. 

The  youth  must  know  the  laws  of  his  own  country. 

Logic  and  rhetoric.  It  is  after  the  rules  of  these  two  arts  that  men  learn  to 
think  and  speak  with  rigid  correctness.  For  the  latter,  Cicero's  writings  may  be 
studied.  As  exercises  in  style,  scholars  may  write  short  histories,  and  may  trans- 
late ^Esop.  But,  above  all,  the  chief  object  should  be  that  they  should  learn  to 
write  and  speak  well,  not  only  Latin,  but  their  own  language  also ;  and  should 
not  despise  this,  as  the  language  of  the  multitude. 

Natural  philosophy  may  be  divided  into  the  study  of  the  mind  (metaphysics,) 
and  the  study  of  bodies  (physics.)  The  former  must  precede,  and  must  b.» 
founded  upon  the  Bible ;  lest  otherwise  the  influence  of  the  external  world  should 
destroy  faith  in  the  supernatural. 

The  pupil  may  read  DCS  Cartea,  to  become  acquainted  with  the  substance  of 
the  current  philosophy. 

Men  of  learning  must  understand  Greek.  But  what  I  have  undertaken,  is  not 
to  treat  of  the  education  of  the  learned  man  by  profession,  but  only  of  that  of 
the  man  of  the  world.  If  such  an  one  has  afterward  a  desire  to  carry  his  studies 
further,  and  to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  Greek  literature,  he  can  easily  obtain  a  knowl- 
edge of  that  language  for  himself.  (?) 

Dancing  is  of  service,  to  give  grace  to  all  the  motions ;  and  can  not  be  learned 
too  early.  The  dancing-master,  however,  must  know  and  be  able  to  tcaeh  in 
what  the  graces  consist,  or  he  will  be  of  no  value.  Leaping  and  flourishing 
dances  are  to  be  prohibited. 

Music  is  related  to  dancing ;  and  is  highly  value.!  by  many.     But  just  i 
is  lost  from  the  time  of  a  young  man,  if  he  shall  have  acquired  skill  (upon  instru- 
ments.) even  to  a  moderate  degree.     He  will  also  by  this  means  be  so  linbk 
brought  into  such  foolish  company,  that  others  are  of  opinion  that  bis  time  could 


440  JOHN  LOCKE. 

be  much  better  employed.  And  I  have  so  seldom  known  a  man  praised,  or  rai- 
ned among  men  of  talents  and  business  for  great  skill  in  music,  that  I  believe  I 
should  pat  it  in  the  last  place  upon  the  list  of  the  things  in  which  skill  is  to  be 
acquired.  Life  is  too  short  to  strive  after  every  thing ;  and  time  and  effort  should 
therefore  be  expended  upon  what  is  of  real  nse  and  importance. 

For  Locke's  anti-poetical  sentiments  I  found  an  excuse,  but  for  his 
anti-musical  ones  I  know  of  none ;  and  am  therefore  forced  to  believe 
that  the  musical  faculties  of  the  English  were,  at  that  time,  far  too 
little  developed.  Otherwise,  Locke  must  have  been  characterized  by 
the  most  terrific  unimaginativeness  and  want  of  all  susceptibility  to 
art. 

A  young  man  of  good  rank  must  learn  to  ride.  Fencing  is  good  for  the 
health,  bat  not  useful  in  real  life.  Skillful  fencers  seek  duels,  or  at  least  do  not 
•Mid  them.  But  as  long  as  fencing  and  riding  are  both  general  and  necessary  in 
the  education  of  a  young  man  of  rank,  it  would  be  hard  to  deny  him  these  marks 
of  his  social  position. 

Virtue  and  wisdom  stand  higher  than  knowledge.  Boys  should  be  taught  to 
restrict  their  impulses,  and  to  subject  their  desires  to  reason.  For  training  a  young 
man  to  this,  there  is  no  more  effectual  means  than  the  love  of  approbation  and 
praise ;  for  the  cultivation  of  which,  therefore,  all  means  should  be  used  :  add 
their  minds  should  be  made  as  sensitive  to  praise  and  blame  as  possible.  If  this 
be  done,  a  motive  has  been  given  them,  which  will  be  efficient,  at  all  times,  even 
when  they  are  alone ;  and  they  have  a  basis,  upon  which  can  be  afterward  reared 
the  true  principles  of  religion  and  morality. 

Here  appear,  in  their  full  proportions,  the  errors  of  Locke's  prin- 
ciples. He  plants  thorns  with  the  utmost  care ;  and  from  these,  when 
they  have  grown  up,  he  expects  to  gather  figs.  He  does  not  at  all 
recognize  the  existence  of  a  Christian  character,  of  which,  according  to 
Augustine,  the  first,  second,  and  third  fundamental  virtue,  is  humility. 

23.    MANUAL   LABOR.* 

The  youth,  even  of  high  rank,  should  learn  some  trade,  for  his  diversion ; 
that  of  carpenter,  joiner,  turning,  gardening,  or  farming,  for  instance.  To  this 
may  be  added  perfumery,  (?)  japanning,  engraving  on  copper,  and  working  in 
metals. 

Playing  at  cards  or  dice  should  not  be  learned,  to  avoid  temptation. 

24.    MERCANTILE    ARITHMETIC    AND    BOOK-KEEPING.* 

This  should  be  understood  by  every  man  of  rank,  not  as  a  means  of  getting  * 
livelihood,  but  that  he  may  be  acquainted  with  them,  to  prevent  him  from  spend 
ing  his  money  at  random. 

25.  TRAVELING. J 

Traveling,  to  learn  foreign  languages,  is  most  profitable  between  the  ages  of 
seven  and  sixteen,  and  most  unsuitable  from  sixteen  to  twenty;  for  then  the 
youth  is  too  old  for  learning  languages,  and  too  young  for  the  study  of  human 
nature ;  but  at  the  very  best  age  to  be  tempted  into  a  dissolute  life 

26.   CONCLUSION. $ 

The  character  of  children  is  a  foundation  which  can  not  be  built  upon  twice 
in  the  same  manner ;  and  hence  the  method  of  education  must  be  made  to  vary, 
according  to  the  various  conditions  under  which  it  is  reqnired.  The  present  gen- 
eral observation*  were  intended  for  the  son  of  an  eminent  man,  and  were  written 
down,  on  account  of  his  extreme  youth. 

*  Pact*  SK-SK.        T  P«*w  698-601.       :  Pafrs  601-610.       *  Pages  610-612. 


AUGUSTUS  HERMANN  FRANKE. 

[Translated  for  the  American  Journal  of  Education,  from  the  German  of  Karl  TOO  Raumer.) 


ACGCSTCS  HERMANS-  FRANKE,  the  founder  of  the  Orphan  House 
at  Halle,  and  of  all  the  institutions  which  cluster  around  it,  was  born 
March  22,  1663,  in  Lubeck,  where  his  father  was  syndic  of  the  cathe- 
dral-chapter of  the  town.  In  1666,  the  father  removed  to  Gothland 
became  privy  couaselor  and  counselor  of  justice  under  Duke  Ernst  the 
Pious;  but  died  in  1671.  The  orphan  boy  attended  the  gymnasium 
at  Gotha,  where  he  was  declared  ready  to  graduate  in  his  fourteenth 
year.  He,  however,  did  not  go  to  the  university  of  Erfurt  until  his 
sixteenth  year;  whence  he  removed  in  the  same  year  to  Kiel,  where 
he  studied  chiefly  under  the  instruction  of  Kortholt.  Under  him  he 
heard  lectures  on  metaphysics  and  ethics ;  under  Morhof  on  physics, 
natural  history  and  universal  history.  He  also  read  carefully  the 
rhetoric  of  Aristotle.  Theology  was  with  him  only  an  affair  of  the 
head. 

From  Kiel,  he  went  to  Hamburg,  in  1682,  where  he  studied  Hebrew 
for  two  months  under  Ezra  Ezard.  He  then  lived  in  Gotha  for  a 
year  and  a  half,  in  which  time  he  read  the  Hebrew  Bible  seven  times, 
and  studied  French  and  English.  In  1684,  he  went  to  Leipzig,  where 
he  took  his  degree  and  habilitated  himself  by  a  disputation  De  Gram- 
matica  Hebraea.  His  most  important  lectures  were  a  biblical  course. 
He  explained,  after  the  afternoon's  sermon,  a  chapter  from  the  Old  and 
one  from  the  New  Testament,  first  philologically  and  then  practically. 
Spener,  then  court  chaplain  at  Dresden,  took  much  interest  in  these 
lectures,  which  were  attended  by  an  extraordinarily  large  number  of 
hearers.  About  the  same  time,  Franke  translated  two  works  of 
Molinos,  for  which  reason  he  was  considered  a  friend  of  Quietism 
and  of  Catholicism. 

In  1687,  Franke  went  to  Luneburg,  to  superintendent  Sandhagen. 
Piously  brought  up,  he  had  always  prayed,  from  a  boy,  that  his  whole 
life  might  be  devoted  only  and  entirely  to  the  glory  of  God.  But 
when,  at  the  university,  theology  became  to  him  merely  a  heartleH 
study,  his  inward  peace  of  mind  left  him.  In  Luneburg  he  gr«:-w  un- 
easy, and  was  assailed  by  painful  doubts.  He  himself  relates  that 
his  opinion  of  the  Bible  became  quite  uncertain.  The  Jews,  he  often 


442  AUGUSTUS  HERMANN  FRANKE. 

reflected,  believe  in  the  Talmud,  and  Turks  in  the  Koran,  and  Chris- 
tians in  the  Bible.  Which  is  right?  This  contest  of  doubt  had 
arisen  to  its  greatest  hight,  when  it  became  his  duty  to  preach  upon 
the  words, — ''But  this  is  written ;  that  ye  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  is 
the  Son  of  God,  and  that  ye  have  life  through  faith  in  his  name." 
He  was  to  speak  of  true  and  living  faith,  and  was  conscious  that  he 
himself  had  not  this  faith.  He  was  already  thinking  of  refusing  to 
preach  the  sermon,  when  he  besought  God  for  help  in  his  perplexity. 
He  was  quickly  heard,  and  all  his  doubts  were  removed.  u  I  was  assured 
in  my  heart,'*  he  says  "of  the  grace  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ ;  aud  I 
could  call  him  not  only  God,  but  my  father."  Forty  years  afterward, 
in  this  last  prayer,  he  referred  to  this,  his  real  conversion. 

From  Luneburg  he  went,  in  1687,  to  Hamburg,  where  he  remained 
until  Easter,  1688.  Here  he  established  an  infant  school,  which  was 
numerously  attended.  Teaching  gave  him  self-knowledge ;  by  it  he 
learned  patience,  love,  forbearance.  "  Upon  the  establishment  of  this 
school,"  he  says,  "I  learned  how  destructive  is  the  usual  school 
management,  and  how  exceedingly  difficult  the  discipline  of  children; 
and  this  reflection  made  rne  desire  that  God  would  make  me  worthy  to 
do  something  for  the  improvement  of  schools  and  instruction."  The 
result  of  his  experience  he  put  together  in  a  work,  "  Upon  the  educa- 
tion of  children  to  piety  and  Christian  wisdom.'"  He  often  said  that 
this  work  of  instructing  youth  at  Hamburg  was  the  basis  of  all  that 
God  afterward  did  through  him.  It  was  upon  the  remembrance  of  it 
that  he  said,  at  Halle,  that  education  would  never  be  bettered  by  mere 
writing  of  books;  but  by  working  at  it 

From  Hamburg  he  went,  after  two  months,  to  Spener,  at  Dresden, 
then  published  his  biblical  lectures  at  Leipzig,  and,  in  1690,  was  in- 
vited to  become  deacon  in  the  church  of  St.  Augustine,  at  Erfurt. 
Here,  however,  he  soon  became  suspected  of  being  the  founder  of  a 
new  sect,  for  which  reason  he  was,  by  a  decree  of  the  elector  of  Mainz? 
and  a  vote  of  the  council,  of  September  18th,  1691,  prohibited  from 
any  further  filling  of  his  office. 

Just  at  that  time  the  university  of  Halle  was  founded,  chiefly  by 
the  efforts  of  Spener,  who  was  appointed,  in  1691,  high  consistorial 
counselor  and  provost  at  Berlin.  On  the  21st  of  December,  1691, 
Franke  was  designated  as  a  suitable  man  for  professor  of  Greek  and 
Oriental  languages,  in  the  new  university :  and  at  the  same  time  the 
pastorate  of  the  suburb  of  Glaucha  was  offered  him.  On  January  7th, 
1692,  he  removed  to  Halle,  where  he  lived  and  labored  for  thirty-five 
years  afterward,  to  the  end  of  his  life. 

The  opening  of  the  year  1694  is  to  be  considered  the  time  of  the 


AUGUSTUS  HERMANN  FRANK E.  443 

beginning  of  all  the  great  institutions  of  Franke.  They  commenced 
as  follows.  The  poor  were  accustomed  to  come  ever)-  Thursday  to 
the  parsonage.  Instead  of  giving  them  bread  before  the  door,  Franke 
called  them  into  the  house,  catechised  the  younger,  in  the  bearing  of 
the  elder,  and  closed  with  a  prayer ;  and  in  his  own  poverty  he  began 
to  lay  by  money  for  the  poor,  by  depriving  himself  for  a  long  time  of 
his  supper:*  and,  in  1695,  he  fixed  up  a  poor's  box  in  his  room,  with 
the  following  text 

"Whoso  hath  this  world's  poods,  and  seeth  his  brother  have  need,  and  shut- 
teth  up  his  bowela  of  compassion  from  himl  how  dwelleth  the  lore  of  God  in 
him?'' — 1  John,  UL  17. 

"Every one,  according  as  he  purposeth  in  his  heart,  so  let  him  give;  not 
grudgingly  or  of  necessity;  for  God  loveth  a  cheerful  giver." — 2  Cor.  ix.,  17. 

In  this  he  once  found  seven  florins,  left  by  a  benevolent  lady.  Upon 
taking  out  this,  he  said,  "  this  is  a  handsome  capital ;  I  must  found 
some  good  institution  with  it.  I  will  found  a  poor  school."  On  the 
same  day  he  bought  two  thalers  worth  of  books,  and  employed  a  poor 
student  to  teach  the  children  two  hours  daily.  Of  twenty-seven  books 
given  it,  only  four  were  brought  back.  But  Franke  bought  new 
books,  made  a  schoolroom  of  a  room  next  his  study,  and  gave  the 
children  alms  three  times  a  week.  The  children  of  citizens  soon 
began  to  attend,  each  of  whom  paid  one  grosch  as  tuition  fee,  so  that 
the  teacher  was  better  paid,  and  was  enabled  to  give  five  hours  of 
teaching  daily.  During  the  first  summer,  the  number  of  children  in 
the  school  reached  sixty. 

The  reputation  of  Franke's  great  activity  in  the  cause  of  the  poor 
soon  spread  abroad,  and,  from  that  time,  contributions  began  to  come 
to  him  from  far  and  near;  in  proportion  as  this  increased,  his  plans 
enlarged.  Still,  it  often  happened  that  in  firm  faith  he  undertook 
something  great  without  any  means,  and  that  these  means  canoe  to 
him  at  the  necessary  time  in  the  most  wonderful  manner. 

His  parsonage  soon  became  too  small  for  the  school.  He  hired  a 
room  in  the  neighboring  house  and  made  two  classes,  one  of  the  poor 
and  the  other  for  the  citizens'  children,  each  with  its  own  teacher. 

The  wish  soon  sprung  up  in  Franke's  mind  not  only  to  instruct, 
but  also  to  educate  the  children ;  a  wish  to  found  an  orphan-house. 
A  friend  gave  him  for  this  purpose  five  hundred  thalers,  and  in  Novem- 
ber, 1695,  nine  orphans  were  already  assembled,  who  were  brought  to 
him  by  citizens.  Neubauer,  a  student  of  theology,  was  employed  as 
overseer. 

In  the  same  year,  1695.  three  young  persons  of  noble  family  were 

*  Uf  sent  to  a  friend,  who  was  in  want  about  this  time,  one  hundred  aitd  fin*  thaler*,  which 
he  had  received  from  the  bookseller  for  his  Biblical  Improvement. 


444  AUGUSTUS  HERMANN  FRANKS. 

put  under  Frank6's  care  to  be  instructed  and  educated.  This  was  the 
first  beginning  of  the  present  Pjedagogium. 

In  1696,  Franke  bought  a  second  house.  The  number  of  orphan 
children  in  these  two  houses,  in  that  June,  reached  fifty-two.  At  the 
same  time  he  established  a  free  table  for  students,  at  which  forty-two 
were  fed  in  three  months. 

As  the  number  of  children  increased,  Franke  determined  to  build 
an  orphan-house.  For  this  purpose  he  sent  Neubauer,  the  overseer  of  his 
orphan  children,  as  early  as  1696,  to  Holland,  in  order  to  gather  informa- 
tion. At  his  return,  this  true  and  intelligent  man  took  the  direction 
of  the  building  of  the  orphan-house ;  and  the  corner  stone  was  laid, 
July  24,  1698.  There  were  already  one  hundred  orphans,  and  five 
hundred  children  were  receiving  instruction. 

It  is  impossible  to  read  without  edification  how  the  blessing  of  God 
was  with  all  which  Franke,  in  his  unselfish  Christian  love,  undertook. 
We  can  here  mention  only  a  few  of  the  many  examples  of  these  bless- 
ings, which  he  himself  relates.  Once,  his  want  of  money  was  ex- 
treme. "  When  I  went  out  into  the  beautiful  weather,"  relates  Franke, 
"  and  looked  upon  the  clear  heavens,  my  heart  was  much  strengthened 
in  faith,  so  that  I  thought  within  myself,  how  beautiful  it  is,  when, 
although  man  is  nothing  of  himself,  and  has  nothing  to  rely  upon,  he 
recognizes  the  living  God,  who  made  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and 
puts  all  his  trust  in  him,  so  that  even  in  want  he  can  be  peaceful. 
Upon  my  return  to  the  house,  there  came  an  overseer  who  wanted 
money  for  the  work-people.  'Has  any  thing  come  in  ?'  he  asked.  I 
answered,  'No;  but  I  have  faith  in  God.'  Scarcely  had  I  uttered 
the  words,  when  a  student  was  announced  to  me,  who  brought  thirty 
thalers,  from  some  one  whose  name  he  refused  to  give.  Then  I  went 
back  into  the  room  and  asked  the  other  how  much  he  wanted  to  pay 
the  workmen.  He  answered,  thirty  thalers.  I  said,  here  they  are ; 
and  asked  whether  he  wanted  more.  He  said,  No;  which  much  en- 
couraged both  of  us,  since  we  saw  in  it  so  evidently  the  hand  of  God, 
who  had  given  what  was  needful  in  the  very  moment  when  it  was 
wanted." 

In  1698,  relates  Franke  further,  "I  sent  to  a  pious  and  distressed 
Christian  woman  one  ducat.  She  replied  to  me,  that  the  ducat  had 
come  to  her  at  a  time  when  she  was  in  much  need  of  it;  and  that 
she  had  prayed  God  that  he  would  bestow  upon  my  poor  orphans  a 
heap  of  ducats  in  return.  Soon  afterward  were  brought  to  me  four 
ducats,  and  twelve  double  ducats.  On  the  same  day,  two  ducats 
were  sent  to  me  from  a  good  friend  in  Sweden.  Not  long  afterward, 
I  received  bv  the  post  twenty-five  ducats,  the  giver  of  whom  was  not 


AUGUSTUS  HERMANN  FRANKE.  445 

named.  Twenty  ducats  were  also  sent  me  at  the  same  time  from  one 
of  my  patrons.  Prince  Ludwig,  of  Wurtemberg,  died  about  the 
same  time,  and  I  was  told  that  lie  had  left  a  sum  of  money  to  the 
orphan-house.  It  was  five  hundred  ducats  in  gold.  They  were  sent 
to  me  at  a  time  when  I  was  in  the  greatest  need  of  them  for  the 
building  of  the  orphan-house.  When  I  saw  this  heap  of  ducats  upon 
the  table  before  me,  I  thought  upon  the  prayer  of  the  pious  woman, 
that  God  would  give  to  my  poor  orphans  a  heap  of  ducats  in 
return."* 

In  innumerable  other  cases  like  these,  Franke  received  help  from 
the  Lord.  Two  productive  sources  of  income  are  especially  worthy 
of  mention.  A  young  theologian,  named  Elers,  had  joined  himself  to 
Franke.  In  1698,  he  took  charge  of  the  printing  of  one  of  Franke's 
sermons,  entitled,  "  On  duty  toward  the  poor."  Elers  laid  this  and  a 
few  other  sermons  upon  a  little  table  at  the  Leipzig  fair,  for  sale.  This 
was  the  first  beginning  of  the  orphan-house  bookstore,  which,  under 
the  careful  and  intelligent  management  of  Elers,  soon  so  much  in- 
creased that  it  opened  branches  at  Berlin,  and  Frankfort-on-the-Main. 
There  were  sold  in  them,  among  other  things,  all  of  Franke's  very 
popular  works,  besides  many  school-books,  some  of  which  passed 
through  a  great  number  of  editions.  All  the  gains  of  the  bookstore 
went  into  the  treasury  of  the  orphan-house. 

Franke's  second  fruitful  source  of  income  was  from  the  medicines  of 
the  apothecary's  shop  of  the  orphan-house.  With  this  he  had  a 
singular  experience.  One  Burgstaller,  upon  his  death-bed,  left  to 
Franke  a  legacy  "for  the  establishment  of  a  very  splendid  apothecary's 
shop."  Franke  appointed  to  the  management  of  the  shop,  Christian 
Friedrich  Richter,  well  known  for  his  deeply  pious  divine  songs.  After 
the  expenditure  of  large  sums  of  money,  the  enterprise  began  to  be 
profitable  in  January,  1 701.  The  orphan-house  medicines  began  to  be 
in  demand  everywhere,  wonderful  effects  were  related  of  them,  and 
great  sums  accrued  to  the  orphan-house  from  their  sale. 

It  would  require  too  much  time  to  narrate  how  the  institutions  grew    • 
with  each  year ;  it  must  suffice  to  give  their  condition  at  two  periods. 

In  1705,  there  were  in  existence  the  following  of  Franke's  institu- 
tions.! 

1.  The   orphan-house  proper,  containing  fifty-five  boys  engaged  in 

*  King  Frederic  I,  of  Prussia,  also  gave  2,000  I  balers.  100.000  brick,  and  30,000  tiles,  for  the 
building.  In  1702,  he  granted  to  the  Orphan  House  and  the  Pxdagogium  some  very  valuable 
privileges.  '•  Foolatfpa,"  p.  121  and  136. 

Envious  adversaries  accused  Franke  "of  having  embezzled  man/  thousand  lhalers ;  i>m 
that  the  people  had  sent  him  money ;  item,  that  he  caught  at  the  money  of  papists  and  all 
manner  of  visionaries."  •'  Footsteps,"  ch.  3,  94. 

t  Franke's  Institutions,  1,  382. 


446  AUGUSTUS  HERMANN  FRANKE. 

study,  forty-five  in  mechanic  arts ;  twenty-five  girls,  and  seventeen  per- 
sons in  the  household. 

2.  The  seminary  for  teachers ;  supporting  seventy-five  persons,  whose 
board  was  free. 

3.  The  extraordinary  free  table  for  sixty-four  very  poor  students. 

4.  Eight  school  classes  ;  with  eight  hundred  scholars,  including  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  orphan  children;  and  sixty-seven  teachers. 

5.  The  Predagogium ;  with  seventy  scholars,  and  seventeen  teachers. 

6.  Bookstore  and  printing  office ;  fourteen  persons. 

7.  Apothecary's  shop ;  eight  persons. 

8.  Widows'  house  ;  four  widows. 

9.  Oriental  college;  eleven  persons. 

In  1727,  at  Franke's  death,  the  following  return  of  the  institution 
was  made  to  King  Fried  rich  Wilheltn  I.* 

1.  The  Paedagogium,  eighty-two  scholars,  and  seventy  teachers  and 
others. 

2.  The  Latin  school  of  the  orphan-house ;  with  three  inspectors, 
thirty-two  teachers,  four  hundred  scholars,  and  ten  servants,  <fec. 

3.  The  German  burgher  school ;  with  four  inspectors,  ninety-eight 
teachers,  eight  female  teachers,  one  thousand  and  twenty-five  boys 
and  girls. 

4.  Orphan  children ;  one  hundred  boys,  thirty-four  girls,  and  ten 
overseers  and  female  overseers. 

5.  Persons  boarded  free ;  two  hundred  and  fifty-five  students,  and 
three  hundred  poor  scholars. 

6.  Household,  apothecary's  shop,  booksellers ;  fifty-three  persons. 

7.  Institutions  for  females;  fifteen  in  the  girls'  institution,  eight  in 
the  boarding  house  for  young  women,  six  widows. 

This  sketch  of  the  exterior  condition  of  Franke's  institution  does 
not  however  show  by  any  means  the  whole  of  his  sphere  of  labor; 
especially  in  his  pastorate,  for  the  university,  the  spread  of  the  Bible, 
and  missions.  How  wide  soever  were  the  extensions  of  these  labors, 
they  all  sprang  from  the  same  root;  from  Franke's  inward  Christian 
love  toward  God  and  his  neighbor.  Only  in  the  name  of  Christ 
would  he  labor  or  plan  ;  and  his  expressed  wish  was,  to  bring  to  Christ 
all  whom  lie  taught,  from  the  student  down  to  the  youngest  of  the 
orphan  children. 

In  this,  as  in  his  views  of  the  study  of  theology,  he  agreed  entirely 
with  his  friend  Spener.  They  both  repeatedly  insisted  upon  the  con- 

*  Frankg's  Institutions,  2,  296.  In  1707,  there  were,  in  the  Pfedagogium,  and  the  other 
schools,  one  thousand  and  ninety-two  pupils,  under  three  inspectors,  and  eighty-five  teachers. 
Seven  hundred  and  fifty-five  scholars  were  from  Halle,  fbotalept,  p.  3,  £9. 


AUGUSTUS  HERMANN  FRANKE.  447 

version  and  piety  of  the  students  :  and  that  theology  must  not  only 
be  an- affair  of  the  head,  but  of  the  heart.*  "One  drachm  of  living 
faith,"  says  Franke,  "is  more  to  be  valued  than  an  hundred  weight  of 
mere  historical  knowledge;  and  one  drop  of  true  love,  than  a  whole  sea  of 
learning  in  all  mysteries."  lie  was  strenuous  against  the  perverted 
stu  ly  of  what  does  not  look  toward  the  work  of  real  life.  "It  is  the 
common  evil,"  he  says,  "that  we  do  not  learn  what  we  use  in  our 
occupations  every  day  ;  for  it  is  too  small  for  us  ;  and  what  we  have 
learned  at  the  university,  that  we  do  not  know  how  to  use  profitably." 

Both  Spener  and  Frankc,  however,  were  careful  to  guard  against 
the  supposition  that  they  were  opposed  to  theological  learning.  "  If 
you  would  become  teachers,"  says  Franke  to  the  stndents,f  "  it  is  not 
enough  that  you  are  pious ;  you  must  also  possess  thorough  theolog- 
ical learning."  "The  Christian  student,"  remarks  Spener,  "prays  as 
earnestly  for  divine  illumination  as  if  he  had  no  need  of  his  own  in- 
dustry, and  studies  with  as  much  zeal  as  if  he  must  do  every  thing 
by  his  own  unassisted  labor.  For  it  would  be  presumptuousness  and 
tempting  God,  only  to  pray,  and  thus  to  await  the  divine  help  with- 
out any  industry  of  his  own." 

Franke  labored  in  every  way  in  connection  with  his  like-minded 
colleagues,  those  able  teachers  Anton,  Breithaupt,  and  Michaelis,  for 
the  good  of  the  young  theologians.  Lectures  were  read  upon  all 
theological  studies,  and  Franke  read  besides  upon  the  method  of  the- 
ological study.  In  the  "parenetical  lecture,"  he  shows  what  are  the 
hindrances  of  young  theologians  in  religion,  and  in  seeking  their  object 
in  study  ;  and  how  these  hindrances  are  to  be  overcome. J 

These  lectures  he  continued  weekly  through  many  years,  and  at  an 
hour  when  no  other  lecture  was  read.  lie  began  them  in  1G93  ;  and 
the  last  lecture  which  he  delivered,  May  15,  1727,  three  weeks  before 
his  death,  was  parenetical.  In  this  lecture  he  combated,  with  great 
zeal,  the  sins  of  young  theologians;  lie  advised  them  before  all  tilings 
to  convert  themselves  before  they  tried  to  convert  others,  to  pray  and 
to  labor.  He  gave  them  rules  for  living  and  studying,  drew  their 
attention  to  all  that  had  been  done  at  Halle  of  late  for  students,  which 
had  not  been  thought  of  at  other  universities,  and  which  had  not  been 
thought  of  at  all  in  earlier  times.  Among  these  things  he  included 
this,  that  the  theological  students  of  Halle  were  spared  the  usual 
scholastical  disputes,  and  applied  themselves  instead  to  the  careful 

*  "Idea."  95.  Tlie  Uohemiun  Brothers  told  J.ulher  that  "  they  could  n«)l  look  for  good  to  re- 
sult to  those  in  whose  schools  so  much  care  was  expended  on  learninz  and  so  little  on  con 
science." 

i 1dea,  37. 

»  For  the  students  he  wrote  his '-Idea  studios!  theolojria?."  "Timotheus,"  and  oilier  wr.tiny*. 


448  AUGUSTUS  HERMANN  FRANKE. 

exegesis  of  the  Holy  Scriptures ;  and  that  they  had  opportunity  for 
practical  efforts  in  catechizing  and  other  instruction.  Students  newly 
come  must  report  themselves  to  the  theological  faculty,  who  met 
upon  certain  days  for  that  purpose.*  Each  new  comer  is  to  be  in- 
quired of,  how  he  has  regulated  his  life  and  his  studies.  Once  every 
quarter  of  a  year  all  the  theological  students  are  to  meet  before  the 
faculty,  to  give  an  account  of  their  studies,  and  to  receive  counsel  for 
the  future.  Besides,  they  are  to  be  encouraged  to  visit  single  pro- 
fessors, and  to  consult  with  them  upon  the  state  of  their  souls,  and 
upon  their  studies. 

In  1 709,  Franke  delivered  some  parenetical  lectures,f  "in  which," 
as  their  title  states,  "the  distinctions  between  the  present  students 
of  theology  there  and  those  who  were  here  in  the  beginning  is  shown." 
Here  he  complains,  that  zeal  for  good  has  much  diminished  with  most 
of  them  ;  describes  the  coarse  kind  of  student-life  which  has  crept 
in  ;  J  and  remarks  how  little  the  well-intended  care  of  the  theological 
professors  is  recognized  by  the  students  ;  that  the  latter  rather  com- 
plain about  them,  as  if  they  made  invasions  upon  their  freedom  as 
students ;  and  that  their  good  advice  produces  no  results.  §  "  The 
complaint  is  often  heard,"  he  remarks,  "  of  the  students  of  Halle,  that 
they  are  hypocrites."  "  I  can  not  think  of  this  without  great  sorrow  ; 
and  can  not  enough  wonder  at  it,"  he  says,  "  how  it  should  be  possible 
that,  from  all  our  lectures  and  admonitions,  so  little  effect  should 
have  come." 

•  A  reaction  was  produced.  In  place  of  the  prevailing  useless  stu- 
dent-life, Franke  and  his  theological  colleagues,  with  one  blow,  suc- 
ceeded in  introducing  the  still,  pious,  almost  Christ-like  state  of  dis- 
cipline, which  it  would  be  well  worth  while  to  compare  with  the  life 
of  the  Hieronymians.  ||  One  devotional  exercise  after  another  was 
attended.  Pious  emotions  and  incitements  were  encouraged  in  all 
ways.  At  every  opportunity  all  prayed,  preached,  exhorted,  and 
sung.  ^[  It  is  no  wonder  that  a  mode  of  life  diametrically  opposed 
to  this,  a  student  life  of  coarse  immorality,  rooted  deep  in  the  customs 
of  so  many  centuries,  should  make  a  strong  opposition  against  Franke's 
efforts,  so  that  he  only  succeeded  in  attracting  to  himself  youths  of 

''•Appendix  to  the  representation,"  p.  19& 

t  Lectioneg  par.,  part  4,  p  73,  &c. 

:  Hi  -'A  Stiuliosut  Theologise  must  know  this  rule:  Quod  in  ttliin  tat  peccatum  venicie,  id 
in  clerico,  and  also,  moreover,  in  ttudioso  then/agio)  eat  pe. centum  morlole." 

i  Ib ,  III.  "  Formerly,  the  Ihfologitt  studioti  rather  thought  it  a  benefit,  that  their  studio. 
were  directed  by  the  Faculty."  See  also  p.  39. 

E  Ullmann's  "  Johann  Weasel,"  p.  23  (1st  ed.) 

'  Niemeyer'i  Principle!.  8th  ed.,  3,  348.  Semler's  Autobiography  has  much  information  on 
the  same  subject, 


AUGUSTUS  HERMANN  FRANKE.  449 

quiet  and  thoughtful  character.  There  do  not  seem  to  have  been 
enough  pains  taken  to  devise  means  for  winning  others ;  to  practice  a 
Pauline  accommodation,  such  as  is  of  no  injury  to  truth  or  holiness. 

I  doubt  much  whether  Luther  would  altogether  have  approved  of 
the  ideal  of  the  student-establishment  of  Franke  and  Spener.  How 
violently  did  Luther  inveigh  against  all  manner  of  monkish  restraint! 
"  Pleasure  and  amusement,"*  he  says,  "  are  as  necessary  to  young 
people  as  eating  and  drinking."  How  strongly  does  he  recommend 
"music  and  knightly  games,  fencing  and  wrestling;  of  which  the  first 
dispels  care  of  the  heart  and  melancholy  thoughts,  and  the  others 
bring  the  body  to  its  proper  proportions  and  keep  it  in  health."  There 
is  danger  of  falling  into  drinking,  debauchery,  and  gaming,  "if 
such  honorable  exercises  and  knightly  games  are  condemned  and 
neglected."! 

Franke's  complaints  of  the  ignorance  of  the  students  at  entrance 
are  worthy  of  attention.  That  he  advises  them  to  take  lessons  in 
writing,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  need  not  surprise  us;J  but  in  regard  to 
spelling  the  case  was  as  bad.  "I  find,"  hesays,§  "  that  there  are  few 
theological  students  who  can  write  a  German  letter  correctly  spelled. 
They  violate  orthography  almost  in  every  line.  I  even  know  of  many 
examples  where,  after  they  have  entered  upon  the  ministry,  and  have 
had  occasion  to  have  something  printed,  it  has  been  necessary  to  have 
their  manuscript  first  corrected  almost  in  every  line;  insomuch  that 
it  has  been  recommended  to  them  to  have  their  work  transcribed  by 
some  one  who  understood  spelling,  in  order  that  it  might  be  read 
without  difficulty.  The  reason  of  this  defect  is  usually  in  the  schools, 
where  only  the  Latin  translation  of  their  exercises  is  corrected,  but 
not  the  German ;  so  that  they  learn  nothing  of  spelling.  They  do 
not  learn  to  distinguish  in  their  spelling  such  as  er  war,  die  Waar,  es 
ist  wakr,  and  the  like,  and  can  not,  so  long  as  they  write  their  Ger- 
man exercises  in  so  superficial  a  manner."]] 

It  may  be  imagined  that,  in  proportion  as  German  was  neglected  at 
the  schools,  Latin  was  more  thoroughly  learned.  But  this  was  not  so. 
"  In  many  cases,"  continues  Franke,  "  when  they  desire  to  write  a  Latin 
letter,  it  appears  that  they  have  not  learned  the  grammar  of  the 
language ;  which  occa^ons  many  faults."  The  same  students,  at 

•See  Part  First,  141,177. 

t  The  eating;  and  drinking  life  of  dissipated  students,  as  Frankl  described  it,  might  well 
destroy  hopes  fbncuch  men,  even  if  they  should  apply  themselves  to  "  honorable  exercises  and 
knightly  games." 

;  "  It  is  seldom  that  one  writes  a  good  hand  when  he  comes  from  school." 
§  Lect.  paraenet.,4, 280.   CJomp.  ••  Appendix  to  the  picture  of  a  theological  student,"  p.  280. 
I"  Appendix  to  the  picture,"  &c.,  p.  281.    "There  is  seldom  as  much  as  a  qualcmcunyme 
peritiam  in  German  orthography  brought  from  the  schools." 
No.  14.— [VoL.  V.,  No.  2.]— 29.  2C 


450  AUGUSTUS  HERMANN  FRANKE. 

entering,  are  not  well  grounded  even  in  Luther's  catechism.  "  At  the 
same  time,''  he  says,  "it  is  seldom  the  case  that  any  one  brings  with 
him  a  knowledge  of  vulgar  arithmetic,  although  it  is  of  continual  use 
in  common  life."* 

In  another  place,  Franke  saysf  that  the  theological  professors  of 
Halle  "have  found,  with  great  grief,  that  most  of  the  schools  are  so 
ill  taught,  that  from  them  there  come  pupils  of  twenty  years  and  over, 
who  have,  notwithstanding,  to  be  taught  the  very  rudiments  of  Latin, 
not  to  mention  Greek  and  Hebrew,  if  they  are  to  attend  the  lectures 
with  any  profit.  The  universities  also,"  he  goes  on,  "  have  found,  by 
sad  experience,  that  many  unqualified  and  ignorant  persons  enter 
them,  who  are  not  fit  to  be  taught  any  thing/'  The  teachers  of  the 
schools  ought  to  perform  their  duties  more  conscientiously. 

While  Franke  tried  all  means  to  enable  those  who  were  backward 
in  their  school  knowledge  to  recover  their  lost  ground,  he  sought,  on 
the  other  hand,  by  every  possible  means,  to  promote  instruction  in  all 
the  school  studies ;  languages,  history,  geometry,  mathematics,  <fec.J 
In  the  institutions  founded  by  him,  which  contained  nearly  two  thou- 
sand scholars,  there  were  taught  more  than  one  hundred  students, 
under  the  oversight  and  guidance  of  inspectors.  They  were  especially 
trained  in  catechising.  "The  whole  of  the  so-called  ordinary  table  of 
the  orphan-house,"  says  Franke,  "  now  including  one  hundred  and 
thirty-four  students,  is  in  fact  a  seminary  of  preceptors  for  the  rest  of 
the  institution. §  From  these  "some  were  selected  and  placed  in  the 
select  seminary  of  preceptors."  This  latter  seminary  was  commenced 
in  1707.  From  ten  to  twelve  theological  students  were  chosen  for  it, 
well  grounded  in  their  studies,  and  with  an  inclination  and  aptitude 
for  their  business  of  school  teaching.)]  They  were  trained  for  the  oc- 
cupation of  teaching  during  two  years,  by  lectures  and  practice. 
They  received  their  board  there,  but  were  required  to  bind  themselves 
to  teach  in  the  Paxlagogitim,  or  the  orphan-house,  for  three  years, 
after  the  expiration  of  the  two  years.^f 

We  have  seen  that,  in   1695,  Franke  founded  a  poor  school,  to 

•II..  t  Ib.,  '275.  J  Ib..  284,  274.  277,  28i»,  290. 

(The  fir- 1  occasion  of  the  foiind.ition  of  this  free  table  and  seminary,  was  a  gift  offive  hun- 
dred Dialers,  which  he  received,  in  IfiOj,  for  poor  students,  "footsteps,"  Third  Part,  9. 

I  '•  FovlKtep.f,"  Third  Part,  9.    Fifth  Part,  60. 

'In  1702,  Frank6  founded,  together  with  Anton  and  Breithaupt.  the  Collegium  Orientate 
T/uologicum,  in  which,  besides  H-brew,  Syriac,  were  taught,  Chaldee,  Arabic,  Ac.  The 
ctiiilriilg  at  this  college  were  of  much  service  to  J.  II.  Michaelis,  by  collating  MSS.  for  his 
edition  of  the  Hebrew  Bible.  It  contained  twelve  •  i  inli-ni.- ;  it  seems  to  have  lasted  until  1790. 
Johann  Tribbechor,  of  Golha.  was  its  first  principal ;  the  Fame  who  was  author  of  that  ••  as- 
tonishing hymn, — "  O,  thou  guard  of  Israel."  Michaelis  was  connected  with  him  in  it* 
management.  "  Pbotttrpi,"  Second  Part,  5.  Third  Part,  6. 


AUGUSTUS  HERMANN  FRANKS.  451 

which  children  of  citizens  came.  In  1697,  he  established  the  Latin 
school  for  boys  of  a  better  order  of  talent.  The  poor  school  received 
the  name  of  the  German  burgher  school,  and  was  divided  into  the 
boys'  and  girls'  school.  At  Franke's  death,  as  above  related,  there 
were  in  the  burgher  school  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  boys  and  girls,  in  the  Latin  school  four  hundred  scholars,  and 
twenty-five  more  in  the  Paedagogium.  The  course  in  the  German 
school  at  first  included  religious  instruction,  reading,  writing,  and 
arithmetic ;  to  which  were  afterward  added,  natural  history,  history, 
geography,  &c.  An  overseer  was  placed  over  all  the  German  schools, 
to  whom  was  also  intrusted  the  preparation  of  proper  teachers  for 
them.  The  girls  were  to  be  especially  instructed  in  woman's  work, 
and  even  the  boys  received  instruction  in  knitting.* 

In  the  Latin  school,  were  taught  (besides  religion,  reading,  writing, 
and  arithmetic,)  Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew,  mathematics,  history,  geogra- 
phy, and  music.  "  Classic  Greek  was  much  neglected  for  the  constant 
reading  of  the  New  Testament."!  The  oldest  accounts  mention 

O 

botany  as  one  of  the  branches  of  instruction  at  this  school.  In  1709, 
Latin  was  taught  in  seven  classes  ;J  and  physics,  painting,  and  anatomy 
were  introduced  among  the  studies.  In  1714,  oratory  and  logic  were 
added  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  French  is  wanting. 

Franke  intended  the  Paedagogium  for  the  instruction  of  the  sons  of  ^ 
those  of  the  higher  ranks.  As  we  have  said,  three  young  noblemen 
were  sent  to  him  in  1695  ;  which  was  the  beginning  of  the  institution. 
The  number  of  scholars  grew,  and,  in  1705,  was  70;  who  boarded 
here  and  therein  citizens'  houses.  In  1711,  Franke  determined  to 
build  a  large  house  for  it,  which  was  completed  and  occupied  in  1713. 
The  accommodations  for  scholars  and  overseers  in  it  were  convenient 
and  cheerful,  not  dark  and  cloister-like.  Additions  to  this  soon  showed 
that  Franke  was  looking  to  real  instruction ;  there  were  connected 
with  the  Psedagogium  a  botanical  garden,  then  a  natural  cabinet,  a 
philosophical  apparatus,  a  chemical  laboratory,  conveniences  for  ana- 
tomical dissections,  also  turning-lathes,  and  machinery  for  glass-cut- 
ting.§ 

The  course  of  study  of  the  Paedagogium  was  thus  stated,  in  1706 : 

*  In  1701,  Frankg  appointed  for  this  purpose  an  especial  knitting-master.  ••  F\x>tt t?/*." 
Part  First,  45. 

t  Niemeyer,  3.  M6.  Rector  Mai,  from  FrankC's  school,  banished  the  Greek  Classics  from  the 
gymnasium  at  Hersfeld,  and  substituted  the  reading  of  the  New  Testament,  even  to  tl.e 
Apocalypse.  (Programme  of  director  Dr.  Miiencher,  1837.) 

J  By  the  subdivision  of  Srcunda,  T^rtia,  Quarln,  and  Quinta,  the  whole  number  of  cl«s*e» 
reached  eleven. 

S  Franke"'s  Institution,  2,  14,  &c.  Further  details  upon  the  Pa?dagogium  are  given  in 
Frank's  book,  "  Complete  order  and  method  of  teaching  for  the  Piedagogium.'1  1*01. 


452  AUGUSTUS  HERMANN  FRANKE. 

"  Besides  the  grounds  of  true  Christianity,  they  will  be  instructed  in 
the  Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew,  and  French  languages,  as  well  as  in  a  good 
German  style,  and  in  writing  a  good  hand ;  also  in  arithmetic,  geogra- 
phy, chronology,  history,  geometry,  astronomy,  music,  botany,  and 
anatomy,  besides  the  chief  principles  of  medicine,  *  *  *  and  more- 
over, in  the  hours  of  diversion,  they  find  opportunity  to  learn  turning, 
glass-grinding,  painting,  writing,  <fec.  During  all  recreations,  when 
they  might  be  liable  to  injury,  they  are  under  careful  supervision,  and 
are  not  left  alone  during  the  night."  It  is  stated  as  a  characteristic 
feature  of  the  Paedagogiura,  that  in  it  "  the  classes  are  so  arranged  that 
the  scholar  has  a  place  not  only  in  one  class,  but  in  this  or  that  class 
differently,  according  to  his  proficiency  in  different  studies.  For  ex- 
ample, he  may  be  in  the  first  class  in  Latin,  in  another  in  Greek,  and 
in  like  manner  may  have  fellow-students  as  far  forward  as  he  in  every 
study.  First  of  all,  the  scholar  must  be  thorough  in  Latin,  but  in  the 
other  languages  and  studies  he  may  take  up  only  one  after  another, 
in  such  a  way  as  to  learn  one  well  before  he  undertakes  the  next." 

A  special  class,  Selecta,  was  organized  in  the  Psedagogium,  for  pre- 
paration for  the  university.  The  scholars  of  this  class  read  many  of 
the  Latin  authors  cursorily,  disputed,  spoke  frequently,  studied  rhetoric, 
logic,  metaphysics,  a  kind  of  dogmatics,  and  read  part  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments  in  the  original.  The  Greek  classics  were  not  men- 
tioned ;  but  for  them  were  substituted  the  homilies  of  Macarius, 
Nonnus'  paraphrase  of  John,  <fec.* 

For  instruction  and  oversight,  so  far  as  number  of  persons  is  con- 
sidered, the  Paedagogium  was  richly  endowed.  At  Franke's  death  it 
contained  eighty-two  scholars,  for  whom  were  employed  one  inspector, 
one  mathematical  teacher,  eighteen  ordinary  teachers,  eight  extraor- 
dinary ones,  and  ten  assistants. 

Only  a  small  number  of  teachers  in  comparison  were  employed  for 
the  great  number  of  scholars  in  Franke's  institution ;  most  of  the 
school  work  being  done  by  a  large  number  of  students,  who  had  re- 
ceived a  preparation  for  this  purpose  in  the  two  seminaries  already 
mentioned.  Franke  proposed  in  this  way  to  select  young  men  of 
character  similar  to  his  own,  and  who  should  be  trained  up  in  the 
methods  used  in  the  orphan-house  school.  Inspectors  watched  care- 
fully that  none  of  them  varied  from  the  established  way.  In  this  man- 
ner it  could  not  fail  to  happen  that,  notwithstanding  the  great  extent 
of  the  institution,  all  the  teachers  in  it  should  teach  in  the  same  spirit, 
and  to  the  same  end.f  But  we  must  not  pass  over  the  dark  side  of 

*  Prudentius'  hymns  were  also  read  ;  and  dialing  was  added  to  the  mathematical  studies. 

t  Frankfi's  Institutions,  2, 39.    "  Candidates  and  students  were  selected  for  teachers,  to  whom 

Frankg  prescribed  a  method  of  instruction  which  they  must  follow  strictly.    Most  of  them 


AUGUSTUS  HERMANN  FRANKE.  453 

this  plan.  This  unity  of  the  whole  was  liable  easily  to  become  a 
monotony,  the  unity  of  a  machine,  in  which  no  part  makes  or  can 
make  pretensions  to  independence.  The  students  bound  themselves  to 
teach  for  three  years,  and  then*  left  the  institution.  In  so  short  a  space 
of  time,  how  could  they  attain  to  independent  knowledge  and  skill 
in  the  pedagogical  art?*  What  earnest  teacher  has  not  found  that 
this  vocation  is  an  art  to  the  acquisition  of  which  time  is  necessary 
that  in  the  first  years  of  his  teaching  much  of  his  labor  was  injurious 
to  himself  and  his  scholars,  and  that  he  only  attained  to  skill  after 
a  long  time  ?  Thus  it  was  with  Franke,  who  had  in  his  institution 
only  a  very  few  masters  of  the  art  of  teaching,  but  a  preponderating 
crowd  of  dependent  beginners,  whose  mistakes  were  only  partly  com- 
pensated by  their  thorough  subordination.! 

Franke  was  director  of  his  institution;  but  first  named,  in  1716, 
as  sub-director,  Joh.  Daniel  Herrnschmid ;  and,  after  his  death,  in 
1723,  his  own  pious  son-in-law,  Joh.  Anastasius  Freylinghausen.J 
After  the  death  of  Tollner,  in  1718,  who  had  held  the  oversight  of 
both  the  Latin  and  German  schools,  Herrnschmid  took  that  of  the 
Latin  school,  which  was  from  that  time  separate  from  that  of  the 
German  school. 

In  order  to  comprehend  the  peculiarities  of  Franke's  school,  it  must 
be  remembered  that  it  was  especially  characterized  by  its  prevailing 
Christian  or  perhaps  pietistic  element,  which  appears  in  its  many 
devotional  exercises,  in  the  neglect  of  the  Greek  classics  for  the  New 
Testament,  and  in  the  study  of  Hebrew  for  the  understanding  of  the 
Old  Testament.  It  is  also  a  peculiar  trait  of  the  school,  that  real  ] 
studies  had  a  prominent  place  in  it;  that  the  scholars  were  allowed  J 

willingly  followed  his  directions ;  for,  up  to  that  time,  they  had  had  no  method  of  their  own  to 
which  they  had  become  used,  as  is  usually  the  case  with  men  who  have  already  taught  in 
other  schools." 

*Hieronymus  Wolf,  the  learned  Rector  of  the  Augsburg  Gymnasium,  says  :  "  It  was  ex- 
ceedingly desirable  that  such  young  teachers  should  be  employed,  by  what  may  be  called  an 
appropriate  good  fortune,  in  a  school  where,  the  labor  being  endurable  and  the  wages  accord- 
ingly, and  great  enough  to  support  themselves  and  their  families,  they  would  not  be  seeking 
better  situations.  For  a  frequent  change  of  teachers  has  many  disadvantages :  and  it  is  not  possi- 
ble for  one  to  teach  faithfully  and  thoroughly,  who  is  on  the  watch  for  every  opportunity  to 
better  his  situation,  and  who  is  seeking  to  serve,  not  the  minds  of  his  scholars,  but  his  own 
ease  and  pleasure."  (Programme  of  the  Augsburg  Gymnasium,  by  Dr.  Mezger,  1834.  p.  11.) 

tThis  is  no  reproach  to  Franke.  One  who  is  endeavoring,  like  him.  to  assist  a  larffe  num- 
ber of  children,  must  adapt  himself  to  circumstances.  The  monitors  of  Bell  ai.d  Lancaster 
were  certainly  not  as  good  assistants  as  the  students  of  Franke". 

J  Herrnschmid  was  born  in  1675,  at  Bopfingen,  in  Suabia,  and  was  the  author  of  several 
sacred  hymns ;  among  others,  of  "  Praise  the  Lord,  O  thou  my  soul."  Freylinghausen  was 
born  at  Gandersheim,  in  1670,  and  died  in  1739,  in  his  place  as  director  of  the  Orphan  House. 
He  was  distinguished  for  excellent  sacred  hymns  ;  and  his  volume  of  them  marks  an  epoch 
in  their  history.  Herrnschmid  was  succeeded,  as  inspector  of  the  Latin  school,  by  several 
eminent  men,  as  Johann  Jacob  Rambach,  Sigismund  Jacob  Baumgarten  and  August  Gottlieb 
Spangenberg,  who  was  afterward  Bishop  of  the  United  Brethren 


454  AUGUSTUS  HERMANN  FRANKE. 

different  places  in  different  classes,  according  to  their  progress  in  dif- 
ferent studies ;  and  lastly,  that  many  of  the  students  also  gave  in- 
struction, and  in  a  prescribed  and  strictly-followed  method. 

After  having  thus  surveyed  the  numerous  pedagogical  labors  of 
Franke, — for  the  university,  for  the  Latin  schools,  burgher  schools,  and 
orphans, — we  will  now  consider  two  departments  of  his  efforts  which 
had  only  an  indirect  influence  upon  pedagogy. 

The  first  is  the  Canstein  Bible  Institution,  which  was  annexed  to 
the  orphan-house. 

Carl  Hildebrand,  Baron  von  Canstein,  born  in  1667,  was  lord 
marshal,  and  president  of  the  supreme  court  of  judicature,  of  the 
electorate  of  Brandenburgh,  and  the  trusted  friend  of  Spener.  In 
1710,  he  published  a  pamphlet,  with  the  title:  "Humble  proposal 
how  the  word  of  God  may  be  brought  into  the  hands  of  the  poor  for 
a  small  price."  His  plan  was,  "  by  means  of  the  institution,  to  keep 
forms  standing,  and  to  print  one  hundred  thousand  copies  of  the  Bible 
before  the  types  were  worn  out."  He  put  the  sale  into  the  hands  of 
Franke's  orphan-house ;  and  Prince  Carl  of  Denmark,  brother  of  King 
Frederick  IV,  gave  for  the  purpose  one  thousand  two  hundred  and 
seventy-one  ducats.  The  first  edition  of  the  New  Testament  under 
this  arrangement  appeared  in  the  year  1713.  And,  up  to  1795,  there 
had  been  printed  in  the  institution  one  million  six  hundred  and  fifty- 
nine  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eighty-three  Bibles,  eight  hundred 
and  eighty-three  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ninety  New  Testaments, 
sixteen  thousand  copies  of  the  Psalms,  and  forty-seven  thousand  of 
Sirach.  Luther's  text  was  strictly  adhered  to,  with  only  a  few  changes 
universally  recognized  as  necessary,  and  which  were  made  with  the 
utmost  diffidence  and  care,  for  fear  of  exciting  attention  and  oppo- 
sition. 

A  second  department  of  Franke's  activity  was  missions.  King 
Friedrich  of  Denmark,  under  the  influence  of  his  two  German  court 
chaplains,  Masius  and  Lutkens,  applied  to  Franke  for  this  purpose. 
Bartholomaus  Ziegenbalg,  and  Heinrich  Plutschau,  were  selected  by 
him  as  missionaries,  were  ordained  in  Copenhagen,  and  landed  at 
Tranquebar,  July  9th,  1706. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  this  important  mission  of  the  Lutheran 
church,  which  lasted  more  than  a  century.  With  a  depth  of  love 
that  believed  all,  and  hoped  all,  the  missionaries  from  Halle  labored 
perseveringly  and  faithfully,  when  all  hope  seemed  to  have  departed. 
In  evil  times,  when  pestilence,  famine,  and  war  prevailed,  they  were 
in  many  ways  the  advisers  and  helpers  of  the  natives.  Ziegenbalg,  at 
unbounded  sacrifices,  and  with  vast  zeal,  translated  a  great  part  of  the 


AUGUSTUS  HERMANN  FRANKE.  455 

Bible  and  of  the  small  Lutheran  catechism  into  Tamul,  wrote  hymns 
in  that  language,  and  with  great  industry  composed  two  dictionaries 
and  a  grammar  of  it.  His  worthy  successor,  Benjamin  Schulze,  com- 
pleted his  translation  of  the  Bible.  The  influence  of  the  missionaries 
grew  so  fast  that  it  was  not  confined  to  Tranquebar.  From  the  year 
1728,  they  were  induced  and  aided  to  found  Lutheran  missions  at 
Madras,  Cuddalore,  Calcutta,  Tanjore,  and  elsewhere.* 

Schwarz  distinguished  himself  above  all  the  missionaries.  He  was 
held  in  high  respect  by  those  of  all  sects.  While  the  East  India 
Company,  in  1779,  employed  him  as  an  envoy  to  Seringapatam,  and 
the  English  in  1784,  in  the  negotiation  with  Tippoo  Saib,  he  was  so 
highly  regarded  by  the  Rajah  of  Tanjore,  that  the  latter,  upon  his 
death-bed,  in  1787,  required  him  to  undertake  the  guardianship  of 
his  adopted  son,  then  nine  years  old.  Schwarz  died  in  1798.  In 
1816,  Middleton,  English  bishop  to  Calcutta,  visited  this  son,  then 
King  Sirfogan,  in  Tanjore ;  the  king,  says  the  account,f  "  was  no  be- 
liever in  Christianity,  but  to  the  end  of  his  life  he  wept  tears  of  love 
and  gratitude  for  the  well-remembered  missionary  Schwarz,  whom  he 
was  accustomed  to  call  not  only  a  great  and  good  man,  but  his  father, 
and  the  friend,  protector,  and  king  of  his  youth ;  and  to  whose 
memory  he  had  erected  a  costly  marble  monument,  which  was  made 
in  London,  and  solemnly  set  up  in  the  Christian  church  at  Tanjore." 

The  missionaries  from  Halle  applied  themselves  particularly  to  the 
instruction  of  the  Hindoo  youth,  by  which  means  they  trained  up 
many  Hindoo  catechists,  who  rendered  valuable  assistance  in  convert- 
ing their  countrymen.^ 

This  is  not  the  place  to  give  a  detailed  history  of  the  Halle  mission. 
From  1705  to  his  death,  Franke  was  actively  laboring  for  it  in  many 
ways.  Of  these  the  chief  was  the  careful  choice  of  missionaries,  who 
were  selected  from  the  theological  students  of  the  school  at  Halle, 
without  special  preparation  for  the  missionary  service.§  From  1710, 

*  The  Anglican  church  had  not  hitherto  interfered  with  the  missions ;  no  missionaries  had 
received  its  ordination,  or  subscribed  to  the  thirty-nine  articles.  Most  of  the  missionaries, 
from  1731  to  1792.  were  ordained  at  Wernigerode,  by  the  Lutheran  church.  See  Franke"'s  In- 
stitutions, pp.  3,  356,  383,  339,  518,  552.  So  far  from  the  Lutheran  missionaries  being  under 
the  government  of  the  Anglican  church,  it  was  especially  remarked,  in  regard  to  the  Lutheran 
missionary,  Diemer,  "that  (in  London,)  his  great  faults  being  well  understood,  he  found  at 
first  no  very  encouraging  reception  ;  but  that  he  afterward,  by  his  pretenses,  succeeded  in  en- 
listing many  upon  his  side ;  and,  in  the  hope  of  afterward  deriving  benefit  from  it,  submitted 
to  episcopal  ordination." 

t  "  Later  history  of  the  evangelical  missions,"  by  Knapp,  67th  part.  p.  633. 

J  The  number  of  members  upon  the  church  book  at  Tranquebar,  in  the  space  from  1706  to 
1780,  was  16,556.  Frankg's  Institutions,  3,  248. 

5  This  has  been  the  rule  down  to  the  latest  times;  it  has  been  remarked  by  the  late  Knapp, 
of  only  one  missionary,  that  he  had  not  studied,  but  had  shown  himself  endowed  with  iti* 
tinguished  talents. 


456  AUGUSTUS  HERMANN  FRANKE. 

he  was  preparing  for  the  publication  of  a  "History  of  the  evangelical 
missions  for  the  conversion  of  the  heathen  in  India;''  he  caused  a 
Tamul  printing  press  to  be  sent  from  Halle  to  Tranquebar ;  large  sums 
were  intrusted  to  him  with  confidence  for  these  missions ;  and  his 
name  was  the  security  of  the  undertakings.  Even  in  his  last  address 
he  showed  how  dear  it  was  to  his  heart. 

We  have  thus  considered  Franke's  direct  efforts,  in  the  most  vari- 
ous directions.  These  labors  however  appear  much  greater  when  we 
examine  their  indirect  results.  How  many  orphan-houses  and  poor- 
schools  may  thank  his  example  for  their  existence ;  how  often  to-day 
is  his  name  mentioned  in  reports  upon  reform  institutions  !  What  an 
impulse  did  the  Halle  mission  give  to  Protestants ;  and  how  dear  to 
their  hearts  and  consciences  did  the  spread  of  Christianity  become  by 
this  means  !  Zinzendorf,  the  founder  of  the  Herrnhuters,  was  a  pupil 
of  Franke's,  and  how  great  are  the  blessings  which  the  Herrnhuters 
have  distributed  among  the  most  outcast  of  the  heathen !  Was  it 
not  the  example  of  Franke  which,  in  1727,  led  professor  Callenberg, 
of  Halle,  to  found  an  institution  for  the  conversion  of  Jews  and  Mo- 
hammedans ;  and  was  not  this  mission  the  forerunner  of  the  present 
mission  to  the  Jews  ?  Lastly,  was  not  the  Canstein  Bible  Institution, 
which  has  distributed,  at  exceedingly  low  prices,  more  than  two  million 
copies  of  the  Bible,  the  New  Testament,  the  Psalter,  &c.,  the  forerun- 
ner of  all  the  Bible  societies  of  the  present  day  ?  * 

We  have  pursued  Franke's  life  up  to  1694  only  ;  although  might 
we  not  say  that  his  life  was  most  properly  characterized  by  his  efforts 
and  institutions ;  that  he  lived  entirely  in  what  he  considered  his 
divinely-given  vocation  ? 

I  shall  here  add  but  little.  In  that  year,  1694,  he  married  a  Miss 
Von  Wurm,  with  whom  he  lived  thirty-three  years,  until  his  death, 
in  happy  marriage.  They  had  three  children.  The  first,  a  son,  died 
early.  The  second  son,  Gotthilf  August,  born  in  1696,  was  Franke's 
successor  in  the  direction  of  the  institutions  ;  the  third  child,  a  daugh- 
ter, married  Freylinghausen  in  1715.  Franke's  domestic  life,  in  the 
small  circle  of  his  family,  was  wholly  characterized  by  his  pious  spirit. 
Up  to  his  sixty-third  year,  he  enjoyed,  on  the  whole,  good  health. 
If  at  any  time  he  found  himself  overworked,  he  relieved  himself  by 
travel.  In  1725,  he  was  attacked  by  a  painful  dysentery,  and  in  Nov., 
1726,  he  was  lamed  in  his  left  hand  by  an  apoplexy.  He  however 
felt  himself  so  much  stronger  in  M&rch,  1727,  that  he  inserted  his  lec- 

*  1  forbear  here  to  enlarge  upon  ihe  fact  that  in  Speiier  and  Franke's  schools  originated  an 
unchurchlike,  pietist,  and  myntical  separatifm,  which  has  in  after  times  become  steadily  more 
and  more  influential,  erroneous,  and  misleading. 


AUGUSTUS  HERMANN  FRANKS.  457 

hires  in  the  catalogue  of  lectures  for  the  summer  season.  But  he 
delivered  only  one,  on  the  15th  of  May,  a  parenetical  one,  which  he 
ended,  evidently  affected,  with  the  words :  "  so  now  go  hence,  and 
may  the  Lord  be  blessed  for  ever  and  eternally." 

On  the  18th  of  May,  he  partook  for  the  last  time  of  the  Lord's 
Supper. 

On  the  24th  of  May,  he  walked  in  the  garden  of  the  orphan-house. 
Here  he  poured  out  his  soul  in  earnest  prayer ;  in  which  he  referred 
to  his  conversion  at  Luneburg.  He  said :  "Under  the  open  heaven  I 
have  often  made  a  league  with  thee,  and  said,  if  thou  wilt  be  my  God, 
I  will  be  thy  servant.  Often  have  I  prayed  to  thee,  Lord,  give  me 
children,  make  them  as  the  dew  of  the  morning,  make  their  numbers 
as  the  stars  in  heaven.  Thou  hast  done  it ;  and  hast  by  my  means 
opened  a  spring  of  eternal  life,  and  hast  caused  it  to  flow  so  far  that 
souls  have  drank  of  it  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  Let  it  now  flow 
forth  and  forever,  that  the  blessings  may  never  cease,  but  may  live 
on  to  the  end  of  the  world." 

From  that  time  onward,  his  pains  increased  ;  but  he  bore  them  with 
Christian  patience,  supported  by  prayer  and  the  reading  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures.  He  often  repeated  the  words  of  the  dying  Jacob,  "Lord. 
I  wait  for  thy  salvation." 

On  the  8th  of  June,  he  grew  weaker  and  weaker.  His  pious  wife 
then  asked  him,  "Is  thy  Saviour  still  near  thee?"  "There  is  no 
doubt  of  that,"  he  answered.  These  were  his  last  words.  He  now 
fell  into  a  slumber ;  and  sank  away  softly  and  placidly,  among  the 
prayers  and  singing  of  his  family  and  his  friends,  at  three-quarters 
past  ten  in  the  evening.  He  had. reached  the  age  of  64  years  two 
months  and  three  weeks. 

The  whole  city  came  forth  to  see  once  more  the  remains  of  the 
dead ;  and  followed  him  to  his  resting-place,  on  the  17th  of  June. 


458  AUGUSTUS  HERMANN  FRANKE. 


FRANKE'S  ORPHAN  HOUSE  IN  1853 

Let  us  now  bestow  a  short  glance  upon  the  exterior  of  Franke's  Institutions; 
placing  ourselves,  for  the  purpose,  in  the  so-called  Franke's  Square.  From  this, 
we  first  see  a  large  building,  three  stories  high,  and  with  fifteen  windows  in  front. 
In  the  first  story,  as  we  have  related,  are  the  book  establishment  and  the  apothe- 
cary's shop;  and,  in  the  second  and  third,  the  rooms  of  the  Latin  High  School, 
( Ilauptschule.)  Under  two  eagles,  who  direct  their  flight  toward  the  sun,  is  the 
inscription  which  we  have  already  read:  ''They  who  wait  upon  the  Lord  shall 
renew  their  strength  ;  they  shall  mount  up  with  wings  as  eagles."  On  going  up 
the  outer  steps,  the  eye  falls  upon  two  large  tablets,  upon  one  of  which  is  the  in- 
scription. "Stranger!  what  thou  seest  is  the  result  of  faith  and  love.  Honor 
the  spirit  of  the  founder,  by  believing  and  loving  like  him."  The  inside  of  the 
edifice  presents  a  long  street  with  lofty  houses  each  side.  On  the  right  is  the 
common  dining-room,  and  over  it  the  assembly-room,  which  is  for  school  or  re- 
ligious uses.  Next  this  arc  the  officer's  residences,  the  Canstein  Bible  Institu- 
tion, the  library,  (which  has  gradually  increased  by  gifts  and  legacies  to  26,000 
volumes,  and  in  whose  lower  story  is  a  high  school  for  girls,)  the  chief  account- 
ant's office,  the  treasury,  and  the  archives. 

On  the  left  hand  are,  next  to  the  front  building,  the  orphan  institution  for  boys, 
the  rooms  of  the  burgher  and  free  schools,  the  Madchenhans  for  orphan  girls, 
and  two  girls'  schools.  The  long  building  next,  with  six  entrances,  the  first  of 
which  admits  to  a  real  school,  and  the  others  to  many  lodging-rooms  for  teachers 
and  scholars. 

At  the  end  of  this  interior  street  is  a  side  of  the  edifice  of  the  Royal  Pscda- 
gogium,  to  which,  between  two  courts,  is  adjoined  the  main  building  for  the  pupils 
of  the  institution.  South  of  the  great  inner  street  is  a  second  street,  with  build- 
ings for  the  domestic  departments,  bakery,  store-rooms  for  books  and  bibles,  the 
hospital,  and  the  building  yard.  Beyond  these  are  the  extensive  gardens  and  the 
beautiful  play  grounds  of  the  Orphan  House  and  the  Poedagogium. 

Several  of  these  buildings  have,  since  Franke's  death,  either  been  entirely  re- 
built or  changed  by  important  repairs ;  the  outward  appearance  of  his  institutions 
is,  at  this  day,  however,  but  little  different  from  that  in  his  time. 

The  schools  have  been  much  increased.  Franke  established  the  Pseda- 
gogium,  the  Latin  school,  and  the  German  schools  for  boys  and  girls.  His  suc- 
cessors have  maintained  these,  but,  as  successive  periods  required,  have  added  to 
them  a  real  school,  a  higher  girls'  school,  a  preparatory  school  for  future  teachers, 
and  boys'  and  girls'  schools  for  children  entirely  poor,  quite  separate  from  those 
in  which  a  moderate  rate  is  required. 

The  number  of  scholars  has  increased  remarkably.  In  1698,  it  was  500;  in 
1707,  1100;  in  1714,  1775;  in  1727,  2205;  and  at  about  1750,  2500.  After 
that  time  the  number  began  to  decrease,  so  that  at  the  centennial  foundation  anni- 
versary there  were  only  1418.  During  the  present  century,  confidence  in  tbo 
schools  revived ;  and  the  attendance  upon  them  has  rapidly  risen  to  so  great  a 
number  as  would  have  been  injurious  to  the  grade  of  the  instruction,  if  care  had 
not  always  been  taken  to  divide  classes  when  too  full.  The  Poedagogium  alone 
has  decreased,  by  reason  of  various  unfavorable  circumstances,  so  that  whereas, 
fifty  years  jijjo.  there  were  76  pupils  in  it,  there  are  now  but  24.  The  l^atin  high 
school  has  475  pupils:  the  real  school  480;  the  girl's  high  school  253;  the 
burgher  schcxil  714  ;  the  intermediate  girls'  school  406;  the  free  school  for  boys 
315  ;  that  for  girls  322  ;  so  that  more  than  3000  scholars  are  now  (1853)  daily 
instructed  in  the  institution. 

The  number  of  orphans,  which  in  1798  was  100.  was,  in  1727,  134;  and  in 
1744.200.  The  great  scarcity  of  the  years  from  1770  to  1773,  inclusive,  ren- 
dered it  necessary  to  decrease  this  number.  In  1786  there  were  80  boys  and  35 
girls;  and  the  number  was  maintained  only  by  great  efforts.  At  present  (1853) 
there  are  114  boys  and  16  girls.  The  whole  number  of  orphans  who  have  been 
brought  up  in  the  institution  is  6757;  of  whom  5450  are  boys,  and  1307  girls. 
To  no  many  thousands  has  it  been  a  foster-mother !  See  "Auguxt  Hermann 
Franke,  or  the  Power  and  Blesning  of  Prayer  and  Faith."  Breslau. 

A  full  account  of  the  institution  for  orphans  is  given  by  Prof.  Bache,  in  his 
"Report  on  Education  in  Europe." 


JEAN  JACQUES  ROUSSEAU. 

JEAN  JACQUES  ROUSSEAU,  whose  educational  as  well  as  political 
speculations  exerted  a  mighty  influence  on  his  age,  was  born  at  Geneva, 
in  Switzerland,  June  28th,  1712.  His  father  was  a  watchmaker,  a 
good  mechanic,  and  fond  of  reading ;  and  his  mother  a  woman  of 
considerable  beauty,  and  great  intelligence.  She  died  in  giving  him 
birth,  and  for  some  years  he  seems  to  have  had  little  or  no  instruction 
or  guidance  of  any  kind  except  from  his  father,  who  was  too  poor,  too 
busy,  and,  apparently,  not  quite  judicious  enough,  for  the  purpose. 
They  read  together,  before  the  boy  was  seven  years  old,  whole  nights 
through,  some  romances  which  had  been  his  mother's ;  and  when 
those  were  finished,  some  books  of  divinity  and  translations  of  the 
classics.  Thus  the  boy  learned  to  love  reading,  but  evidently  could  not 
acquire  good  habits, either  physical  or  mental;  and  his  "Confessions" 
show  that  he  stole,  lied,  and  played  dirty  tricks.  In  short,  he  was 
a  "  bright"  boy,  but  indolent,  irritable,  mischievous,  thoroughly  un- 
principled, untrained,  and  ill-bred. 

With  these  wretched  early  habits,  which  had  strengthened  his 
natural  evil  tendencies,  and  in  a  condition  of  poverty  which  both  pre- 
vented their  ready  gratification  and  made  their  precise  opposites  the 
indispensable  conditions  to  prosperity  and  happiness,  he  entered  upon 
the  vagrant  and  unhappy  series  of  wanderings  and  adventures  which 
might  have  been  expected.  He  was  placed  with  an  attorney,  who 
discharged  him  for  negligence  ;  then  with  an  engraver,  whom  he  left, 
as  he  says,  on  account  of  his  harshness, — which  undoubtedly  was  only 
proper  strictness.  He  next  ran  away  from  home,  for  fear  of  being 
punished  for  his  vices ;  and  he  took  refuge  with  Borney,  Catholic 
bishop  of  Annecy.  Here  he  asserted  himself  a  convert  to  Catholicism, 
and  was  placed,  for  religious  instruction,  with  a  Madame  de  Warens, 
herself  a  recent  proselyte.  She  in  turn  sent  him  to  a  Catholic  semi- 
nary, at  Turin,  where  he  completed  the  required  preparations,  publicly 
recanted  his  Protestant  belief,  and  then  declined  to  study  for  the 
priesthood.  Upon  this  they  dismissed  him,  with  twenty  florins ; 
which  he  spent,  became  servant  to  a  countess,  stole  a  ribbon,  and 
managed  to  have  the  blame  laid  on  a  decent  waiting-maid  in  the 
family.  When  the  countess  died  he  took  a  place  in  the  family  of  a 
nobleman,  whose  son  treated  him  like  a  companion,  and  instructed 
him.  After  a  time,  however,  he  was  disobedient  and  insolent,  and 


460  JEAN  JACQUES  ROUSSEAU. 

was  dismissed.  Penniless,  he  returned  to  Madame  de  Warens,  with 
whom  he  lived,  as  a  sort  of  paid  lover,  for  about  ten  years.  She  ob- 
tained for  him  a  place  in  a  surveying  commission,  established  by  tho 
King  of  Sardinia,  and  other  employments ;  none  of  which  he  had  the 
decency  or  the  industry  to  retain  ;  forgave  him  for  twice  eloping  from 
her ;  but,  becoming  at  last  disgusted  by  his  unfaithfulness,  secured 
him  employment  as  a  tutor  in  a  gentleman's  family  at  Lyons.  But 
the  desultory  studies  in  music  and  mathematics,  and  occasional  em- 
ployment as  music  teacher,  which  had  occupied  him  while  with  her, 
had  not  rendered  him  fit  for  the  regular  and  decent  duties  of  an  in- 
structor; and  in  a  fit  of  anger  and  shame  he  resigned  the  place,  in 
1741.  He  now  walked  to  Paris,  with  fifteen  louis,  his  entire  means, 
in  his  pocket ;  in  some  way  got  into  good  literary  society ;  offered 
the  musicians  of  the  city  a  new  scheme  of  musical  notation,  which 
was  at  once  rejected;  lived  in  penury  two  years,  supported  by  music- 
copying  and  obscure  employments.  At  the  end  of  that  time  his 
friends  obtained  him  a  place  as  secretary  to  the  French  ambassador 
at  Venice,  where  he  stayed  two  years,  living  a  shamelessly  vicious 
life,  quarreled  with  his  superior,  and  returned  to  Paris. 

Here  he  hired  a  small  room,  and  became  attached  to  Therese  Le- 
vasseur,  a  vulgar  and  stupid  girl,  who  lived  with  him  as  his  mistress 
for  twenty  years,  and  whom  he  then  married.  They  had  five  children, 
all  of  whom  the  father  quietly  placed  in  the  foundling  hospital,  and 
whom  he  never  afterward  tried  to  identify ;  nor  was  he  at  all  in- 
terested when  some  of  his  friends  sought  to  find  them  for  him.  After 
his  death,  his  wife  married  a  hostler. 

He  earned  a  scanty  living,  after  this  last  removal  to  Paris,  by  copy- 
ing music ;  and  failed  in  the  attempt  at  operatic  composition.  After 
a  time  he  obtained  the  place  of  clerk  to  one  of  the  farmers-general  of 
the  revenue,  from  the  profits  of  which  he  sent  some  little  money  to 
Madame  de  Warens,  then  in  great  poverty.  About  1748,  he  was 
employed  to  write  some  articles  on  music  for  the  "Encyclopaedia? 
which  he  did,  he  says,  "  very  quickly  and  very  ill." 

During  his  life  in  Paris,  his  associates  were  literary  men,  especially 
of  the  school  of  Diderot  and  D'Alembert,  and  a  crew  of  licentious 
and  swindling  men  of  rank  and  fashion,  whom  he  calls  "very  agree- 
able and  very  respectable." 

In  1749,  at  the  age  of  37,  he  made  his  first  successful  attempt  at 
authorship,  by  writing  an  answer  to  a  prize  question  proposed  by  the 
Academy  of  Dijon,  "  Whet/ter  the  progress  of  the  arts  and  sciences 
has  tended  lo  the  purification  of  manners  and  morals"  At  the  sug- 
gestion of  Diderot,  who  reminded  him  of  the  greater  notoriety  which 
he  could  gain  on  the  wrong  side,  he  took  the  negative,  and  found  his 


JEAN  JACQUES  ROUSSEAU,  401 

line  of  argument  exactly  adapted  to  his  modes  of  thought  and  feel- 
ing. He  rapidly  composed  a  violent,  brilliant,  and  eloquent,  but 
sophistical  and  inconsistent  denunciation  of  civilized  life,  won  the 
prize,  and  at  once  saw  himself  comparatively  eminent. 

In  1762,  he  once  more  tried  operatic  composition.  His  "Devin  du 
Village?  (Village  Conjuror,)  was  very  successful ;  and  he  also  wrote 
a  tragedy  and  three  comedies,  none  of  them  of  much  value.  Dur- 
ing the  following  year  he  competed  for  a  second  prize  oftered  by  the 
Academy  of  Dijon,  for  the  best  answer  to  the  question,  "  What  is  the 
cause  of  inequality  among  men?'1'1  but  did  not  succeed.  The  charac- 
ter of  this  production,  and  the  audacity  of  his  philosophical  methods, 
may  be  judged  of  from  his  own  remark  that,  in  composing  this  treat- 
ise, he  purposely  "  looked  away  from  all  the  facts  of  history." 

The  attacks  which  his  first  prize  essay  had  occasioned,  and  others 
which  were  caused  by  a  '•''Letter  on  French  Mmic"  in  which  he  con- 
tended that  the  French  had  not  and  could  not  have  any  vocal  music, 
by  reason  of  the  defects  of  the  language,  had  now  gained  him  con- 
siderable reputation.  In  fact,  he  had  taken  advantage  of  this,  to  re- 
visit his  birthplace,  Geneva ;  and  it  was  while  there  that  he  com- 
posed his  unsuccessful  prize  essay.  He  was  much  caressed ;  becamo 
filled  with  republican  enthusiasm ;  and,  being,  in  his  own  words, 
"ashamed  of  being  excluded  from  my  rights  as  a  citizen  by  the  pro- 
fession of  a  faith  not  that  of  my  fathers,"  he  made  another  recanta- 
tion, and  publicly  professed  himself  a  Protestant. 

Having  returned  to  Paris,  he  gave  up,  out  of  fear  of  persecution,  a 
government  appointment,  for  which  he  had  exchanged  his  clerkship, 
and  for  a.  long  time  afterward  Jived  chiefly  upon  the  bounty  of  his 
friends,  contributed  in  the  shape  of  wages  for  copying  music. 

In  1756,  Rousseau,  in  pursuance  of  an  invitation  from  Madame 
d'  Epinay,  established  himself  at  a  house  called  1'  Hermitage,  upon 
her  estate  at  Montmorenci,  not  far  from  Paris.  Here  he  remained 
for  about  ten  years,  and  wrote  some  of  his  most  celebrated  works ; 
"La  Nouvclle  Hdoise,"  "Emile?  and  the  "Contrat  Social." 

The  "ffeloise"  is  a  novel,  without  a  good  plot,  and  without  well- 
drawn  characters ;  attractive  for  vigorous  language,  passionate  feel- 
ing, ^and  opinions  dangerous  but  seductively  expressed.  It  appeared 
in  1759,  and  was  followed,  in  1762,  by  "JKmile"  perhaps  his  greatest 
or,  at  least,  most  celebrated  work.  This  was  written  for  Madame  de 
Luxembourg,  and  is  a  singular  compound  of  acute  observation,  truth, 
sophistry,  rhetoric,  and  irreligion.  It  was  not  so  well  received  by  the 
public  as  some  of  his  other  works,  and  was  with  justice  condemned 
by  the  archbishop  and  the  parliament  of  Paris.  It  had  a  powerful 
influence  on  a  class  of  educators,  both  in  Germany  and  Switzerland. 

The  "Contrat  Social'1''  came  out  very  soon  afterward.     It  ia  only 


462  JEAN  JACQUES  ROUSSEAU. 

one  part  of  a  great  work  on  political  institutions,  which  he  had  de- 
signed as  early  as  his  stay  in  Venice,  and  is  a  scheme  of  entire  social 
equality.  Before  the  whole  of  it  was  printed,  the  author  was  in- 
formed that  government  intended  to  imprison  him,  and  fled  to  Swit- 
zerland. Geneva  refused  to  receive  him,  and,  both  there  and  at  Paris, 
his  work  was  publicly  burned  by  the  common  hangman.  lie  finally 
found  rest  with  Marshal  Keith,  in  Neufchatel,  where  he  wrote  an  an- 
swer to  the  decree  of  the  archbishop  of  Paris  for  the  burning  of  "Emih" 
and  his  "Lett-res  de  la  Montayne"  in  which  he  attacked  the  clergy  and 
the  republic  of  Geneva,  and  renounced  his  citizenship  of  the  latter. 
A  mob,  how  instigated  it  is  not  quite  clear,  drove  him  away,  and  he 
fled  to  an  island  in  the  lake  of  Bienne.  Having  in  vain  sought  an 
asylum  in  Berne,  he  now  went  to  Strasburg,  and  thence  to  Paris, 
where  he  arrived  in  great  destitution,  and  became  acquainted  with 
Hume,  the  historian,  then  English  charge  d'affaires  there.  Hume, 
out  of  sympathy  and  kindness,  carried  him  to  England  and  placed 
him  in  a  comfortable  situation  there.  Rousseau,  however,  who  seems 
by  this  time  actually  to  have  become  monomaniac  on  the  subject  of 
persecution,  soon  imagined  that  Hume  was  secretly  attacking  his  rep- 
utation, wrote  him  an  abusive  letter,  renounced  a  pension  which  he 
had  secured  for  him  from  the  English  government,  and  returned  to 
France.  Here  he  wandered  about  the  country  for  a  year  or  two, 
busying  himself  with  botanical  studies,  which  he  pursued  eagerly  and 
with  success.  It  was  during  this  period  that  he  published  his  "Dic- 
lionnoire  de  Musique"  rewritten  from  his  articles  in  the  "Encyclopae- 
dia;'1'' a  work,  like  all  his  writings,  containing  many  acute  observations 
and  just  remarks,  but  full  of  errors,  and  misleading  in  tendency;  and 
during  the  same  period  it  was  that  he  united  himself  in  marriage  to 
Therese  Levasseur,  with  whom  he  had  lived  since  1745. 

In  1770,  he  obtained,  through  his  friends,  permission  to  come  to 
Paris,  where  otherwise  he  would  still  have  been  liable  to  imprison- 
ment under  the  sentence  passed  on  account  of  "Emile"  He  was, 
however,  obliged  to  promise  not  to  write  upon  politics  or  religion, 
which  he  accordingly  did  not  do ;  and  was  officially  cautioned  against 
publicity ;  which  admonition  he  took  pleasure  in  setting  at  defiance, 
and,  contrary  to  his  previous  shy  habits,  lie  went  much  into  society. 

He  was,  however,  now  reduced  to  an  excessively  unhealthy  mental 
condition,  had  become  extremely  rude  and  testy  in  manner,  irritable 
and  suspicious;  his  health  was  also  failing,  and  he  was  fallinf  into 
deep  poverty.  In  1778,  the  Marquis  de  Girardin  invited  him  and 
his  wife  to  occupy  a  small  house  near  his  country-seat  of  Ermenon- 
ville,  some  thirty  miles  from  Paris.  He  accepted  the  invitation,  but 
had  been  established  there  scarcely  two  months  when  he  died  from  a 
stroke  of  apoplexy,  July  3d,  1778. 


ROUSSEAU'S  EMILE. 


403 


ROUSSEAU'S  EMILK. 

TUB  Emile  of  Rousseau  is  not  a  system  of  pedagogy  in  the  usual 
sense  of  the  term.  "  My  system,"  says  Rousseau,  "  is  nature's  course  of 
development."  After  a  short  general  introduction,  he  discusses,  in 
the  first  book,  the  management  of  new-born  children,  and.  in  particu- 
lar, of  Emile,  up  to  the  time  when  he  learned  to  talk ;  the  second 
book  treats  of  his  education  from  that  time  to  his  twelfth  year ;  the 
third  ends  when  he  is  fifteen  ;  the  fourth  brings  him  to  his  marriage; 
and,  in  the  fifth,  are  described  Sophia,  his  wife,  and  her  education. 

The  work  is  rendered  still  more  different  from  a  system,  because  it 
contains  a  large  number  of  digressions  upon  subjects  which  have  lit- 
tle or  nothing  to  do  with  pedagogy.  It  would  be  a  vain  endeavor  to 
attempt  to  bring  it  into  a  systematic  form.  I  shall,  therefore,  follow 
the  author,  step  by  step,  (except  in  the  digressions,)  and  thus  give  a 
general  view  of  his  book.  Rousseau's  skill  as  a  writer  renders  it  diffi- 
cult for  the  reader  of  Emile  to  estimate  calmly  his  paradoxes,  and  to 
see  through  his  sophistries.  It  is  my  hope  that  the  following  view 
may  serve  as  a  clear  plan  of  this  labyrinth  of  Rousseau's,  and  that 
the  remarks  which  I  have  added  may  form  a  guide  through  it. 

Preface. — The  book,  says  the  author,  was  originally  written  for  a  thought- 
ful mother.  Even  if  the  thoughts  contained  in  it  are  of  no  value  in  themselves, 
they  ought  to  serve  to  awaken  valuable  thoughts  in  others.  Every  body  writvs 
and  cries  out  against  the  usual  methods  of  instruction,  but  no  one  suggests  a  bet- 
ter one.  The  knowledge  of  our  century  serves  mueh  more  for  destroying  than 
for  building  up. 

Childhood  is  not  understood.  The  most  judicious,  in  their  teaching,  confine 
themselves  to  that  which  it  is  necessary  for  a  man  to  know ;  without  considering 
what  children  are  fit  to  learn.  They  are  always  seeking  for  a  man  in  the  child, 
without  ever  thinking  what  the  child  is  before  it  becomes  a  man. 

My  system  is  nature's  course  of  development.  This  term  will  be  mistaken  by 
many  of  my  readers.  They  will  tike  my  book  to  be,  not  a  work  upon  education, 
but  the  dreams  of  a  visionary.  I  do  not  see  as  others  do  ;  but  can  I  give  mys»-lf 
others'  eyes?  lean  not  change  my  views;  I  can  only  suspect  them.  It  has 
been  often  said  to  me,  Propose  only  what  can  be  accomplished.  This  means,  pro- 
pose something  which  is  done  now  ;  or,  at  least,  something  good,  of  such  a  kind 
that  it  will  come  into  agreement  with  prevalent  evils.  Such  a  collocation  would 
destroy  the  good  without  healing  the  b'id.  I  would  rather  adhere  entirely  to 
what  is  already  received  than  to  try  any  half  measures. 

In  order  that  the  plans  proposed  may  be  well  received  and  practicable,  they 
must  correspond  with  the  nature  of  things ;  in  the  present  case,  for  instance,  the 
plan  of  education  laid  down  must  be  adapted  to  human  nature.  A  second 
work  must  consider  accidental  relations,  such  as  the  relat:ons  of  man  in  certain 
countries  or  in  certain  conditions.  I  do  not  concern  myself  with  such  relations, 
but  treat  only  of  the  education  of  the  human  being  in  itself. 

As  Rousseau,  in  his  treatises  upon  the  inequality  of  man,  traces 
the  progress  of  our  race  from  the  natural  to  the  civilized,  he  proposes 
here  an  entirely  similar  problem.  Emile,  his  pupil,  is  humanity  per- 
sonified, in  the  natural  condition  of  childhood;  a  tutor  teaches  this 
child  of  nature  naturally.  He  is  afterward  to  come  into  a  civilized 


464  ROUSSEAU'S  EMH.E. 

condition,  into  the  relations  of  the  present  world ;  even  to  live  in 
Paris,  under  Louis  XV.  Would  not  Emile,  appear  in  such  a  position 
as  a  natural  Don  Quixote  in  the  higher  circles,  as  Rousseau  himself 
appeared  ? 

With  received  notions  Rousseau  had  no  intercourse ;  he  sets  up 
his  educational  principles,  as  something  absolutely  good,  against  the 
former,  as  something  absolutely  bad.  Without  reading  further,  we 
may  here  conclude  that  there  is  only  one  who  has  the  right  to  say, 
"Put  not  new  wine  into  old  bottles." 

Whether  it  is  right  to  deal  with  the  education  of  man,  in  the  ab- 
stract, to  discuss  the  personified  idea  of  human  childhood,  instead  of 
the  education  of  a  Frenchman  or  a  German,  of  a  townsman, 
farmer,  etc.,  we  shall  inquire  more  particularly  hereafter,  At  this 
time  it  will  suffice  to  say  that,  in  this,  Rousseau  contradicts  himself. 
Emile,  upon  careful  consideration,  will  be  seen  to  be  only  a  French- 
man in  ptiris  naturalibus,  who,  as  he  grows  up,  is  adorned  with  a 
laced  coat,  peruke  on  head,  and  sword  by  side.  Still  it  would  have 
been  beneficial,  if  Rousseau  had,  by  this,  reminded  the  French  that 
they  came  into  the  world  naked,  and  that  naked  they  will  go  out, 
FIIIBT  BOOK.  INTRODUCTION.  FIRST  YEAR  or  KMILE'S  LIFE. 
1.  Nature  and  Art. 

All  is  good,  as  it  comes  from  the  hand  of  the  Creator;  all  degenerates,  under 
the  hands  of  man.  He  forces  one  country  to  produce  the  fruits  of  another,  one 
tree  to  bear  that  of  another ;  he  confounds  climates,  elements,  and  seasons  ;  he 
mutilates  his  dog,  his  horse,  his  slave  ;  turns  every  thing  topsy-turvy,  disfigures 
every  thing;  he  will  have  nothing  as  nature  made  it,  not  even  man  himself;  he 
must  be  trained  like  a  managed  horse  ;  trimmed  like  a  tree  in  a  garden.  If  this 
does  not  happen,  things  turn  out  still  worse ;  our  race  will  not  be  satisfied  with 
being  half  modified.  Under  present  circumstances,  a  man  who  should  live  from 
birth  upward,  among  others,  and  be  entirely  left  to  himself,  would  be  deformed 
more  than  any  other.  Prejudice,  authority,  force,  example,  all  the  social  influ- 
ences which  gather  over  us,  could  stifle  nature  in  him,  and  set  nothing  in  her 
place.  He  would  be  like  the  young  tree  which  has  grown  up  by  chance  in  the 
street ;  it  must  soon  be  destroyed  by  the  crowd  of  persohs  passing  over  it,  who 
tread  it  down  on  all  sides,  and  bend  it  in  every  direction.  I  turn  to  the  fond  and 
wise  mother,  who  knows  how  to  remove  the  child  from  the  street,  aud  to  pre- 
serve the  growing  tree  from  contact  with  human  opinions. 

Bacon,  defines  art,  " homo  rebus  additus"  by  this  we  may  under- 
stand that  to  man,  as  to  the  image  of  God,  is  given  not  only  the  do- 
minion over  nature,  but  also  the  charge  of  a  sort  of  education  of  her, 
so  that  under  his  hands  she  may  look  more  beautiful ;  even  human. 
Rousseau,  instead  of  honorable  and  divinely-intended  art,  sees,  in  his 
bitterness,  only  a  caricature ;  only  what  depraved  men  have  done  to 
disfigure  nature ;  and,  at  the  same  time  puts  forth  such  perversions 
as  these,  as  most  refreshing  improvements.  Would  he  prefer  the 
crab  tree  to  a  Borsdorfer  apple,  as  lie  does  the  ignorant  savage  man 


ROUSSEAU'S  EMILE.  4g- 

to  one  of  enlightened  mind  ?  The  child  would  become,  according  to 
him,  under  the  usual  education,  a  caricature ;  it  is  the  mother's  duty 
to  prevent  this  as  far  as  possible.  Education  is  her  business  much 
more  than  that  of  the  father.  In  this  Rousseau  is  a  forerunner  of 
Pestalozzi. 

2.     Three   Teachers.     Education  of  Men  and  of  Citizen*. 

We  come  weak  into  the  world,  and  need  strength  ;  bare  of  every  thing,  and 
need  assistance.  All  which  we  have  not  at  our  birth,  and  have  when  we  grow 
up,  we  acquire  by  education.  This  education  we  receive  either  from  nature,  from 
man,  or  from  things.  The  inner  development  of  our  powers  and  organs  is  the 
education  of  nature ;  the  use  which  we  are  taught  to  make  of  this  development, 
is  education  by  man  ;  and  what  we  learn  by  our  own  experience  of  the  circum- 
stances which  have  an  influence  upon  us,  the  education  by  things. 

We  have  no  power  over  education  by  nature;  and,  therefore,  we  must  shape 
both  the  other  kinds  of  education  by  it.  It  is  said :  nature  is  nothing  but  habit. 
This  is  true  so  far  as  habit  corresponds  with  nature, and  is  not  forcibly  and  unnat- 
urally constrained. 

Born  with  perceptions,  we  seek  or  flee  from  things  which  are  agreeable  or  dis- 
agreeable to  us ;  which  seem  to  promote  or  hinder  our  happiness  and  our  im- 
provement. Such  desires  and  aversions,  1*0  far  as  they  do  not  suffer  variations 
through  the  actions  or  the  opinions  of  others,  are  what  we  call  nature.  Every 
thing  in  education  must  be  so  related  to  these,  that  all  three  of  the  modes  of  edu- 
cation may  constitute  a  harmonious  whole.  I  Jut  nature  and  the  conditions  of  citi- 
zenship are  at  variance  in  many  ways  ;  and  it  is  necessary  to  determine  whether 
we  will  educate  a  man  or  a  citizen.  Every  parti.il  society,  as  of  one  nation,  &c., 
estranges  from  universal  human  society.  Yet  it  is  necessary,  before  all  things,  to 
deal  rightly  with  those  together  with  whom  we  live.  Trust  no  cosmopolitan,  who 
loves  the  Tartars,  in  order  to  be  excused  from  the  duty  of  loving  his  neighbors. 

The  natural  man  is  complete  within  himself;  his  is  the  numerical  unity  ;  an 
absolute  whole,  which  has  relations  only  with  itself,  or  with  its  like.  The  man 
of  society  is  only  a  fraction,  which  depends  upon  its  denominator,  and  whose 
value  is  determined  by  its  relations  to  the  whole ;  to  the  social  body.  Those 
modes  of  education  are  best  for  society,  which  are  most  efficient  in  perverting 
men  from  nature ;  in  robbing  him  of  his  absolute  existence,  in  giving  him  the 
relative  one,  such  that  after  it  he  will  feel  and  act  only  as  a  member  of  a  society. 

This  opposition  between  education  for  a  citizen  and  fora  man,  corresponds  with 
the  opposition  between  public  education  together,  and  private  education  in  the 
family.  The  former  existed  in  Sparta ;  but  exists  no  longer,  for  there  is  no 
longer  any  fatherland,  or  any  citizens. 

Thus,  there  remains  for  us  only  private  education,  or  that  of  nature.  But 
what  would  the  man  educated  only  for  himself  become  alterward,  among  others? 
To  know  this,  it  is  necessary  to  know  the  completely  educated  man  ;  and  also  the 
natural  man.  This  book  is  intended  to  assist  in  gaining  such  knowledge. 

What  now  is  necessary  to  be  done  to  educate  the  natural  man  ?  Much,  no 
doubt ;  chiefly  in  order  to  hinder  any  thing  from  being  done. 

The  child  should  be  educated  for  the  common  human  vocation,  not  for  any 
special  situation ;  he  must  merely  live,  in  good  or  evil,  as  life  should  bring 
them  :  and  should  learn  more  by  experience  than  by  teaching.  Considering  the 
instability  of  human  affairs,  and  the  restless,  rebellious  spirit  of  the  present  centu- 
ry, which  is  overturning  every  thing,  no  more  unnatural  method  of  education 
could  be  devised  than  that  which  deals  with  a  child  as  if  he  was  never  to  leave 
home,  or  the  companionship  of  his  own  friends.  As  soon  as  the  unhappy  pupil 
has  gone  a  step  away,  he  is  lost. 

Nothing  is  thought  of  but  the  support  of  a  child  ;  yet  he  must  sometime  die. 
Less  care  is  taken  to  preserve  him  from  death,  than  to  contrive  how  he  may  live. 
But  life  is  not  merely  breathing,  but  acting  ;  the  exertion  of  the  organs,  senses, 
faculties,  all  which  gives  us  the  feeling  of  our  existence. 

Thus  far  the  introduction  ;  partly  in  agreement  with  the  preface. 
No.  14.— [Vol..  V.,  No.  2.]-  30  2D 


4(50  ROUSSEAU'S  EMILE. 

The  more  they  are  considered,  the  more  misty  and  indefinite  do  many 
of  Rousseau's  ideas  here  appear ;  and  especially  the  idea  of  nature. 
She  must  instruct  men,  since  she  develops  their  powers  and  limbs; 
and  again,  she  is  an  instinctive ;  a  more  or  less  rational  sympathy 
and  antipathy. 

What  is  the  use  of  the  expression,  "  Education  of  nature  ?"  When 
a  seed  is  buried  in  the  earth,  and  the  plant  develops  itself  and  grows 
up,  nobody  calls  this  "  nature's  art  of  gardening."  Art,  on  the  con- 
trary, is  universally  set  in  opposition  to  nature ;  and  education  is  an 
art. 

No  one,  who  finds  the  basis  of  a  well-ordered  national  life  in  a  well- 
ordered  domestic  life,  based  upon  family  love,  would  set  domestic  in- 
struction in  violent  opposition  to  that  of  the  citizen;  he  would  much 
rather  consider  it  the  only  one  from  which  good  citizens  can  come ; 
not  citizens  who  see  and  criticise,  in  their  kings  and  princes,  mere 
employed  agents,  but  who  honor  them  as  a  power  set  over  them  by 
God.  But  is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that  Rousseau,  a  contemporary  of 
the  wicked  Regent,  and  of  Louis  XV.,  should  speak  thus,  in  pre- 
science of  the  coming  revolution,  which  dissolved  all  sacred  ties  ? 
3.  New-born  Children.  Mothers'  Nurses. 

Nurses  shape  the  outside  of  the  heads  of  children,  and  philosophers  the  inside  ; 
in  this  respect  the  Caribsare  more  skillful  than  we. 

The  swaddling  of  children  is  a  most  unnatural  martyrdom  ;  it  hinders  all  the 
necessary  movements  of  the  limbs  and  of  the  blood.  It  is  an  invention  of  serv- 
ants for  the  sake  of  convenience. 

Mothers  no  longer  nurse  their  children.  Nurses  share  the  children's  love  with 
the  mothers,  while  they  follow  their  pleasures.  Here  is  the  chief  cause  of  the 
dissolution  of  all  family  relations,  of  all  mutual  love  among  members  of  a  family  ; 
each  one  is  thinking  only  of  himself,  and  pursuing  his  own  pleasure.  And  the 
influence  of  family  life  is  the  best  antidote  to  bad  morals. 

Of  quite  opposite  character  is  the  effeminate  spoiling  of  children  by  mothers. 
Nature  does  not  treat  children  so  ;  by  teething  and  various  other  ways  she  causes 
them  many  pains,  for  the  sake  of  hardening  them.  Why  do  they  not  imitate  na- 
ture in  this  ?  Especially  are  young  children  managed  worst.  Either  we  do 
every  thing  they  want,  or  require  from  them  every  thing  we  want;  we  are  sub- 
jected to  their  whims,  or  they  to  ours.  Thus  the  child  commands  before  it  eau 
speak,  or  obeys  before  it  can  act ;  a  child  is  trained  into  a  being  after  our  im- 
agination, not  into  a  natural  man.  If  its  peculiarities  are  to  be  preserved,  the 
maintenance  of  them  must  be  cared  for  from  the  moment  of  its  birth  until  it 
grows  up  to  be  a  man. 

These  remarks  of  Rousseau  upon  the  duties  of  mothers,  which 
are  in  agreement  with  Comenius,  had  a  very  good  influence. 

4.     Father. 

A*  the  mother  is  the  proper  nurse  of  the  child,  the  father  is  its  proper  teacher. 
The  custom  is.  for  him,  not  to  have  the  necessary  time ;  and  thus  children  are 
jiljK-  d  in  boarding-schools,  seminaries,  &c.,  where  they  are  deprived  of  all  love  ; 
mil  the  coat  It-red  members  of  one  family  scarcely  know  each  other.  A  heavy 
curse  lies  upon  those  who  neglect  their  paternal  duties. 

Rousseau  was  thinking  here  of  his  own  sins.  How  forcibly  does 
lie  speak  of  the  dissolution  of  family  ties! 


ROUSSEAU  S  EMILE. 


407 


5.     The  Tutor.     The  Pupil. 

The  father  who  is  otherwise  occupied,  must  find  a  tutor.  This  tutor  must  be 
well  educated  and  young;  and,  above  all,  he  should  not  be  employed  for  money  ; 
should  be  no  hireling.*  lie  must  put  himself  into  close  relations  with  the  pupil ; 
must  be  his  play-fellow ;  must  remain  with  him  from  his  birth  to  somewhere  about 
his  twenty -fifth  year  ;  must  be  his  teacher  and  educator. 

This  pupil,  Emile,  is  supposed  not  to  have  a  particularly  remarkable  mind,  but 
to  be  of  good  birth,  rich,  and  an  orphan.  If  his  parents  were  alive,  he  should 
respect  them,  but  should  obey  his  tutor  only.  Tutor  and  pupil  should  look  upon 
their  relation  with  each  other  as  indissoluble,  in  order  that  they  may  not  become 
estranged  from  each  other. 

This  pupil  is  supposed,  also,  to  come  from  some  country  in  the  temperate  zone, 
France  for  instance  ;  and  must  be  healthy.  He  (Rousseau,)  could  not  be  a  wait- 
er upon  sick  people,  while  tutor  ;  he  could  not  educate  any  child  who  should  be 
a  burden  to  himself  or  to  others.  The  body  must  have  power  to  obey  the  soul ; 
the  weaker  it  is,  so  much  the  more  will  it  be  faulty ;  and  the  stronger,  so  much 
the  better  will  it  obey. 

Medicine  makes  us  mean;  if  it  cures  the  body,  it  destroys  the  courage.  Mod- 
eration and  bodily  labor  should  supply  the  place  of  medicine.  Doctors  with 
their  recipes,  philosophers  with  their  precepts,  priests  with  their  admonitions, 
make  the  heart  faint ;  they  are  the  cause  why  men  forget  death.  By  nature, 
man  suffers  patiently,  and  dies  in  peace. 

Rousseau  indicates  clearly  that  such  a  tutor  as  he  requires  is  not 
to  be  found,  but  if  he  was  supposing  such  a  one,  why  not  rather  a 
rich  father  like  Pascal's,  to  devote  all  his  time  and  powers  to  the  edu- 
cation of  his  son  ?  There  would  then  have  been  no  need  of  the 
chilling  idea  that  Emile  was  to  honor  his  parents,  but  to  obey  his 
tutor.  The  natural  mutual  love  of  father  and  child  would  have  been 
a  living  motive  of  the  whole  course  of  instruction.  But  of  such  love 
nothing  would  be  said  by  a  man  who  sent  his  own  children  to  the 
foundling  hospital ;  or,  if  it  is  mentioned,  it  is  never  the  heartfelt 
basis  of  his  art  of  education. 

Emile,  it  is  clear  from  this  description,  is,  by  no  means,  an  abso- 
lute, natural  man,  the  personification  of  a  child.  His  native  country, 
climate,  property,  health,  are  all  determined  in  advance. 

The  body  is  very  well  characterized,  as  the  servant  of  the  soul,  but 
health  is  valued  too  highly,  after  the  rude  and  Spartan  manner. 
Rousseau  would  have  thought  the  new-born  juggler,  who  called  him- 
self the  northern  Hercules,  well  worthy  of  his  instruction ;  not  the 
new-born,  weakly,  seven  months'  child,  the  intellectual  Hercules,  Kep- 
ler. With  characteristic  exaggeration,  Rousseau  entirely  rejects 
medicine,  instead  of  giving  some  positive  idea  of  it. 

Had  Rousseau  seen  a  natural  man  die  in  peace,  or  did  he  feign 
this  peace  after  the  analogy  of  dying  beasts  ?f 

6.     First  Instruction  under  the  Tutor. 

If  the  mother  does  not  nurse  her  child  herself,  the  tutor  must  select  a  nurse, 

•Rousseau  declares  himself  unfit  to  be  a  tutor;  and,  in  writing  upon  pedagogy,  he  de- 
scribes, in  his  tutor,  himself. 

*  In  the  second  book  of  Emile  it  is  said  that  savages,  like  beasts,  struggle  little  at  death, 
and  suffer  it  almost  without  complaints. 


468  ROUSSEAU'S  EMILE. 

go  with  her  and  the  child  into  the  country,  and  not  remain  in  the  city,  which  is 
unhealthy,  by  reason  of  the  closely  packed  crowd  of  men.*  Baths,  and  crawling 
about,  are  very  good  for  children.  (We  come  into  the  world  entirely  ignorant, 
and  with  an  incapable  body,  but  with  the  capacity  to  learn. 

The  education  of  a  child  begins  with  its  birth_j/  and  who  can  determine  the 
limit  to  which  it  is  possible  for  man  to  attain  ?  By  mere  experience,  without  any 
instruction,  a  man  will  learn  an  incredible  quantity  in  the  first  year  of  his  life. 
If  all  human  knowledge  were  to  be  divided  into  two  parts,  one  common  to  all 
men,  and  the  second  peculiar  to  the  learned,  the  latter  would  be  very  simple  in 
comparison  with  the  former ;  the  former  is,  however,  overlooked,  because  it  is 
learned  early,  without  knowing  it,  before  we  come  to  our  understanding. 

No  habits  should  be  taught  to  children,  no  regular  hours  for  sleeping,  eating, 
&c.  lie  should  be  accustomed  only  to  have  no  habits  ;  should  be  trained  to  in- 
dependence. And  he  should  be  suffered  to  acquire  no  fear  of  ill-looking  animals, 
masks,  reports  of  weapons,  &c.  Perception  by  the  senses  aftbrds  the  first  mate- 
rials for  childish  knowledge ;  it  is  therefore  important,  that  the  impressions  should  be 
caused  to  occur  to  him  in  a  suitable  order.  Especially  he  should  be  made  to 
compare  the  impressions  of  sight  with  those  of  feeling.  By  moving  they  learn  to 
recognize  distances,  so  that  they  grasp  no  longer  after  distant  things. 

Rousseau's  advice,  to  arrange  methodically  the  first  impressions 
upon  the  mind  of  the  child,  even  before  he  can  speak,  has  been  fol- 
lowed repeatedly,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  by  Basedow,  Wolke,  and 
even  Pestalozzi ! 

Children  speak,  at  first,  in  the  universal  natural  language,  which  is  not,  it  is 
true,  articulate,  but  is  extended,  and  intelligible.  Xurses  understand  better  than 
we  do,  and  converse  in  this  language  with  children  ;  any  words  which  they  use 
in  it  are  insignificant-,  their  accent  only  being  to  be  considered.  These  are  as- 
sisted by  the  gestures  and  quick  and  varying  pantomime  of  the  children.  Cry- 
ing is  their  expression  of  hunger,  heat,  cold,  &c.  Their  elders  try  to  check  and 
soothe  this  crying,  but  often  misunderstand  it,  and  try  to  silence  them  by  coaxing 
or  blown. 

Children's  first  tears  are  requests;  if  attention  is  paid  to  them,  they  very 
soon  begin  to  command.  They  begin  with  helping  themselves,  and  with  making 
others  wait  upon  them. 

All  the  bad  conduct  of  children  comes  from  weakness  ;  make  them  strong  and 
they  will  be  good.  He  who  can  use  all  his  faculties  will  not  do  ill. 

Before  we  attain  to  understanding,  there  is  no  morality  in  our  actions  ;  "  al- 
though expressions  of  it  are  sometimes  seen  in  the  sense  which  children  show  of 
what  others  do  to  them." 

The  destructive  tendencies  of  children  do  not  come  from  wickedness,  but  from 
an  evident  desire  for  activity.  Their  weakness  prevents  the  greater  evils  which 
they  might  do.  They  very  soon  peek  to  make  instruments  of  their  elders ;  to 
make  these  repair  the  harm  which  their  weakness  has  caused.  Thus  they  be- 
come vile  tyrants,  and  there  is  developed  in  them  ambition,  which  they  had  not 
originally,  but  which  they  retain  all  the  rest  of  their  lives. 

These  strange  and  false  assertions, — and  we  shall  find  many  more 
such, — are  meant  to  delineate  the  inborn  innocence  of  children. 
Rousseau  meant  that  it  should  follow,  that  all  evil  comes  into  men 
from  without.  And  evil,  whose  source  is  untraceable,  is  not  bad  ;  is 
not  sour,  but  sweet.  How  opposed  is  Augustine  to  Rousseau  !  "  Can 
there  be,"  asks  the  former,  "  any  good  in  a  child,  when  lie  cries  for 
what  could  only  hurt  him  if  he  got  it  ?  When  he  gets  into  a  violent 
rage  at  grown-up  people  who  are  not  under  his  authority,  and  even 

•  "  Man'i  breath  is  fatal  to  his  like.  This  if  true,  both  figuratively  and  literally.  Cities  are 
the  charnel  hou«e  of  the  human  race." 


ROl'SSEAU  8  EMII.E. 


469 


at  his  own  parents ;  when  he  tries  to  injure,  by  blows,  those  wiser 
than  he,  if  they  do  not  obey  him  at  the  moment  ?  it  is  the  weakness 
of  the  limbs  of  infants,  not  their  minds,  that  is  innocent." 

Children,  (to  return  to  Rousseau,)  must  be  helped  where  it  is  necessary,  but 
their  faults  are  not  to  be  attended  to,  and  they  must  be  left  to  help  themselves  as 
much  as  possible. 

The  needless  crying  of  children  will  be  best  quieted  by  paying  no  attention  to 
it ;  for  even  a  child  does  not  willingly  exert  himself  for  nothing.  Crying  can  be 
stopped  by  turning  the  child's  attention  to  some  striking  object,  without  letting 
him  see  that  that  is  what  is  meant. 

Children  should  be  weaned  when  the  teeth  come. 

Expensive  playthings  are  superfluous;  cheap  and  simple  ones  are  sufficient. 

Children  hear  talking  before  they  understand  it  or  can  speak  themselves. 
Nurses  may  sing  to  them,  but  should  not  be  continually  talking  be-fore  them  what 
they  do  not  understand.  Some  easy  words  should  be  repeatedly  spoken  before 
them ;  words  which  mean  things,  and  the  things  should  be  shown  at  the  same 
time.  The  unfortunately  easy  habit  of  being  satisfied  with  words  which  we  do 
not  understand,  begins  earlier  than  we  think  ;  before  school  age.  The  vocabula- 
ry of  children  should  be  as  simple  as  possible ;  they  should  have  no  more  words 
than  ideas.  Children  have  their  own  grammar.  Their  syntax  has  rules  more 
general  than  ours  ;  and  follows  remarkably  certain  analogies,  which  are  not,  how- 
ever, always  recognized  by  them.  Thus,  e.  g.,a  child  says,  irai-je-t-y  ?  after 
the  analogy  of  vas-y.  Errors  of  children's  language  should  not  be  pedantically 
corrected  ;  they  will  disappear  of  themselves  with  time ;  only  always  speak  cor- 
rectly before  them. 

It  is  a  great  mistake  to  take  so  much  pains  to  make  children  speak  so  early ; 
for  by  these  very  means  they  get  a  knowledge  of  language  more  slowly  and 
confusedly. 

The  children  of  laborers  speak  more  distinctly  than  the  distorted  children  of 
the  rich.  The  recitations  in  the  schools  improve  the  delivery  so  little  that  the 
hoys  are  in  the  habit  of  making  use  of  learning  by  rote,  and  gabbling  over  what 
is  to  be  recited ;  and  in  the  recitation  they  hesitate  and  stammer,  whenever  their 
memories  fail. 

Children  who  are  made  to  speak  too  soon,  have  not  time  enough  to  become 
acquainted  with  what  they  are  made  to  talk  about,  and  acquire  wrong  impressions 
of  it.  A  child  ought  not  to  speak  any  further  than  he  can  think.  A  great  fault 
is  an  accentless,  expressionless,  feelingless,  way  of  speaking.  The  expreiwion  is 
truer  than  the  words :  and  perhaps  this  is  the  reason  why  well-bred  people  are 
so  much  afraid  of  the  former,  and  why  they  speak,  all  of  them,  in  the  same  tone ; 
or  they  fall  into  a  ridiculous,  affected,  modish  accent,  such  as  is  so  disagreeable  in 
a  Frenchman. 

Many  of  these  views  of  Rousseau  upon  the  instruction  of  the  ear- 
liest childhood  have  deservedly  found  approval,  although  here  and 
there  approaching  to  extravagance,  especially  in  this;  that  he  would 
have  French  and  German  children,  &c.,  managed  like  young  savages, 
while  the  whole  course  of  their  life  is  still  unvariedly  French.  Young 
princes  are  to  go  barefoot.  In  requiring  that  children  should  talk  no 
further  than  they  can  think,  Rousseau  coincides  with  Comenius. 
SECOND  BOOK.  EMILE'S  CHILDHOOD  TO  HIS  TWELFTH  YEAR. 

7.  Unnecessary  Sympathy.  Unnecessary  Teaching.  Sacrifices  of  the  Pres- 
ent to  the  Future. 

A  new  period  of  life  begins  with  speech,  which  replaces  much  crying. 

Unnecessary  sympathy  should  not  be  shown  for  the  griefs  of  children;  they 
should  learn  to  bear  them. 

They  should  be  taught  nothing  which  they  will  learn  themselves ;  walking,  for 


470  ROUSSEAU'S  EM1LE. 

instance.  Leading  strings  and  other  such  helps  are  useless;  let  them  fall  and 
g</t  up  again,  on  some  soft  meadow,  a  hundred  times.  With  the  powers  of  chil- 
dren there  grows  up  in  them  the  capacity  for  managing  those  powers ;  and,  by 
this  means,  the  self-conscious,  individual  being.  Life  becomes  a  unity  by  memo- 
ry ;  and  thenceforward  children  must  be  treated  as  moral  beings,  ignorant 
teachers  make  the  children  miserable,  by  not  regarding  the  present  time  of  child- 
hood, and  by  only  considering  the  child's  future ;  to  which  perhaps  he  may  never 
attain.  Childhood,  it  is  said,  is  the  time  when  evil  tendencies  can  most  easily  be 
remedied.  Is  your  knowledge  then  certain,  that  this  fine  teaching  of  yours  will, 
in  future,  insure  the  happiness  of  the  child  ;  And  what  is  happiness  ?  He  is 
happiest  who  suffers  least ;  and  he  unhappiest  who  enjoys  least  pleasure.  Do 
not  the  evil  tendencies  come  rather  from  your  mistaken  pains,  than  from  nature  ? 
Let  the  child  be  only  a  child. 

Rousseau  is  right  in  opposing  the  useless  teaching  of  what  the 
child  will  learn  of  himself;  such  teaching  as  is  found  in  too  many 
of  our  elementary  schools.  His  rejection  of  the  belief  that  punish- 
ment operates  against  evil  in  children,  follows  from  his  disbelief  in 
original  sin. 

8.     Dependence  of  Children    instead  of  Obedience. 

He  who  is  truly  free  wishes  only  for  what  is  attainable ;  and  thus  does  only 
what  pleases  him.  This  principle  should  be  applied  to  children. 

The  child  should  feel  his  weakness,  bat  should  not  suffer  under  it ;  he  must  be 
dependent,  but  obedient ;  he  must  ask,  but  not  command.  He  enjoys  an  incom- 
plete freedom. 

There  is  a  dependence  upon  things,  based  in  nature  ;  and  a  dependence  upon 
man,  based  in  the  social  state.  The  former  has  nothing  to  do  with  morals,  and 
therefore  does  not  interfere  with  freedom  ;  the  other  is  a  source  of  vice.  The 
child  should  be  kept  in  a  material  dependence  only ;  physical  hindrances,  that  is, 
such  punishments  as  have  their  origin  in  his  own  actions,  should  be  opposed  to 
his  assumptions.  Experience  and  weakness  must  be  his  laws. 

In  what  nature  requires  for  the  development  of  the  body,  the  utmost  possible 
freedom  should  be  permitted  to  children,  as  in  running,  jumping,  &c.  But  if 
they  demand  any  thing  which  must  be  done  for  them  by  others,  great  care 
should  be  taken  to  distinguish  whether  it  is  a  real  necessity,  or  a  whim,  which 
occasions  their  demand. 

No  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  perverse  crying  of  children  ;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  they  should  be  taught  not  to  issue  commands  in  courtly  forms  of 
speech.  The  "  If  you  please,"  of  the  children  of  the  rich,  means  only  "  I  please ;" 
and  "I  beg,"  only  "  I  command."  It  is  better  that  the  child  should  say,  without 
circumlocution,  "Do  this." 

If  every  thing  is  given  to  the  child  which  he  demands,  his  requirements  will  have 
no  limit ;  only  God  himself  could  satisfy  them.  13y  such  granting,  also,  children's 
covetousncss  and  love  of  power  are  cultivated  ;  and  they  will  be  made  very  miser- 
able when,  as  must  sooner  or  later  be  the  case,  they  receive  refusals. 

Capricious  tyrannizing  over  their  elders  is  as  little  suitable  for  children  as  giving 
commands.  Your  child  should  not  have  any  thing  merely  because  he  asks  for  it, 
but  only  because  it  is  necessary  for  him ;  he  must  do  nothing  from  obedience,  but 
only  from  necessity;  the  words  "obey"  and  "command"  should  be  stricken  out 
from  his  dictionary  ;  and  still  more  the  words  "  obligation"  and  "  duty  ;"  but  the 
words  "  power,"  and  "  necessity,"  and  "  weakness,"  and  "  force,"  must  be  the 
principal  ones  in  his  vocabulary.  Until  the  child  comes  to  his  understanding  he 
can  understand  nothing  of  moral  existence  or  social  relations  ;  and  for  this  rea- 
son words  which  refer  to  them  should  be  avoided,  and  the  child  should  be  re- 
stricted entirely  to  the  physical  world. 

Rousseau's  vocabulary  wants  the  most  important  word  of  all,  love, — 
thankful  love ;  and,  therefore,  in  the  place  of  obedience,  which  is  in 
essence  the  same  with  love,  must  be  but  a  hard,  heartless,  material 


ROUgSEAU'S  EMII.E.  4«-j 

necessity.  How  different  is  the  theory  of  Pestalozzi !  Rousseau's 
observation  is  an  acute  one,  that  children  pervert  the  forms  of  request 
into  commands ;  his  warning  is  very  just,  against  the  unlimited  giv- 
ing to  them  of  every  thing  they  desire. 

9.     Reasoning  with  Children. 

Locke's  maxim  is  now  universally  followed;  that  children  should  be  reasoned 
with.  But  the  results  do  not  speak  in  favor  of  the  practice  ;  no  children  are  sil- 
lier than  those  who  have  been  much  reasoned  with.  Of  all  the  faculties,  the 
understanding  is  developed  the  latest ;  and  yet  it  is  overstrained  to  make  it  help 
in  developing  the  others.  This  is  bfginning  at  the  end.  If  children  understood 
reasoning,  they  would  need  no  education  ;  the  stating  to  them,  from  an  curly  pe- 
riod, what  they  do  not  understand,  accustoms  them  to  be  satisfied  with  mere 
words,  to  criticise  every  thing  which  is  said  to  them,  to  think  themwlves  as  wise 
as  their  teachers,  to  be  disputatious  and  perverse,  and  to  do  what  they  are  sup- 
posed to  do  from  reasonable  considerations,  only  from  covetousncss  or  fear  or  van- 
ity, which  are  the  motives  which  are  of  necessity  added  to  those  of  reason. 
f  Let  children  be  children.  If  we  choose  to  reverse  the  order  of  things,  we  shall 
get  premature  and  flavorless  fruits,  which  soon  decay ;  we  shall  have  young  doc- 
tors  and  old  children.  We  might  as  well  expect  children  to  be  five  feet  high,  as 
to  have  judgment  in  their  tenth  year. 

In  trying  to  convince  children  of  the  duty  of  obedience,  force  and  threats  are 
used,  or,  what  is  still  worse,  flattery  and  promises.  Thus  they  pretend  to  be  con- 
vinced by  reason,  when  they  are  baited  by  self-interest,  or  driven  by  force.  You 
think  you  have  convinced  them,  when  you  have  only  wearied  or  frightened  them. 
Thus  you  accustom  them  to  conceal  their  real  motives  behind  pretended  ones, 
and  to  make  sport  of  you.  "With  children  exhibit  strength,  and  not  authority, 
which  is  a  motive  for  men.  Give  to  them  willingly,  and  refuse  them  unwil- 
lingly ;  but  let  what  you  refuse  be  irrevocably  refused,  and  let  no  importunity  in- 
duce you  to  withdraw  your"  No."  Here  there  is  no  medium  ;  cither  you  must 
require  absolutely  nothing  from  the  child,  or  you  must  force  him,  without  cere- 
mony, to  the  most  implicit  obedience.  The  very  worst  education  is  that  in  which 
you  leave  the  child  in  uncertainty  between  your  will  and  his  own,  and  dispute 
with  him  without  end  which  of  you  shall  be  master.  A  hundred  times  better  is 
it  that  the  child  should  be  master,  once  for  all. 

Exceedingly  important  truth. 

10.     Against  Jesuitical  Means  of  Education. 

Ever  since  children  have  been  instructed,  no  other  means  have  been  invented 
of  managing  them,  but  emulation,  energy,  jealousy,  covetousness,  and  debased 
fear  ;  those  easily  excited,  most  dangerous  and  soul-destroying  passions.  At  eve- 
ry injudicious  lesson,  you  plant  a  viee  deep  within  the  heart.  Foolish  teachers 
think  they  have  done  wonders,  when  they  have  made  the  children  b;id,  in  order 
to  communicate  to  them  the  idea  of  goodness.  Then  they  say  gravely,  "  Such  is 
human  nature.'1  Such  is  your  discipline,  rather. 

The  continual  presence  of  your  tutors  constrains  children  ;  when  their  backs 
are  turned  they  make  up  for  it  by  playing  roguish  tricks. 

Very  true. 

11.     Against  Original  Sin. 

There  is  no  original  depravity  in  the  human  heart ;  there  is  not  one  single  vice 
in  the  heart,  of  which  it  can  not  be  told  how,  and  by  what  road,  it  came  in 
thither.  The  only  inborn  passion  is  self-love,  which  is,  by  nature,  good. 

The  child  can  do  many  bad  things  without  being  bad  ;  that  is,  without  the  pur- 
pose of  doing  harm.  If  he  should  once,  have  such  a  purpose,  he  would  be  al- 
most hopelessly  bad.* 

12.     Negative  Instruction  to  the    Ttcelfth  Year. 
The  usual  education  of  children  is  such  as  if  children  leaped-  nt  ono 
*On  this  point  I  refer  to  the  introduction. 


4^2  ROUSSEAU S  EM1LE. 

from  the  mother's  breast  to  the  age  of  reason.  An  entirely  opposite  method  is 
the  necessary  one  ;  an  entirely  negative  one ;  which  does  not  teach  virtue  and 
truth,  but  seeks  to  preserve  the  heart  from  vices,  and  the  understanding  from 
error.  If  you  can  bring  your  pupil  to  his  twelfth  year  healthy  and  strong,  even 
if  he  could  not  distinguish  his  right  hand  from  his  left,  the  eyes  of  his  under- 
standing would  open  to  your  first  lesson  in  reason  ;  for  he  would  have  no  preju- 
diees,  hubits,  or  any  thing  to  stand  in  the  way  of  the  efficacy  of  your  efforts.  He 
would  soon  become,  under  your  hands,  the  wisest  of  men ;  and  although  you 
began  with  doing  nothing,  you  would  have  accomplished  a  wonder  of  educa- 
tion. 

Do  the  opposite  of  what  is  usual  and  you  will  almost  always  do  right. 

From  the  effort  to  make  the  child  not  a  child,  but  a  doctor,  come  the  multiplied 
fault-findings,  flatteries,  threats,  and  reasonings  of  fathers  and  teachers.  Be  rea- 
sonable enough  not  to  reason  with  your  pupil.  Make  him  practice  his  body,  his 
limbs,  his  senses,  his  faculties ;  but  keep  his  soul  as  inactive  as  possible  ;  let  the 
character  of  childhood  ripen  in  the  child.  By  such  delay  you  gain  time  to  learn 
the  gradually  developing  character  of  your  pupil,  before  you  undertake  to  guide 
it,  and  make  precipitate  mistakes. 

Rousseau  rightly  opposes  the  unwise  endeavor  to  give  a  child  the 
wisdom  of  an  adult,  as  early  as  possible ;  in  preferring  rather  to 
teach  nothing,  than  feo  use  such  inappropriate  means.  There  is, 
however,  a  positive  course  of  discipline  of  which  Rousseau,  as  we 
shall  see,  knows  nothing,  and  refuses  to  know  any  thing. 
13.  Education  in  the  Country. 

It  is  difficult,  almost  impossible,  entirely  to  protect  the  child  against  bad  influ- 
ences ;  but  best  in  the  country.  The  teacher  must  here  endeavor  to  g;iin  the 
love  of  the  neighborhood,  and  thus  to  secure  its  favorable  influences  upon  his 
pupil. 

14.     Judicial   Instruction. 

It  is  unnatural  to  spenk  to  children  of  their  duties,  and  not  of  their  rights ; 
since  the  first  idea  of  right  comes  to  children,  not  from  what  they  are  bound  to 
do.  but  from  what  others  are  bound  to  do  for  them. 

The  idea  of  property  is  first  communicated  to  children  by  some  means  more 
effectual  than  mere  explanations. 

Nothing  is  said  about  love. 

15.     Moral  and  Religious  Education. 

The  teacher  is  to  blame  for  all  the  lies  of  children.  Why  does  he  make  so 
many  promises,  and  make  so  many  inquiries,  when  any  thing  has  happened  ? 

If  children  are  to  be  made  pious,  they  are  taken  to  church,  where  the}1  get 
tired.  By  making  them  say  over  interminable  prayers,  they  are  made  to  long  for 
the  happiness  of  not  being  obliged  to  pray  to  God  any  more.  To  teach  them  be- 
nevolence, they  are  made  to  give  alms ;  as  if  their  teachers  were  ashamed  to 
give  them  themselves.  It  is  not  the  child,  but  the  teacher,  who  should  give. 
And  what  is  the  child  made  to  give  ?  Money  ;  which  has  no  value  to  him  ;  or 
something  which  is  always  made  up  to  him  again.  Locke's  advice  is,  so  to  ar- 
range matters  that  the  children  shall  observe,  for  themselves,  that  those  who 
give  freely  fare  the  best.  That  is  to  educate,  apparently  to  generosity,  but  in 
reality  to  avarice. 

The  only  moral  instruction  proper  for  children  is,  to  do  nothing  bad.  To  this 
end  they  must  be  isolated  as  much  as  possible,  since,  in  the  social  state,  the  good 
of  one  is,  by  necessity,  the  evil  of  another. 

Children  can  not  possibly  become  perverse,  mean,  false,  and  greedy,  unless 
others  have  sown  the  seeds  of  these  vices  in  their  hearts. 

What  a  frightful  load  of  sins  against  children  does  Rousseau  pile 
upon  the  souls  of  all  parents  and  teachers  merely  to  carry  out  his 


ROUSSEAU'S  EMILE.  4*3 

mistaken  doctrine  of  the  non-existence  of  original  sin  !  After  his 
sophistical  fashion,  he  gives  his  assertion  the  appearance  of  truth,  by 
assuming  that  the  teacher  proceeds  entirely  wrongly,  or  in  a  most 
vexatious  manner. 

16.     Forming  Opinions  about  Children. 

Real  weakness  of  intellect  is  difficult  to  distinguish  from  that  apparent  weak- 
ness which  indicates  a  powerful  mind.  The  really  stupid  child  is  unfit  for  any 
thing  ;  the  apparently  so,  seems  to  be.  Accordingly,  do  not  form  opinions  about 
children  too  easily ;  let  nature  operate  a  long  time  before  you  venture  to  step  into 
her  place.  The  facility  with  which  children  learn  is  only  apparent ;  they  only  re- 
tain words  which  they  do  not  understand. 

Very  true. 

17.     Conceptions.     Ideas. 

Conceptions  are  only  the  absolute  pictures  of  natural  objects  ;  ideas  are  notions 
of  such  objects,  determined  by  their  relations.  A  conception  may  be  entirely 
alone  in  the  mind  ;  but  every  idea  supposes  other  ideas.  By  conceiving,  we  see; 
byideas,  we  compare.  For  mental  impressions,  we  only  hold  ourselves  passive; 
while,  on  the  contrary,  our  ideas  spring  from  the  active  originating  principle. 
Before  the  child  arrives  at  his  understanding,  he  receives  only  impressions,  such 
as  sounds,  &c. ;  he  dot's  not  originate  ideas  in  himself,  and  retain  them,  lie  is 
incapable  of  judgment,  and  has  no  real  memory. 

18.     Words.     Learning  Language. 

The  pedagogues  teach  children  words,  nothing  but  words,  and  no  real  knowl- 
edge. 

What  has  been  said  I  do  not  believe  ;  that  even  one  child,  such  as  are  called 
remarkable  children,  ever  actually  learned  two  languages,  before  his  twelfth  or  fif- 
teenth year.  For  each  language  has  its  own  peculiar  spirit,  and  the  thoughts 
take  the  color  of  the  idiom. 

Until  the  child  comes  to  its  understanding,  it  has  only  its  mother  tongue.  In 
order  to  be  master  of  two  languages,  it  must  be  able  to  compare  ideas. 

But,  it  may  be  answered,  there  have  been  children  who  have  spoken  five  or  six 
languages.  But  how  did  they  speak  them?  the  German  child,  for  instance, 
speaks  German-French,  or  German-Italian  ;  so  that,  although  its  words  were  not 
German,  its  language  was. 

The  old  languages  are  dead.  The  imitation  of  what  is  found  in  the  Latin 
classics,  is  called  speaking  Latin.  Boys  are  made  to  translate  French  into  Latin 
words,  and  afterward  to  patch  together  phrases  from  Cicero  and  verses  from  Vir- 
gil. Then  the  teachers  think  their  scholars  can  speak  Latin  ;  and  where  are  thj 
people  to  contradict  them  ? 

The  German  boy,  who  speaks  Latin,  usually  says  something  in 
German-Latin,  or  nothing,  in  Latin  verses  learned  by  rote. 

Comenius  had  already  zealously  opposed  the  teaching  of  mere 
words  without  any  real  basis ;  the  continual  employment  of  scholars 
in  the  world  of  conceptions,  the  world  of  language,  without  concern- 
ing themselves,  in  the  least,  with  the  original  things. 
19.     Geographical  Instruction. 

In  any  science,  8  knowledge  of  representations,  without  that  of  the  things  re- 
presented, is  of  no  value.  In  the  instruction  of  children,  however,  such  repre- 
sentations are  adhered  to.  Thus,  in  geography,  maps  are  shown,  and  the  name* 
of  countries,  places,  &c.,  are  taught,  when,  for  the  child,  they  only  exist  on  the 
paper.  A  geographical  manual  began  with  the  questions,  "  What  is  the  world  !' 
An  answer  once  given  was:  "  A  ball  of  pasteboard."  After  two  years  of  the 
usual  instruction  in  geography,  a  scholar  could  not.  by  the  rules  given,  find  his 
way  to  St.  Denis  in  Paris ;  or  fiud  his  way  in  his  own  father's  garden,  with  a  plan. 


474  ROUSSEAU'S  EMILE. 

And  these  are  the  doctors  who  have  knowledge  enough  about  Pekin,  Ispahan, 
Mexico,  and  all  the  countries  of  the  earth. 

20.     Instruction  in  History. 

Of  the  historical  matters  taught,  the  scholars  do  not  perceive  the  manner  and 
connection.  When  Alexander  thank  the  medicine  of  his  physician  who  was  ac- 
cused of  treachery  to  him,  a  boy  wondered  at  him,  because  he  could  swallow 
down  such  unpleasantly  lusting  stuft'  at  one  draught.  So  injudiciously  has  the 
matter  been  managed  by  the  learned. 

21.     Learning  by  Rote. 

Children  should  not  learn  by  rote ;  not  even  La  Fontaine's  fables,  which,  in 
spite  of  their  apparent  simplicity,  no  children  understand,  or  if  they  do,  so  much 
the  worse. 

22.     Learning  to  Read. 

Reading  is  the  great  misery  of  children.  Emile  must,  in  his  twelfth  year, 
scarcely  know  what  a  book  is.  How  many  artificial  methods  have  been  invented 
for  facilitating  learning  to  read  !  The  most  important  means  to  this  end  is,  that 
the  teacher  awaken  an  interest  in  the  subject,  in  his  scholars.  The  less  he  urges 
and  forces  his  pupils  toward  any  object,  the  more  certain  will  he  be  to  attain  it ;  and, 
while  it  is  of  little  consequence  whether  a  boy  can  read  before  his  fifteenth  year, 
he  may  perhaps  be  able  both  to  write  and  read,  as  early  as  his  tenth. 

The  anxious  and  foolish  apprehensions  of  parents,  lest  their  children 
shall  not  learn  to  read  soon  enough,  seem  to  be  growing  in  our  times, 

every  year. 

23.     Education  for  the  Present. 

If  you  follow  rules  entirely  opposed  to  the  usual  ones,  if  you  take  pains  to  make 
your  pupil  always  collected  in  mind  and  attentive  to  what  concerns  him,  instead 
of  keeping  him  forever  busy  in  other  climates  and  other  times,  even  at  the  ends 
of  the  earth,  and  even  in  the  heavens,  you  will  find  him  afterward  fitted  to  under- 
stand, to  retain  in  his  memory,  and  even  to  reason  ;  for  such  is  the  course  of  na- 
ture. 

Is  this  life  in  the  present,  one  after  the  manner  of  the  ancient 
Greeks,  or  after  ^hat  of  the  Caribs? 

24.     Bodily  Training. 

Exercise  the  body  of  the  pupil  in  every  way.  It  is  a  pitiable  error  to  suppose 
that  this  will  interfere  with  that  of  the  mind.  Only  let  the  pupil  grow  up  without 
being  kept  in  leading-strings  and  tutored  at  every  step  ;  let  him  be  obliged  to  act 
and  ail  vise  for  himself,  and  he  will  exercise  mind  and  body  at  the  same  time.  It 
is  in  this  manner  that  free  savages  exercise  their  bodies  ;  and  not  servile  laborers. 
Let  the  pupil  combine  the  understanding  of  a  wise  man  with  the  strength  of  an 
athlete ! 

"  Free  savages,"  "  athletes," — words  worthy  of  consideration. 
25.     Rules  for  the  Conduct  of  the  Tutor. 

It  is  a  difficult  art  to  manage  the  pupil  without  constant  orders,  and  to  do  every 
thing  as  if  one  were  doing  nothing. 

A  child  usually  reads  the  mind  of  the  teacher  much  more  easily  than  does  the 
teacher  the  child's  ;  so  that  the  child  usually  has  the  advantage  of  the  teacher 
here. 

Govern  so  that  the  child  shall  think  itself  free,  and  shall  not  be  stimulated  to 
search  for  your  weaknesses  and  watch  you. 

The  caprices  of  children  are  mostly  the  result  of  a  mistaken  education  ;  of  their 
being  permitted  to  command  as  they  wish,  and  being  obeyed. 

Truths  which  Rousseau  seems  to  have  taken  from  his  own  experi- 
ence ;  for  he  was  a  tutor. 

26.     The  Body  a  Medium  for  Educating  the  Mind.     Hardening. 
What  the  human  receives  is  conveyed  through  the  senses  5  the  senses  are  the 


ROUSSEAU'S  EMILE. 


475 


of  the  intellectual ;  our  feet,  our  hands,  our  eyes,  first  teach  us  philosophy. 
?ov  this  reason  we  must  train  the  members  and  senses  as  the  instruments  <>f  our 
Jntellect,  and  for  this  reason  the  body  must  be  sound   and  strong.)   Gymnastics 
gave  to  the  ancients  that  strength  of  body,  in  which  they  so  remarkably  excelled 
the  moderns. 

Loose  clothing  should  be  given  children,  in  which  they  may  feel  free  and  at 
ease.  Even  in  winter  they  should  wear  summer  clothing  ;  they  should  have  no 
covering  for  the  head,  and  should  drink  cold  water  even  when  they  are  hot. — 
They  should  not  sleep  in  a  soft  bed.  It  is  more  important  to  be  able  to  swim  than 
to  ride. 

Rousseau  praises  Locke's  method  of  hardening  children's  bodies, 
except  that  he  rejects  his  cautions  against  drinking  and  lying  on  the 
damp  ground,  when  the  child  is  hot.  His  hatred  of  French  cft'emi- 
nacy,  and  his  admiration  of  the  Carib  mode  of  hardening  the  body, 
make  him  push  every  thing  to  exaggeration. 

27.     Education  of  the  Senses.     Feeling. 

The  senses  develop  themselves  earliest  in  children  ;  and  therefore  the  attention 
should  be  first  turned  toward  completing  that  development.  But  this  is  what 
most  persons  forget  or  neglect.  Train  not  only  the  active  powers  of  children,  but 
all  the  senses  which  regulate  those  powers.  Benefit  each  sense  as  much  as  pos- 
sible ;  and  prove  the  impression  made  upon  one  sense  by  that  upon  another.  Let 
the  pupil  measure,  count,  weigh,  and  compare.  The  blind  have  the  most  acute 
touch  ;  seeing  children  could  cultivate  the  same  by  practice  and  plays  in  the  dark  ; 
by  which  those  fears  which  the  activity  of  the  imagination  occasions  in  the  dark, 
would  be  removed. 

The  tips  of  the  fingers  should  be  fine  skinned  and  susceptible  ;  many  things 
can  be  known  more  clearly  and  certainly  by  the  touch  than  by  the  eye.  On  the 
contrary  the  soles  of  the  feet  should  be  hardened  by  going  barefoot. 

Rousseau  is  quite  right  in  laying  stress  upon  the  training  of  the 
senses.  But  he  does  it  in  such  a  manner  that  he  seems  to  be  show- 
ing how  to  train  a  Carib  child  for  the  exact  sciences  of  the  French, 
or  a  French  child  for  the  life  of  a  savage.  Nothing  is  said  of  the  edu- 
cation of  the  eyes  for  the  beautiful ;  as  nothing  is  said  anywhere  of 
the  beautiful,  but  only  of  the  useful. 

28.     Seeing.     Drawing  and  Geometry. 

The  vision  often  errs  by  reason  of  its  wide  field  of  operations  and  the  multitude 
of  objects  which  it  embraces  ;  which  render  it  liable  to  hasty  judgments.  The 
illusions  of  perspective  are  indispensable  for  the  measurement  of  distances  ;  without 
the  gradations  of  size  and  light,  we  could  measure  no  distances,  or  rather  there 
would  be  none  to  us.  If  a  large  tree  one  hundred  paces  distant,  seemed  as  large 
and  distinct  as  another  only  ten  paces  distant,  it  would  appear  to  us  that  they 
stood  together.  If  two  objects  appeared  to  us  of  their  actual  size,  we  should  have 
no  knowledge  of  places. 

The  size  of  the  angle  at  the  eye,  at  which  we  see  objects,  is  determined  by  their 
size  and  distance.  But  how  shall  we  distinguish,  when  one  object  appears  small- 
er to  us  than  another,  whether  this  is  by  reason  of  its  real  size,  or  of  its  greater 
distance  ? 

Children  must  be  practiced  in  estimating  sizes  and  distances,  as  architects,  field 
surveyors,  &c.,  are.  Without  feeling,  without  movement,  with  measuring,  the 
best  of  eyes  can  give  us  no  idea  of  room.  For  the  oyster,  the  universe  is  a  |x»iut. 
With  this  exercise  of  children  in  estimating  distances,  is  connected  drawing, 
which  depends  entirely  upon  the  laws  of  perspective.  They  should  not  however 
use  copies,  but  should  draw  from  nature ;  and  in  this  it  is  of  more  importance 
that  they  see  and  understand  correctly,  than  that  they  should  draw  artistically. 

Geometry,  like  drawing,  is  for  children   an  exercise  of  the  eye,  based  upon  see- 


476  ROUSSEAU'S  EMILE. 

ing.  Make  correct  figures,  put  them  together,  place  one  upon  the  other,  and 
prove  their  relations.  By  proceeding  from  observation  to  observation,  you  will  go 
on  through  the  whole  of  elementary  geometry,  without  seeing  any  thing  of  defini- 
tions or  problems,  or  of  any  other  form  of  demonstration,  except  that  of  superim- 
position. 

Correctness  in  diagrams  is  usually  neglected  ;  the  figure  is  shown,  and  the 
demonstration  given.  But  it  would  be  of  much  more  value  to  draw  lines  as 
straight,  correct,  and  similar  as  possible,  and  squares  and  circles  as  true  as  possible. 

In  Turin,  they  gave  a  boy  cakes  of  the  same  size,  but  of  the  most  various  shapes ; 
he  tried  every  possible  means  to  determine  which  form  held  the  most. 

Children's  plays  should  exercise  their  eyes,  and  all  their  members.  How  much 
can  be  accomplished  in  this  direction  is  shown  by  the  feats  of  rope-dancers.  Is 
there  any  children's  diversion  which  the  instructor  can  not  make  instructive  to 
them  ? 

What  Rousseau  here  says  of  teaching  geometry  is  worthy  of  spe- 
cial consideration.  From  real  pure  geometrical  drawings  there  are  de- 
veloped true  and  pure  geometrical  ideas. 

29.     Hearing.     Speaking  and  Singing. 

The  child  should  compare  such  impressions  on  the  sight  and  hearing  as  belong 
together ;  as,  for  instance,  that  the  lightning  is  seen  before  the  thunder  is  heard. 
The  voice,  as  an  active  organ,  corresponds  with  the  passive  one  of  the  hearing; 
and  they  assist  each  other. 

The  pupil  should  speak  in  a  plain  manner.  He  should  not  be  permitted  to  de- 
claim ;  he  should  have  too  much  sound  sense  to  express,  with  tones  and  feelings 
which  he  has  not,  things  which  he  does  not  understand.  Teach  him  to  speak  dis- 
tinctly, without  hesitation,  without  affectation,  and  loud  enough  to  be  understood  ; 
teach  him  to  sing  correctly  and  in  tune,  but  no  operatic  music  ;  train  his  ear  for 
time  and  harmony. 

Rousseau's  musical  faculty  made  him  forget  his  Iroquois  ideal ;  and 
he  does  not  ask  the  question,  what  is  the  use  of  music  ? 

30.  The  Taste. 

In  the  beginning,  that  nourishment  was  most  healthful  for  simple  men  which 
tasted  best.  In  children  this  primitive  taste  should  be  preserved  as  much  as  pos- 
sible ;  their  food  should  be  common  and  simple,  not  high  seasoned  ;  flesh  is  im- 
proper for  them.  Of  the  proper  food  they  should  be  permitted  to  eat  as  much  as 
they  wish.  Eating  is  the  passion  of  children.  Therefore  they  should  be  managed 
by  means  of  their  palate  •,  this  natural  and  appropriate  motive  is  far  prefer- 
able to  those  of  vanity.  Love  of  eating  will  decrease  and  vanity  will  increase  with 
years. 

31.  The  Smell. 

This  is  related  to  the  taste,  as  sight  is  to  feeling.  In  children  it  is  not  very  ac- 
tive. 

32.  The  Common  Sense.     Formation  of  Ideas* 

A  sixth  sense  comes  from  a  proper  employment  of  the  other  senses ;  namely  : 
"  the  common  sense."  This  is  resident  in  the  brain  ;  and  its  sensations  are  called 
perceptions,  or  ideas.  (?)  The  number  of  these  ideas  indicates  the  extent  of  our 
knowledge  ;  and  the  power  of  comparing  them  with  each  other  is  called  human 
reason.  The  sensitive,  or  child's  reason,  forms  simple  ideas,  by  bringing  together 
several  impressions  upon  the  senses;  the  intellectual  reason  forms  compound  ideas 
from  several  simple  ones. 

33.  Character  of  Emile,  at  Twelve  Years  Old. 

His  exterior  indicates  self-possession  and  ease ;  he  speaks  with  simplicity,  and 
does  not  talk  unnecessarily.  His  ideas  are  confined  and  clear;  he  knows  nothing 
by  rote,  but  much  by  experience.  If  he  does  not  read  so  well  in  books,  he  reads 

*  Sec.  17, 42. 


ROUSSEAU'S  EMILE. 


477 


better  in  the  book  of  nature-,  he  has  less  memory  than  power  of  judgment;  he 
speaks  but  one  language,  but  understands  what  he  says.  If  hu  docs  not  speak  so 
well  as  others,  he  is  much  more  capable  of  doing.  lie  knows  nothing  of  routine, 
custom,  or  habit ;  and  what  he  did  yesterday  does  not  indicate  what  he  will  do  to- 
day. Neither  authority  nor  example  impose  upon  him  ;  he  does  and  says  only 
what  seems  good  to  him.  He  knows  nothing  of  study,  speech,  or  manners  ;  but 
his  language  corresponds  with  his  ideas,  and  his  behavior  arises  from  his  wishes. 

He  has  few  moral  ideas,  but  they  are  such  as  correspond  to  his  age.  Speak  to 
him  of  duty  or  obedience,  he  does  not  know  what  you  mean  ;  order  him,  he  does 
not  understand  you  ;  but  say  to  him,  if  you  will  do  this  to  please  me,  1  will  some* 
time  do  something  to  please  you,  and  he  will  instantly  exert  himself  to  comply 
with  your  wish  ;  for  nothing  will  please  him  more  than  to  add  to  his  legitimate 
influence  over  you,  which  he  holds  inviolable. 

If  he  needs  help  himself,  he  makes  use  of  the  first  that  comes  to  hand,  whether 
it  be  a  king  or  a  servant;  for  all  men  are  alike  to  his  sight.  He  shows  to  him 
whom  he  asks,  that  he  does  not  consider  any  one  bound  to  grant  his  request. 
He  is  simple  and  laconic  in  his  expressions,  and  neither  servile  nor  arrogant. 
Grant  his  request,  and  he  does  not  thank  you,  but  feels  that  he  is  your  debtor; 
refuse  it,  and  he  does  not  complain  nor  urge  you,  but  lets  the  matter  drop. 

Lively,  active,  he  undertakes  nothing  loo  great  for  his  powers,  but  which  he 
has  tried  and  understands.  He  has  an  observing  and  intelligent  eye  ;  and  asks  no 
useless  questions  about  what  lie  sees,  but  examines  it  himself.  As  his  imagination 
is  yet  inactive,  and  nothing  has  been  done  to  stimulate  it,  he  sees  only  what  really 
exists,  does  not  over-estimate  danger,  and  is  always  cool. 

Business  and  play  are  the  same  to  him,  his  play  is  his  business ;  he  finds  no 
difference  between  them.  Among  city  children,  there  is  none  more  dexterous 
than  he,  and  all  are  weaker;  he  is  equal  to  country  children  in  strength,  and 
surpasses  them  in  dexterity.  He  is  fit  to  lead  his  companions,  by  his  tali-lit  and 
experience,  without  any  other  authority,  without  wishing  to  command ;  he  is  at  the 
head  of  the  rest,  and  they  obey  him  without  knowing  it. 

He  is  a  mature  child,  and  has  lived  a  child's  life  ;  his  happiness  has  not  been 
exchanged  for  bis  education.  If  he  dies  young,  his  death  is  to  be  mourned,  but 
not  his  life. 

Ordinary  men  would  not  understand  a  boy  so  trained ;  they  would  see  in  him 
nothing  but  a  scapegrace.  A  teacher  could  make  no  parade  with  him,  could  ask 
him  no  show  questions  ;  and  those  are  the  chief  of  the  education  of  the  day. 

A  healthy,  strong,  dexterous,  corporeally  well-trained  boy, systematic- 
ally educated,  for  a  purely  earthly  existence,  and  for  cold  independ- 
ence ;  a  Frenchified  Carib,  or  Caribized  French  boy,  without  fancy, 
poetry,  love,  or  God. 

THIRD  BOOK.     EMILE,  FROM  HIS  TWELFTH  TO  HIS  FIFTEENTH  YEA«. 
34.     Desire  of  Knowledge.     Methods.     Regard  for  Authority. 

Curiosity  will  now  begin  to  operate,  and  will  henceforth  stimulate  the  boy. 
With  natural  curiosity  is  connected  the  vain  endeavor  to  appear  learned.  Im- 
pressions upon  the  senses  must  be  developed  into  ideas ;  only,  we  should  not  pass 
too  suddenly  from  material  to  intellectual  objects.  The  world  and  things  in  books 
must  be  the  teachers  ;  mere  words  should  not  be  learned. 

"The  pupil  knowa  nothing  because  you  have  said  it  to  him,  but  because  lie,  has 
mprehended  it;  he  does  not  learn  his  acquirements;  he  discovers  them/    If 
ce  you  give  him  authority,  instead  of  reason,  he  will  no  longer  think  for  him- 
self, but  will  be  the  sport  of  strange  opinions. 

One  extreme  introduces  another.  Because  earlier,  ignorant,  and 
harsh  teachers  treated  boys  like  empty  vessels,  which  they  were  to  fill 
up  with  Latin  vocables,  geometrical  demonstrations,  <tc.,  therefore, 
according  to  Rousseau,  now  they  must  find  out  every  thing  for  them- 
selves ;  because  earlier  tyrannical  teachers  based  every  thing  on  author- 


478  ROUSSEAU'S  EMILE. 

ity  maintained  by  force,  now  all  at  once  there  is  to  be  no  authority 
at  all.  From  the  pedagogical  age  of  Louis  XIV.,  we  are  to  be  trans- 
ferred at  once  into  the  age  of  the  revolution. 

Woe  to  the  boy  to  whom  no  authority  is  sacred  ;  who  is  destitute 
of  all  reverence  and  love  toward  his  parents  and  teachers. 
35.     Rudiments  of  Astronomy-. 

A  beautiful  sunrise.  The  teacher  is  in  an  ecstacy ;  but  the  boy  of  thirteen  is 
not  yet  ready  to  take  pleasure  in  a  beautiful  spring  morning.  It  would  be  foolish 
for  the  teacher  to  take  pains  to  talk  the  pupil  into  his  own  enthusiasm. 

No  writings  are  proper  for  a  boy,  no  eloquence  or  poetry  ;  he  has  no  business 
with  feeling  or  taste.  Be  to  him  clear,  simple,  and  cold  ;  direct  his  attention  to 
the  places  of  the  rising  and  the  setting  of  the  sun,  and  let  him  wonder  how  it  gets 
back  from  the  west  to  the  east.  The  observation  that  it  passes  from  the  east  to 
west  every  day  will  suggest  an  answer.  Again,  draw  his  attention  to  the  change 
of  the  place  of  sunrise  and  sunset  at  different  seasons  of  the  year.  All  this  must 
be  done  without  any  armillary  sphere  ;  its  circles  confuse  the  pupil. 

Either,  according  to  Rousseau,  we  must  boil  over  with  pseudo- 
poetry,  at  a  beautiful  sunrise,  or — as  he  recommends  before  the  boy  of 
twelve — freeze  with  astronomical  observations.     Is  there  no  medium  ? 
36.     Rudiments  of  Geography  and  Physics.     Methods. 

Geographical  instruction  should  begin  with  the  house  and  place  of  abode.  The 
pupil  should  draw  maps  of  the  neighborhood,  to  learn  how  they  are  made,  and 
what  they  show. 

It  is  of  less  importance  to  teach  the  boy  sciences,  than  to  give  him  a  taste  for 
them,  and  methods  for  learning  them  when  that  taste  shall  have  been  more  de- 
veloped. At  this  age,  also,  he  should  be  taught  to  follow  up  one  subject  with 
persevering  attention,  but  yet  not  to  weariness.  If  he  asks  questions  for  his  own 
information,  answer  him  just  so  much  as  is  necessary,  in  order  to  stimulate  his 
curiosity  ;  but  do  not  let  him  weary  you  with  endless  silly  questions.  Philosophy 
developes  the  sciences  from  their  principles ;  but  instruction  does  not.  In  this, 
each  subject  explains  and  introduces  another,  and  thus  curiosity  keeps  alive  the 
attention. 

If  the  pupil  has  found  out  the  noon-mark,  by  a  shadow,  and  drawn  it,  show 
him  that  the  compass  will  give  him  the  same  line. 

Instruction  in  physics  should  begin  with  the  simplest  experiments,  not  with 
instruments.  These  must  follow  after  such  experiments ;  and,  though  ever  so 
imperfect,  should  be  constructed  by  the  teacher  and  the  pupil,  themselves.  By 
such  independent  efforts  are  attained  ideas  of  greater  clearness  and  certainty. 

The  numerous  instruments  which  have  been  invented  to  guide  us  in  experiments, 
and  to  make  up  for  the  defective  accuracy  of  the  senses,  arc  the  reason  why  the 
senses  are  less  used.  The  more  perfect  our  tools  are,  the  more  blunt  and  in- 
efficient will  our  organs  become. 

Purely  speculative  knowledge  is  not  for  children  ;  not  even  when  they  approach 
the  age  of  youth.  Yet  it  must  be  contrived  that  their  experiments  shall  form  a 
chain,  by  the  aid  of  which  they  may  be  better  retained  in  the  memory  5  for  facts 
and  demonstrations  entirely  isolated  do  not  remain  there. 

In  investigating  nature's  laws,  begin  always  with  the  more  common  and  obvious 
phenomenon. 

This  is  a  most  valuable  observation  upon  elementary  instruction  in 
the  natural  sciences.  Comenius  already,  and  Pestalozzi  afterward, 
commenced  the  study  of  Geography  with  the  immediate  neighborhood. 
Any  bright  boy  will,  however,  make  himself  acquainted  with  it,  if  he 
is  permitted,  without  taking  wearisome  topographical  walks  with  his 


ROUSSEAU'S  EMI  I.E. 


470 


teacher.  Nothing  should  be  taught  which  the  boy  will  freely  learn 
himself,  without  any  assistance.  Rousseau's  tutor,  always  teaching 
the  boys  something  in  every  trip,  and  even  in  every  game,  would 
/necessarily  become  intolerable  to  them. 

37.     No  Authority. 

The  boy  should  do  nothing  at  the  word  ;  nothing  is  good  to  him  except  what 
he  himself  recognizes  as  good.  By  your  wisdom  you  rob  him  of  his  mother-wit ; 
he  becomes  accustomed  always  to  be  led,  and  to  be  only  a  machine  in  the  hands 
of  others.  To  require  obedience  of  the  child,  nteans  to  require  that,  when  grown 
up,  he  shall  be  credulous  ;  shall  be  made  a  fool  of.  It  is  of  no  use  to  say  to  the  boy 
that  he  is  ordered  for  his  osvn  good,  and  that,  when  he  is  grown  up,  lie  will  see  it. 
To  do  so  is  to  play  into  the  hands  of  every  visionary  charlatan  and  impostor,  who 
shall  in  after  life  desire  to  entangle  the  boy  in  his  nets.* 

38.  Against  premature  Learning.  "  What  is  the  Use  ?" 
J  The  child  should  learn  what  is  necessary  for  his  own  age  ;  and  not,  premature- 
ly, what  will  be  necessary  in  after  years./  But,  you  say,  can  what  is  necessary  be 
learned,  at  the  moment  when  it  is  to  be  applied  ?  I  answer,  I  know  not ;  but  this 
I  know,  that  it  can  not  be  learned  before  ;  for  our  real  teachers  are  experience  and 
feeling ;  we  only  learn  what  is  right  in  the  experiences  of  actual  life.  When  we 
have  given  the  pupil  the  idea  of  usefulness,  we  have  thus  a  new  mode  of  guiding 
him  ;  he  sees  that  this  word  is  related  to  his  present  well-being.  "  What  is  the 
use  of  it  ?"  is  the  sac-red  question,  the  word  which  must  deeide  every  thing  be- 
tween the  teacher  and  the  scholar  ;  it  is  the  question  with  which  the  former  can 
answer  the  host  of  useless  questions  of  the  latter,  and  which  he  again  can,  ii|X)U 
occasion,  put  to  the  teacher. 

There  are  harmful  anticipations  in  learning,  but  there  are  also 
necessary  ones.  Seeds  may  be  planted  in  the  child's  mind  which 
shall  sleep  for  years  as  if  dead,  but  which  shall  spring  into  life  at  the 
right  moment.  Old  men  encourage  themselves,  in  the  hour  of  death, 
with  verses  from  the  funeral  hymns  which  they  learned  \vhen  chil- 
dren. 

39.     Strengthening  the  Weak.     Laconicitin.     Vanity  as  a  Motive. 

Who  is  the  teacher  who  can  confess  to  the  scholar  that  he  has  erred  ?  If  the 
teacher  has  no  answer  at  hand  to  the  scholar's  question,  lie  should  say  so  without 
more  ado. 

Above  all,  avoid  tedious  explanations,  which  are  often  made  by  teachers,  only 
with  a  view  to  show  themselves  off  to  visitors  who  may  be  present. 

Adhere  to  facts.  We  lay  t4K>  much  stress  upon  words  ;  and  our  talking  educa- 
tion trains  up  talkers.  A  boy  who  is  lost  will  find  out  better  how  to  set  himself 
right  by  the  sun,  than  he  would  by  a  long  demonstration.  Wherever  possible, 
teach  by  things  themselves.. 

What  the  boy  learns  only  through  an  appeal  to  his  vanity,  he  had  better  not 
learn  at  all. 

Very  true. 

40.     Books.     Robinson    Crusoe.     Workshops. 

From  books  men  learn  to  talk  about  what  they  do  not  understand.  But  there 
is  one  book  which  may  be  considered  as  a  most  valuable  treatise  upon  natural  educa- 
tion ;  a  book  which  might,  for  a  long  time,  constitute  the  entire  library  of  the  pu- 
pil ;  namely,  Robinson  OUS<K?.  Robinson,  alone  upon  an  island,  obliged  hunt-elf 
to  make  every  thing  necessary  to  him,  becomes  the  boy's  ideal  ;  he  will  a-k  only 
for  what  would  be  necessary  for  him  uj>on  a  Robinson 'a  island. 

The  teacher  should  frequent  workshops,  with  his  pupil,  and  should  permit  him 
to  take  hold  of  the  work  himself;  and  by  this  means  he  will  learn  to  Dlidentand 

•  See  34. 


480  ROUSSEAU'S  EMILE. 

them  better  than  by  many  explanations.  He  will  learn  at  the  same  time  to  value 
more  highly  really  useful  artisans,  than  the  so-called  artists,  who  are  so  much 
esteemed  by  the  world.  He  will  esteem  more  highly  a  locksmith  than  a  gold- 
smith; engravers  and  gi.ders  will  be,  in  his  eyes,  only  idlers,  busy  in  useless 
amusements  ;  even  watchmakers  will  be  of  small  account  with  him.  He  will  re- 
spect all  human  labor,  and  in  like  manner  all  productions  of  nature,  in  proportion 
as  they  contribute  more  to  his  necessities,  his  knowledge,  and  his  comfort.  He 
will  value  iron  more  highly  than  gold,  glass  than  diamonds. 

It  is  not  meant  that  the  pupil  should  become  acquainted  with  every  trade,  but 
only  that  he  should  know  the  most  necessary  ones,  and  their  connection  with  each 
other. 

Here  it  appears  more  clearly  what  Rousseau  means  by  his  ques- 
tion, What  is  the  use  ?  He  barbarously  only  values  what  is  necessary 
for  human  subsistence,  to  a  life  as  nearly  as  possible  to  that  of  a  beast. 
Watchmakers  would  be  of  but  little  account  with  him ;  he  does  not 
even  mention  the  higher  arts,  the  fine  arts,  so  useless  do  they  seem 
to  him. 

41.     Equality.     Revolution.     Learning  and  Trade. 

Your  education  of  men  should  be  adapted  to  what  they  are  in  themselves;  not 
to  any  thing  external.  By  training  him  exclusively  for  one  condition,  you  make 
him  unfit  for  any  other,  and  unfortunate,  if  his  situation  should  ever  change. 
How  ridiculous  is  a  great  lord  who  has  become  a  beggar,  and  who  holds  in  his 
misery  to  the  prejudices  of  his  birth ;  how  contemptible  the  rich  man  become 
poor,  who  feels  himself  completely  degraded  1 

You  acquiesce  in  the  social  order  of  the  present,  without  considering  that  this 
order  is  subject  to  unavoidable  changes;  and  that  it  is  impossible  for  you  to  fore- 
see or  to  prevent  the  revolution  which  may  come  upon  your  children.  The  great 
will  become  small,  the  rich  poor,  the  monarch  a  subject.  We  are  approaching  a 
crisis ;  the  century  of  revolutions.  It  is  impossible  that  the  great  monarchies  of 
Europe  can  last  long.  And  who  can  say  what  shall  then  happen  to  you?  What 
men  have  made,  men  can  destroy ;  only  the  character  given  by  nature  is  indes- 
tructible ;  and  nature  makes  neither  princes,  nor  rich  men,  nor  great  lords.  What 
will  the  satrap  do  in  his  debasement,  who  has  been  educated  only  for  his  high  po- 
sition ?  What  will  the  farmer- general  do,  in  his  poverty,  who  lives  only  upon  his 
money  ?  Happy  will  he  be,  then,  who  shall  understand  how  to  leave  the  condition 
which  has  left  him,  and  to  remain  a  man  in  spite  of  fate.  The  cultivation  of  the 
earth  is  the  best  of  all  employments  ;  yet,  when  evil  times  come,  the  artisan  is 
more  independent.  Make  your  son,  therefore,  learn  some  respectable  trade,  the 
carpenter's  for  example.  This  will  also  serve  to  cure  him  of  the  prejudices 
against  trades.  Only  beware  of  nourishing  one  vanity  while  you  are  exerting 
yourself  to  oppose  another. 

The  great  secret  of  education  is,  to  manage  it  so  that  the  training  of  the  minaN 
and  body  shall  serve  to  assist  each  other. 

-  Here  Rousseau  foretells  the  revolution  almost  thirty  years  before  its 
coming.  As  a  gr;at  architect  outlines  the  church  whose  form  stands 
before  his  mind,  before  even  the  corner-stone  is  laid,  so  the  great 
master  of  destruction  draws  the  picture  of  horrors  and  dissolution 
before  the  soul,  before  the  multitude  taught  by  him  put  hand  to  the 
work. 

42.     Impressions  upon  the  Senses.     Ideas.     Opinions* 
After  the  body  and  senses  of  the  pupil  have  first  been  educated,  we  should 
train  his  understanding  and  his  judgment.     Lastly,  we  should  teach  him  to  use 
his  brains  in  the  service  of  his  faculties.     We  have  made  of  him  an  acting,  think- 

*  Comp.  32,  17. 


ROUSSEAU'S  EMII.E. 


481 


ing  being;  to  make  him  a  complete  man,  we  must  make  him  also  a  living  and 
feeling  being,  that  is,  we  must  supplement  reason  with  his  feelings. 

As  at  first  the  pupil  has  only  sensations,  so  now  ho  has  idea*  and  forms  judg- 
ments. By  the  comparison  of  several  of  those,  following  each  other  all  at  the 
•ame  time,  and  by  a  judgment  upon  them,  there  results  a  sort  of  compound  im- 
pressions which  1  call  ideas.  In  simple  impressions  upon  the  senses,  the  judg- 
ment is  merely  passive  ;  it  only  makes  certain  of  the  actuality  of  the  sensations ; 
in  perception,  or  the  idea,  it  is  active,  placing  together,  comparing  and  determin- 
ing relations  which  the  senses  do  not  determine. 

The  judgment  leads  to  error,  particularly  in  the  case  of  learned  men,  whose 
vain  desire  to  shine  by  giving  opinions  outruns  their  knowledge.  Ignorance, 
which  says  "  What  have  I  to  do  with  it  1 "  is  the  only  safety  from  error.  Thus 
speak  savages  and  wise  men.  Our  pupil  must  not  speak  so  5  he  is  a  savage,  but 
destined  to  live  in  cities. 

We  learn  best  to  judge  by  laboring  to  simplify  our  experience,  and,  having 
acquired  experience,  by  seeking  rather  to  avoid  error  than  a  positive  knowledge 
of  the  truth  ;  and  by  rather  confessing  ignorance,  than  by  endeavoring  to  explain 
any  thing  insufficiently. 

43.     Emile  in  his  Fifteenth  Year. 

Being  obliged  to  learn  by  means  of  himself,  he  uses  his  own  understanding, 
not  that  of  other  men  ;  and  yields  nothing  to  authority.  For  most  of  our  errors 
come  less  from  ourselves  than  from  others.  By  this  continual  practice,  his  mind 
has  acquired  a  strength  like  that  which  is  given  to  the  body  by  labor  and  hard- 
ship. For  the  same  reason  his  powers  develop  themselves  only  in  proportion  to 
his  growth.  He  remembers  only  what  has  commended  itself  to  his  understand- 
ing. Thus  he  has  little  knowledge,  but  no  half-knowledge.  He  knows  that  his 
knowledge  is  not  great ;  his  mind  is  open,  decided,  and,  if  not  instructed,  nt  least 
capable  of  instruction.  Of  all  that  he  does  he  knows  the  use,  and  of  all  he  be- 
lieves,  the  reason.  He  proceeds  slowly,  but  thoroughly.  He  possesses  only 
natural  knowledge ;  none  of  history,  and  none  of  mathematics  and  ethics.  He 
knows  little  of  generalizing  and  forming  abstractions ;  he  observes  properties 
common  to  many  bodies,  without  reasoning  upon  the  existence  of  these  properties. 
What  is  strange  to  him  he  values  only  by  its  relations  to  himself,  but  this  valua- 
tion is  sufficient  and  certain.  What  is  most  useful  to  him  he  values  most,  and 
cares  nothing  for  opinion. 

Emile  is  laborious,  moderate,  patient,  persevering,  and  courageous.  His  fancy, 
not  heated  in  any  way,  never  magnifies  danger  ;  he  can  endure  sorrow  with  forti- 
tude, for  he  has  not  been  trained  to  oppose  himself  to  fate.  What  death  is,  ho 
does  not  rightly  know,  but,  being  a  accustomed  to  submit  without  resistance  to  the 
laws  of  necessity,  he  will  die,  when  he  must,  without  sighing  and  without  pre- 
tense. Nature  does  not  require  more  of  us,  in  that  moment,  so  abhorred  by  all. 
To  live  free,  to  set  the  heart  as  little  as  possible  upon  human  things,  is  the  surest 
means  of  learning  to  die. 

Emile  is  destitute  of  the  social  virtues.  He  acts  without  respect  to  others ;  and 
it  is  right  in  his  eyes  that  others  should  have  no  regard  to  him.  He  makes  no 
demands  upon  others,  he  thinks  himself  under  no  obligation  to  any  one.  Stand- 
ing alone  in  society,  he  counts  only  upon  himself,  and  is  capable  of  more  than 
others  at  his  age.  He  has  no  errors  or  vices,  except  such  as  are  unavoidable. 
His  body  is  healthy,  his  members  are  disciplined,  his  understanding  correct  and 
without  prejudices,  his  heart  free  and  without  passions.  Self-esteem,  first  and 
most  natural  of  all  the  passions,  has  scarcely  awakened  in  him.  Without  des- 
troying the  peace  of  any  one,  he  has  lived  as  peacefully,  happily,  and  freely  m 
nature  will  permit.  Do  you  find  that  the  child,  thus  educated  to  his  fifteenth 
year,  has  wasted  his  earliest  years? 

Rousseau  asks  this  question  as  if  he  were  sure  of  his  answer. 
What  I  have  already  said  of  Emile  at  twelve  is  still  truer  of  him  at 
fifteen.  We  freeze  at  the  character  of  the  cold  boy,  who  has  by  the 
skill  of  his  tutor  been  brought  to  such  an  independence  that  he  asks 
neither  about  God  or  man,  feels  no  need  of  love,  has  no  feeling  for 

No.  14.— [VoL.  V.,  No.  2.]— 31. 


482  ROUSSEAU'S  EMILE. 

poetry.  A  superficial  understanding  of  the  material  world,  and  the 
bodily  activity  of  a  savage,  are  the  highest  of  his  attainments.  A 
real  ethical  idea  is  out  of  the  question,  where  love,  the  heart  of  all 
the  virtues,  is  wanting.  Only  the  earthly  being  is  considered  ;  death 
brings  this  pedagogical  masterpiece  to  an  end ;  and  Emile  endures 
this  with  the  resignation  of  a  wild  beast. 

FOURTH  BOOK.     EMILE  FROM  ins  FIFTEENTH  YEAR  TO  HIS  MARRIAGE. 
44.     Puberty.     Selfishness.     Self-esteem.     Innocence. 

The  age  of  puberty  now  comes,  and  with  it  spring  up  passions  whose  source 
is  selfishness.  This  impels  every  one  to  care  for  his  own  profit.  What  is  useful 
to  us  we  seek  for  that  reason  ;  what  desires  to  serve  us,  we  love :  what  hurts  us 
we  flee  from  ;  and  what  seeks  to  harm  us,  we  hate.  A  child  is  benevolent  at 
first,  because  all  who  are  around  him  wait  on  him.  But,  as  the  circle  of  his  ac- 
quaintance enlarges,  the  feeling  of  his  relations  to  others  grows  up,  he  compares 
himself  with  them,  and  his  selfishness  changes  into  self-esteem,  which  lifts  him 
above  others,  and  requires  them  to  hold  him  higher  than  themselves.  Heat 
and  anger  spring  from  self-esteem.  It  is  true  that  children,  since  they  can 
never  live  alone,  can  live  together  only  with  difficulty.  From  selfishness,  changed 
into  self-esteem,  comes,  in  simple  souls,  vanity,  and  in  great  ones,  pride;  which 
spring  in  the  hearts  of  children  only  by  our  fault,  and  in  our  pupils  even  against 
our  will. 

The  age  of  puberty  is  unnaturally  hastened ;  it  should  be  delayed  as  long  as 
possible.  In  regard  to  the  relations  of  the  sexes,  lies  should  not  be  told  to  chil- 
dren, but  care  should  be  taken  not  to  awaken  their  curiosity  upon  such  subjects ; 
silence  should  be  observed  in  regard  to  them  ;  but  what  can  not  be  hidden  from 
them  should  be  told  them. 

A  child  who  is  not  born  with  a  bad  nature,  and  who  has  kept  his  innocence  to 
his  twentieth  year,  is  at  this  age  the  most  magnanimous,  best,  most  loving  and  lov- 
able of  men.  If  you  have  never  heard  of  this,  I  can  easily  believe  it ;  your  phi- 
losophers, bred  up  in  the  deepest  depravity  of  the  schools,  could  not  know  it. 

Emile  is  now  coming  into  the  years  when  increasing  freedom  de- 
velopes  his  sinful  tendencies  more  freely ;  and  the  fig  leaves  of  Rous- 
seau's sophistry  are  less  and  less  able  to  cover  them.  Still  he  ad- 
heres to  his  principle,  that  every  thing  wicked  comes,  not  from  the 
heart,  but  into  the  head  from  others. 

45.     Happiness.     Love.     Sympathy.     Gratitude. 

There  now  follow  directions  for  ethical  education  ;  for  example,  the 
pupil  is  to  be  taught  not  to  take  apparent  happiness  for  real  and  de- 
sirable happiness,  and  not  phrases  of  hypocritical  pretenses  of  love 
and  sympathy,  but  to  exercise  real  sympathy.  Ingratitude  is  not 
natural  to  men,  but  is  caused  by  such  benefactors  as  seek  their  own 
advantage. 

46.     Knowledge  of  Men. 

An  self-esteem  grows  in  Emile,  he  compares  himself  with  his  equals  and  en- 
deavors to  hold  the  highest  place  among  them.  Now  is  the  time  to  instruct  him 
in  the  social  relations,  and  in  the  natural  and  civic  inequality  of  men.  He  should 
know  men  in  and  under  the  masks  of  society,  should  mourn  over  them,  but  not 
learn  to  aid  them.  Emile  knows  that  men  are  by  nature  good,  but  understands 
that  they  have  become  bad  and  depraved  by  means  of  society ;  in  their  prejudices 
lie  sees  the  source  of  all  their  vices ;  and  feels  himself  impelled  to  value  each 
•ingle  one  of  them,  but  to  despise  them  collectively. 


ROUSSEAU'S  EMILE. 


483 


47.     The  Study  of  History. 

It  is  now  time  to  introduce  Emile  to  history.  Unfortunately,  historical  writer* 
relate  only  bad  things,  and  the  good  remain  unknown ;  they  misrepresent  facte, 
do  not  follow  the  connection  of  cause  and  effect,  and  give  their  own  judgment* 
instead  of  leaving  this  to  the  reader.  Away  with  the  modern  historians !  Their 
works  have  no  character  ;  and  they  look  upon  all  the  men  of  the  present  day  as 
exactly  alike.  Especially  useless  are  the  systematic  historians ;  who  will  not  seo 
things  as  they  are,  but  only  as  they  fit  into  their  system.  Others  exhibit  men 
only  as  they  appear  in  the  state ;  and  not  at  all  as  they  appear  at  home.  Of  all 
the  ancient  historians,  Plutarch  is  far  the  best  for  youth,  in  particular  because  he 
does  not  despise  relating  the  apparently  trifling  traits  of  eminent  men. 

48.  Emile  upon  the  Theatre  of  the  World.  Presumption. 
Emile  now  for  the  first  time  appears  upon  the  theatre  of  the  world ;  or  rather 
he  stands  behind  the  scenes,  sees  the  players  dress  and  undress  themselves;  and 
by  what  -coarse  means  the  spectators  are  deceived.  It  will  elevate  him  to  see 
how  the  human  race  makes  sport  of  itself.  Educated  in  entire  freedom,  he  will 
sorrow  over  the  misery  of  kings,  those  slaves  of  all  those  who  obey  them  ;  false 
wise  men,  in  the  chains  of  their  vain  honors ;  rich  fools,  the  martyrs  to  their  own 
luxury.  He  will  be  in  danger  of  thinking  himself  wise,  and  all  others  fools ;  and 
only  mortifying  experience  can  protect  him  from  such  vanity. 

Pedagogy  disappears  more  and  more.  The  natural  man,  Emile, 
turns  into  the  revolutionary  misanthrope  ;  he  is  Rousseau  himself,  un- 
der the  name  of  Emile. 

49.  Emile  a  Natural  Man. 

I  shall  be  thought  a  visionary,  and  Emile  a  phantasy,  because  he  is  so  different 
from  ordinary  youths.  It  is  overlooked  that  he  is  a  natural  man,  but  that  other 
youths  are  brought  up  according  to  the  notions  of  men. 

Others,  at  Emile's  age,  are  already  philosophers  and  theologians ;  while  he 
does  not  know  yet  what  philosophy  is,  and  even  has  not  yet  heard  God  spoken  of. 

I  am  no  visionary ;  my  pedagogy  is  based  upon  experience ;  since  without 
regard  to  rank,  nation,  &c.,  I  have  found  what  is  proper  to  all  men,  and  have 
educated  Emile  according  to  that;  not  as  a  savage  for  the  woods,  but  as  a  man 
who  will  have  to  maintain  himself  independent  in  the  whirlpool  of  society. 

50.  Religious  Instruction. 

We  are  brought  up  in  close  connection  with  the  natural  world ;  and  for  the 
abstract,  the  purely  intellectual,  we  have  scarcely  any  comprehension.  God  with- 
draws our  senses  from  themselves ;  the  word  mind  has  a  meaning  only  for  the 
philosophers.  Monotheism  has  come,  by  a  process  of  generalization,  from  ma- 
terial polytheism. 

In  his  fifteenth  year,  Emile  does  not  yet  know  that  he  has  a  soul ;  and  perhaps 
he  will  find  it  out  too  early  in  his  eighteenth. 

After  this  follows  an  argument  against  catechetical  instruction. 
The  faith  of  children  and  of  many  grown  persons  is  a  matter  of 
geography  ;  it  depends  merely  upon  whether  they  were  born  in  Rome 
or  in  Mecca.  Does  salvation  depend  upon  that  ? 

A  child,  it  is  said,  must  be  brought  up  in  the  religion  of  his  father;  and  he 
must  be  taught  that  this  alone  is  true;  and  that  others  are  absurd.  But  if  the 
power  of  this  instruction  extends  only  so  far  as  the  country  in  which  it  is  given, 
and  depends  only  upon  authority,  for  which  Emile  has  been  taught  to  have  no 
regard,  what  then?  In  what  religion  shall  we  educate  him?  To  this  there  is 
only  the  simple  answer,  in  none ;  we  will  only  put  him  in  a  condition  to  choose 
for  himself,  that  to  which  the  best  use  of  his  own  reason  may  bring  him. 


484  ROUSSEAU'S  EMILE. 

In  this  connection,  we  will  introduce  an  extract  from  one  of  the 
numerous  episodes  with  which  the  book  abounds,  that  of  the  Profes- 
sion of  Faith  of  a  Savoyard  Curate,  in  which  a  comparison  is  made 
between  Christ  and  Socrates : — 

I  confess  to  you  that  the  majesty  of  the  whole  Scriptures  puts  me  in  astonish- 
ment. The  sanctity  of  Gospel  speaks  to  my  heart.  By  its  side,  how  little  do 
the  books  of  the  philosophers  appear,  with  all  their  magnificence  1  And  is  it 
possible  that  a  book  at  once  so  lofty  and  simple  can  be  the  work  of  man  ?  Is  it 
possible  that  he,  whose  history  is  contained  in  it,  was  only  a  man  ?  Are  his  words 
those  of  an  enthusiast,  or  of  the  ambitious  founder  of  a  sect?  What  mildness, 
what  purity  in  his  morals!  What  elevation  in  his  maxims!  What  profound 
wisdom  in  his  language  1  What  presence  of  mind)  acuteness,  and  pertinence  in  his 
answers!  What  command  of  his  passions!  Where  shall  we  find  a  man,  a  wise 
man  even,  who  has  known  how  to  act,  to  suffer,  and  to  die,  without  weakness  or 
ostentation  1  When  Plato  paints  his  ideal  of  an  upright  man,  who  is  covered  with 
all  the  shame  of  guilt,  and  who  deserves  praise  for  every  virtue,  he  draws  Jesus 
Christ,  line  for  line ;  the  similarity  is  so  striking  that  all  the  fathers  of  the  church 
have  observed  it.  What  prejudice,  what  blindness  is  it  to  compare  the  son  of 
Sophroniscus  with  the  son  of  Mary !  How  wide  a  difference  is  there  between 
them !  Socrates,  dying  without  pain,  without  disgrace,  bore  his  part,  without 
difficulty,  to  his  death ;  and  if  this  easy  death  had  not  given  honor  to  his  life,  we 
might  doubt  whether,  with  all  his  intellect,  he  was  any  thing  more  than  a  sophist. 
It  is  said  that  he  founded  morals.  Others  had  practiced  morals,  and  his  teachings 
were  based  upon  their  examples.  Aristides  was  just  before  Socrates  defined 

1'ustice  ;  Leonidas  died  for  his  country,  before  Socrates  defined  patriotism  to  be  a 
uty.  Before  he  defined  virtue,  Greece  had  bad  a  multitude  of  virtuous  men. 
But  where  had  Jesus  found,  among  his  own  people,  that  lofty  and  pure  morality 
which  he  alone  practiced  and  taught  ?  From  the  bosom  of  the  most  raging  fanati- 
cism was  this  highest  of  all  wisdom  developed ;  and  the  simplicity  of  the  most 
heroic  virtue  reflected  honor  upon  the  most  despised  of  all  nations.  The  death  of 
Socrates,  who  died  peacefully  philosophizing  among  his  friends,  is  the  easiest 
which  could  be  desired ;  but  that  of  Christ,  in  tortures,  reviled,  despised,  accursed 
by  a  whole  people,  is  the  most  terrible  and  fearful.  Socrates,  as  he  took  the  cup 
of  poison,  blessed  the  weeping  man  who  handed  it  to  him ;  Jesus,  amidst  the 
most  horrible  tortures,  prayed  for  his  enraged  and  hostile  executioners.  If  the 
life  and  death  of  Socrates  were  those  of  a  wise  man,  the  life  and  deatli  of  Christ 
were  those  of  a  God.  Shall  we  say  that  the  history  of  evangelists  is  an  arbitrary 
invention?  No,  it  is  not  so;  the  actions  of  Socrates,  of  which  no  one  doubts, 
are  less  authentic  than  those  of  Christ. 

If  this  extract  were  to  be  taken,  apart  from  its  connection,  it  could 
only  be  believed  that  one  who  loved  and  reverenced  Christ  from  his 
heart,  could  have  written  it.  But  before  and  after  this  passage  stands 
the  most  wanton  mockery  of  Christianity, — the  very  passages  which 
subjected  him  and  his  book  to  the  condemnation  of  the  Parliament 
of  Paris,  which,  on  the  9th  of  June,  1762,  sentenced  the  book  to  be 
torn  to  pieces  and  burned,  the  author  to  be  imprisoned,  and  his 
property  to  be  confiscated.  The  same  fate  awaited  it  in  Geneva. 

In  his  fifth  book,  he  describes  Sophie,  as  the  model  of  a  maiden. 
The  tutor  contrives  the  marriage  of  Emile  and  Sophie.  When  Emile 
becomes  a  father,  he  dismisses  the  tutor  with  the  words,  "God  forbid 
that  I  should  permit  you  to  educate  my  son  after  you  have  educated 
his  father ;  that  a  duty  so  holy  and  sweet  should  be  performed  by 
any  other  than  myself."  • 


ROUSSEAU'S  EMILE.  40 1 

Locke  says,  in  his  pedagogical  work, u  When  my  pupil  is  at  au  age 
to  marry,  it  is  time  to  leave  him  to  himself."  "As  for  me,"  says 
Rousseau,  "I  should  beware  how  I  imitated  Locke  in  this."  So 
Emile  is  unnaturally  betutored  until  he  becomes  a  father.  The  mar- 
riage thus  planned  and  brought  about  by  the  tutor  has  a  miserable 
end.  Sophie  is  untrue  to  Emile,  who  gives  himself  up  to  despair,  and 
at  last  falls  into  slavery  in  Algiers.* 

According  to  Locke's  recommendation  I  break  off  here,  and  the 
more  willingly  as  the  digressions  become  more  and  more  numerous 
in  the  fourth  book  even,  and  the  pedagogical  design  is  more  and 
more  lost  sight  of.f 

The  sketch  which  I  have  given  of  Emile  will  be  made  clearer  by 
regarding  it  as  a  book  at  once  instructive  and  corrupting.  Sur- 
rounded by  civilization,  overwhelmed  with  corruption,  the  misanthrope 
fell  upon  many  instructive  notions,  by  merely  reversing  what  was 
generally  received.  But  hate  will  not  bring  truth  into  existence,  even 
from  the  basis  of  the  deepest  degradation  of  a  people.  It  is  only  love 
which  can  do  this ;  it  is  love  alone  which  can  cure  it  Rousseau  is 
corrupting,  because  he  mingles  truth  and  falsehood,  good  and  evil,  in 
the  most  cunning  manner;  so  that  good  and  bad  are  to  be  dis- 
tinguished only  by  an  exceedingly  watchful  and  critical  reader.  I 
close  with  repeating  my  wish,  that  the  preceding  sketch,  and  the 
subjoined  remarks,  may  assist  the  reader  in  such  a  critical  separation. 
ROUSSEAU  AND  PESTALOZZI. 

A  comparison  between  the  two  men  repeatedly  suggests  itself. 
How  noble,  pure,  and  true  is  Pestalozzi's  letterj  to  Anna  Schulthess, 
and  how  completely  is  it  the  opposite  of  Rousseau's  understanding 
with  Therese  Levasseur ! 

In  1819,  I  published  a  dialogue  entitled  "The  Progressives,"  (Die 
Neuerer.)  This  also  ended  with  a  comparison  of  the  French  Swiss 
and  the  German  Swiss. 

One  of  the  speakers  in  this  says :  "Do  not  take  me  for  so  bigoted 
an  admirer  and  repeater  of  Rousseau,  as  to  have  hoped  for  every 
thing  good  from  him.  Nothing  is  further  from  the  truth.  I  can  not, 
however,  but  wonder  at  him,  when  I  compare  him  with  his  French 
and  European  cotemporaries,  to  observe  how  in  him  the  force  of  na- 
ture, which  had  been  choked  by  an  elaborately  unnatural  system, 
burst  forth,  and  awakened  the  degraded  conscience  of  the  day.  In 

*  In  a  fragment  entitled  "Emile  el  Sophie  on  let  lolitairt*,"  this  is  related  by  Rousseau, 
who  intends  thus  to  show  how  a  man  educated  upon  his  principle*  will  remain  uoconqucred 
in  the  most  miserable  condition. 

t  There  are,  however,  some  valuable  remarks  in  this  book;  as  upon  the  chastity  of  tlw 
Bible  language,  and  unchastity  of  French  ;  upon  the  extravagant  life  of  power,  vanity,  Ac. 

4  Life  of  Pestalozzi.    Am.  Jour,  of  Ed.    VoL  HI.,  p.  407. 


486  ROUSSEAU'S  EMII.E. 

him,  that  age  confessed  itself;  as  a  worn  out  and  repentant  harlot 
washes  off  her  paint,  lays  aside  her  false  hair,  and  shudderingly  looks 
upon  her  naked  hideousness  in  the  glass.  In  full  consciousness  of 
his  errors  and  sins,  he  stands  burdened  with  the  curse  of  the  age, 
and  powerless  to  renew  his  life  in  freshness  and  holiness." 

From  the  blinding  fiery  column  of  the  French  volcano,  which 
served  the  German  mariners  as  a  beacon,  but  devastated  its  own 
country,  we  gladly  turn  to  the  mild  star  which  rose  over  Germany, 
of  Pestalozzi.  Despairing  misanthropy  inspired  Rousseau,  and,  in 
truth,  such  an  age,  and  in  such  circumstances,  he  was  little  blamable 
for  it.  His  leading  idea  was,  that  if  he  rejected  every  thing  received 
by  his  age,  and  adopted  its  opposite,  he  would  reach  the  truth.  And 
so  evil  were  the  times,  that,  by  following  this  malevolent  impulse,  ho 
produced  many  excellent  ideas. 

Pestalozzi,  however,  was  inspired  by  love  of  humanity,  and  by  a 
desire  to  benefit  the  poor ;  not  by  a  war  with  the  rich,  but  by  educa- 
ting them.  And,  although  he  unostentatiously  turned  away  from  the 
overrefinement  of  his  age,  and,  in  evangelical  imitation  of  Christ, 
went  to  the  neglected  poor,  yet  God  blessed  the  purity  of  his  aspira- 
tions, and  granted  him  more  than  he  asked ;  the  joyful  expectation 
of  a  great  future,  and  to  plant,  by  his  writings  and  his  wisdom,  the 
seeds  of  never-ending"  development. 


JOHANN  BERNHARD  BASEDOW  AND  THE  PHILANTHROPIC, 

[Translated  for  the  American  Journal  of  Education,  from  the  German  of  Karl  von  Banner.] 


mi 

THE  Philanthropinum,  founded  at  Dessau,  in  &**,  by  Basedow,'in 
which  the  views  of  Rousseau  were  strictly  followed,  and  where  those 
views  were  by  every  means  sought  to  be  introduced  into  actual  life, 
gained  a  great  reputation  in  Germany  and  Switzerland.* 

JOHANN  BERNHARD  BASEDOW  was  born  in  Hamburg,  in  1723; 
and  was  the  son  of  a  wa^hmater.  His  mother  was  melancholy 
even  to  hypochondria.  His  father  kept  him  so  strictly  that  he  ran 
away  and  became  a  servant  with  a  country  physician,  hi  Holstein. 
After  a  year  he  returned,  upon  the  urgent  entreaty  of  his  father,  and 
went  to  school  at  the  Johanneum,  where  he  made  himself  notorious 
for  useless  tricks.  In  1741,  he  went  to  the  gynasiura,  where,  among 
others,  the  well-known  Reiinarus  (the  author  of  the  "Wolfenbuttle 
Fragments")  was  his  teacher.  While  there  he  composed  many  poems; 
«.  ff.t  one  of  one  hundred  stanzas  upon  history.  He  earned  money 
by  occasional  poems  and  teaching,  and  spent  it  in  debauchery.  His 
studies  were  without  rule  or  perseverance.  In  1744,  at  the  age  of  } 
twenty-one  years,  he  went  to  the  university  of  Leipzig,  with  the  in-  / 
tention  of  studying  theology.  There  he  studied,  as  he  tells  us,  almost 
altogether  in  his  own  room,  but  attended  the  lectures  of  Crusius. 
The  Wolfian  philosophy  brought  him  "into  a  state  halfway  between 
Christianity  and  naturalism;"  and  he  acquired,  as  he  says,  "ignorant 
opinions  about  philosophy."  In  1746,  he  went  to  Hamburg  as  a 
theological  candidate.  In  1749,  at  the  age  of  twenty-six,  he  took  \ 
employment  as  private  tutor  with  a  Herr  von  Quaalen,  in  Holstein. J 
;For  his  pupil,  seven  years  old,  he  worked  out  a  new  method  of 
teaching  language,  by  which  he  himself  learned  to  speak  and  write 
Latin.J  He  learned  French  from  the  governess  of  the  family,  whom 
he  married.  In  l75<Lhe  became  professor  of  ethics  and  belles  lettres 
at  the  Knights  Academy,  at  Soroe.  A  treatise  published  by  him, 

•  See  Schwarz's"  Theory  of  Education,"  l,p.4CO;  and  "Quarterly  Report  on  Batnlott't 
Elementary  Book,  1771,"  p.  4  to  31 ;  where  Basedow  gives  a  biographical  account  of  him- 
self. Also,  "Contribution*  to  the  history  of  the  life  of  Johanna  Dtmhard  Battdmt;  Mag- 
deburg, 1791." 

'  t  He  gave  an  account  of  this  method  in  a  Latin  dissertation,  entitled,  "De  intuilata  tlop- 
tima  honestioris  jutentutit  erudiendtt,  melhodo;"  Kiel,  1732. 


483  JOHANN  BERNHARD  BASEDOW. 

"  On  practical  philosophy  for  all  ranks?  brought  upon  him,  by  its 
heterodoxy,  the  ill  will  of  the  patron  of  the  academy,  Count  Danes- 
kiold;f  and  for  this  reason  he  removed,  in  1761,  to  Altona,  as  pro- 
fessor in  the  gymnasium.  Here  he  published  two  other  heterodox 
books;  " Philalethie"  and  " Methodical  instruction,  both  in  natural 
and  in  biblical  religion.'1  Several  theologians,  and  among  them 
Senior  Gotze,  of  Hamburg,  wrote  against  these  works ;  the  Hamburg 
magistrates  issued  a  warning  against  them ;  and  those  of  Lubeck  pro- 
hibited them  under  a  penalty  of  50  thalers.  Basedow  and  his  family 
were  not  allowed  the  communion  in  Altona  and  the  neighborhood. 

From  I7£3to_l768,  he  wrote  a  multitude  of  theological  contro- 
versial works.  In  the  latter  year  he  published  \h&*  Representation 
to  the  benevolent  and  the  rich,  upon  schools,  studies",  and  their  in- 
fluence upon  the  public  well-being,"  with  a  plan  of  an  elementary 
book  of  human  knowledge.  At  the  same  time  he  wrote  to  the  em- 
peror, kings,  universities,  freemasons'  lodges,  learned  men,  <fec.,  to  in- 
terest them  in  the  elementary  work  which  he  proposed  to  publish ; 
the  most  of  whom  answered  him  favorably.* 

The  Danish  minister,  Bernstorff,  in  order  to  give  him  time  for  his 
pedagogical  labors,  relieved  him  from  the  duties  of  his  place,  securing 
him  a  salary  of  eight  hundred  thalers. 

His  first  work  for  schools,  which  was  destined  to  become  prominent, 
•was,  as  Basedow  himself  says,  his  "Bo<)k  of  methods  for  frithert  ami 
mothers  of _  families  and  natioity."  This  book  was  intended  for 
adults;  and  the  "Elementary  Book  with  plates?  published  at  the 
same  time,  for  children. 

The  object  of  the  "Elementary  Book"  is,  with  the  help  of  the  cuts,  as 
Basedow  remarks,  1.  Elementary  instruction  in  the  knowledge  of 
words  and  things  ;  2.  An  incomparable  method,  founded  upon  expe- 
rience, of  teaching  children  to  read  without  weariness  or  loss  of  time ; 
3.  Natural  knowledge ;  4.  Knowledge  of  morals,  the  mind  and  rea- 
soning ;  5.  A  method,  thorough  and  impressive  upon  the  heart,  of  in- 
structing in  natural  religion,  and  for  a  description  of  beliefs  so  im- 
partial, that  it  shall  not  at  all  appear  of  what  belief  is  the\writer  him- 
self;  6.  A  knowledge  of  social  duties,  of  commerce,  <fec.  yt  will  be 

seen  that  this  is  an  encyclopedia  of  every  thing  worth  kjrowing  by 
. — <*— . 

*  In  1771.  before  the  first  edition  was  completed,  Basedow  had  already  received  7000  reich- 
tthaler  of  contribution*.— {"  Quarterly  Account,"  p.  20.)  King  Christian  VII,  of  Denmark,  gave 
900  thalers,  the  Empress  Catharine  1000,  grand-duke  Paul  500,  the  hereditary  prince  of 
Brunswick  900,  "the  wealthy  class  in  Battle  "  100,  the  royal  government  of  Osnabruch  50, 
prince  Czartoryski  50.  Nicolans  vnn  der  Fliie,  Abbot  of  Mary-Einsiedel,  42,  &c.  I  cite  thes« 
instances  from  Baaedow's  list  of  the  contributors  to  the  "Elementary  Book,"  to  show  how  the 
most  different  persons,  iu  the  most  distant  countries,  took  great  interest  in  the  undertaking, 
and  conceived  great  hopes  from  it 


JOIIANN*  DERNHARD  BASEDOW.  4gg 

children,  as  comprehensive  as  was  the  "  Orbis  Pictus"  of  Comenius ;  the 
work,  with  its  characteristic  plates,  may  he  called  the  Orbis  Pictus  of 
the  eighteenth  century.  It  appeared  in  1774,  in  four  volumes,  and 
with  one  hundred  plates,  mostly  engraved  by  Chodowiecki.  It  was 
translated  into  Latin  by  Mangelsdorf,  under  the  supervision  of  the 
well-known  counselor,  Klotz,  into  French  by  Huber,  and  afterward 
into  Russian.  A  little  before,  in  1774,  had  appeared  Basedow's 
"Agathokmtor,"  upon  the  education  of  future  rulers.  "  In  this,"  he 
says,  "  I  have  described  the  education  of  a  truly  well-trained  prince ; 
the  necessary  preparations  for  it ;  and  its  operation  after  he  has  be- 
come king.  I  hope  that  this  will  be  one  of  the  most  useful  of  all 
my  writings,  and  a  great  blessing  to  posterity.''  An  age  has  passed 
since  the  appearance  of  the  book,  and  where  are  the  traces  of  its  in- 
fluences ?  how  many  even  know  that  such  a  book  existed  ?* 

Basedow's  repeated  appeals  for  activity  in  the  cause  of  education 
produced  effects  other  than  the  spread  of  his  writings.  An  excellent 
young  prince,  Leopold  Friedrich  Franz,  Prince  of  Anhalt-Dessau,  be- 
came interested  in  Basedow,  by  means  of  Behrisch,  (known  for  his 
life  of  Gothe,)  who  was  tutor  to  the  hereditary  Prince  of  Dessau. 
The  prince,  from  the  purest  benevolence,  and  from  the  wish  to  further 
a  holy  enterprise,  resolved,  in  1771,  to  invite  Basedow  to  Dessau,  with 
a  salary  of  eleven  hundred  thalers;  and  in  I774,f  to  give  to  the 
Philanthropinum,  buildings,  a  garden,  and  twelve  thousand  thalere. 

In  the  last  year,  1774,  but  before  the  erection  of  the  Philanthro- 
pinum, occurred  Basedow's  acquaintance  with  Gothe,  whom  he  visited 
in  Frankfort  Here  Basedow,  on  his  birth-day,  (lltb  Sept.,)  took  a 
firm  resolution  to  establish  an  educational  institution,  and  to  name  it 
PHILANTHROPINUM. 

From  Frankfort  he  traveled,  with  Lavater  and  Gothe,  to  Ems  and 
the  Rhine.  Gothe,  in  his  life,  has  described  Basedow  in  the  most 
masterly  manner,  in  part  in  the  strongest  contrast  to  Lavater. 

Basedow  arrived,  came  in  contact  with  me,  and  laid  hold  of  me  on  the  other  side. 
No  stronger  contrast  could  be  imagined  than  that  between  Lavater  and  Basedow. 
Their  very  looks  indicated  their  opposition  to  each  other.  While  Lavater's  fea- 
tures were  open  to  the  observer,  Basedow's  were  contracted  closely  together,  and, 
as  it  were,  drawn  inward.  Lavater's  eyes  were  clear  and  calm,  and  under  very 
broad  lids  ;  Basedow's  were  deep  in  his  head,  small,  black,  keen,  and  looked  out 
from  under  coarse  eyebrows ;  while  Lavater's  temples  were  hung  with  the  softest 
brown  hair.  Basedow's  heavy,  rough  voice,  his  quick  and  sharp  expressions,  his 
somewhat  sneering  laugh,  his  sudden  changes  of  the  conversation,  and  his  other 
peculiarities,  were  the  opposite  of  the  qualities  and  the  conduct  by  which  Lavater 
had  become  pleasing  to  us.  Basedow  was  much  sought  after  in  Frankfort,  and 

*  Prince  Albert,  of  Dessau,  sent  Basedow,  in  return  for  a  copy  of  the  "Agoltokrator,"  100 
thalers ;  and  Joseph  II  a  medal  with  hi*  portrait. 

t  December  27th,  1774,  the  day  of  the  birth  of  the  hereditary  prince  of  Dtnan.  then  n>e 
years  old.  was  considered  as  the  birth-day  of  the  Philanthropinum.  See  Wolke,  description 
of  the  plates  to  the  "Elementary  Book,"  p.  8 ;  and  "  The  PhilanthTOpinum,"  pmrt  flnt,  p.  101. 


490  JOHANN  BERNHARD  BASEDOW. 

his  great  intellectuaVgifts  were  admired ;  but  he  was  not  a  man  either  to  stimu- 
late others  or  to  guide  them.  The  only  work  for  him  was  to  improve  the  field 
whieh  he  had  marked  out  for  himself ;  so  that  future  generations  should  find  their 
labors  in  it  more  easy  and  natural ;  and  toward  this  purpose  he  hastened  with 
even  too  much  zeal.  I  could  not  interest  myself  in  his  plans,  nor  even  make  hia 
views  clear  to  myself.  That  he  should  require  all  instruction  to  be  given  in  a  liv- 
ing and  natural  way  pleased  me,  of  course ;  that  the  ancient  tongues  should  be 
practiced  now  seemed  to  me  desirable ;  and  I  willingly  recognize  whatever  in  hia 
plans  tended  to  a  promotion  of  activity  and  of  a  newer  view  of  the  world  ;  but  I 
apprehended  that  the  illustrations  in  his  "Elementary  Book  "  would  confuse  still 
more  than  objects  themselves;  because,  in  the  natural  world,  only  things  possible 
exist  together,  and  therefore  they  have,  notwithstanding  all  their  multitude  and 
apparent  confusion,  always  something  regular  in  all  their  parts.  But  this  "Ele- 
mentary Book"  utterly  disarranged  them,  because  it  placed  together,  for  the  sake 
of  a  relation  of  ideas,  things  which  never  go  together  in  the  real  world  ;  so  that 
it  was  destitute  of  that  natural  method  which  must  be  recognized  in  the  corres- 
ponding work  of  Amos  Comenius.  Much  stranger  yet  and  harder  to  understand, 
than  Basedow's  theories,  were  his  manners.  His  purpose  in  his  present  journey 
was  to  interest  the  public  in  his  philanthropic  undertaking,  by  his  personal  in- 
fluence ;  and  thus  to  secure  for  himself  access,  not  only  to  their  good  will,  but  to 
their  purses.  He  had  the  power  of  speaking  in  a  lofty  and  convincing  way  of 
his  plans ;  and  all  men  readily  assented  to  whatever  he  argued.  But  he  wounded, 
in  the  most  incomprehensible  manner,  the  feelings  of  the  men  from  whom  he  was 
asking  a  contribution,  and  offended  them  with  no  reason,  by  not  being  silent  upon 
his  opinions  and  vagaries  in  regard  to  religious  subjects.  In  this  respect,  also, 
Basedow  was  the  precise  opposite  of  Lavater.  While  the  latter  held  the  whole 
Bible,  letter  for  letter,  and  with  its  whole  contents,  as  true  and  applicable  even  to 
the  present  day,  the  former  felt  a  most  restless  itching  for  remodeling  every 
thing,  and  changing  not  only  religious  beliefs,  but  even  the  outer  forms  of  church 
observances,  according  to  his  own  whims.  He  would  dispute  in  the  most  merci- 
less and  extraordinary  manner  against  all  views  not  founded  immediately  upon 
the  Bible,  but  upon  the  interpretation  of  it ;  against  those  expressions,  philosophi- 
cal technics,  and  material  similitudes,  with  which  the  fathers  of  the  church,  and 
councils,  have  sought  either  to  explain  the  inexpressible,  or  to  convince  heretics. 
He  declared  himself  before  every  body,  in  the  harshest  and  most  indefensible 
manner,  the  bitterest  enemy  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  ;  and  could  not  be 
satisfied  with  arguing  against  this  universally  received  mystery.  I  myself  suf- 
fered much  in  private  conversation  from  this  subject;  and  had  forever  to  let  my- 
self be  plagued  with  Hypostasis,  and  Ousia,  and  Prosopon.  In  opposition  to  these/ 
attacks,  I  betook  myself  to  the  weapons  of  paradox,  surpassed  his  own  opinions, 
and  ventured  to  combat  his  daring  notions  with  others  still  more  daring.  This 
gave  my  mind  a  new  direction ;  and,  as  Basedow  was  much  better  read  than  I, 
and  readier  at  the  tricks  of  disputation  than  a  natural  philosopher  like  myself 
could  be,  I  was  obliged  to  exert  myself  more  and  more,  as  the  points  discussed 
between  us  became  more  important.  So  excellent  an  opportunity,  if  not  to  in- 
struct myself,  at  least  to  exercise  myself,  I  could  not  quickly  resign  ;  I  prevailed 
upon  my  father  and  friends  to  give  up  the  most  important  business,  and  I  left 
Frankfort  again,  with  Basedow.  What  a  difference  was  there  between  his  in- 
fluence and  presence,  and  that  of  Lavater !  Pure  himself,  the  latter  sought  to 
surround  himself  with  purity.  By  his  side  one  became  maidenly,  for  fear  of  an- 
noying him  with  any  thing  unpleasant.  Basedow,  on  the  other  hand,  far  too 
much  absorbed  in  himself,  could  not  attend  to  any  thing  external.  One  of  hia 
lull  K  that  of  smoking  coarse,  bad  tobacco,  was  exceedingly  disagreeable,  and 
was  much  the  more  so  because,  whenever  he  had  smoked  out  one  pipe,  he  at 
once  struck  fire  again  with  some  dirtily  prepared  German  tinder,  which  caught 
quickly,  but  smelled  hatefully,  and  with  his  very  first  whiff  defiled  the  atmosphere 
into]  -rably.  I  named  this  preparation  the  "Basedow  Stink -tinder,"  and  proposed 
to  introduce  it  under  this  name  into  natural  history ;  at  whieh  he  made  much 
sport,  and  explained  to  me  circumstantially,  and  even  to  nauseation,  the  abominable 
stuff,  and  with  great  delight  applied  himself  to  my  aversion.  For  it  was  one  of  the 
strongest  peculiarities  of  this  gifted  man,  that  he  loved  too  much  to  tease,  and 
P'aliciously  to  vex,  the  most  unprejudiced  people.  He  could  not  bear  to  see  any. 
*»e  at  rest;  he  would  attack  him  with  grinning  and  jeers,  with  his  hoarse  voice, 


JOHANN  BERNHARD  BASEDOW.  4gl 

put  them  into  a  dilemma  with  some  unexpected  question,  and  laugh  bitterly  if  ho 
accomplished  his  purpose ;  but  he  would  be  well  pleased  if  any  one  answt-n-d  him 
promptly.  I  always  spent  part  of  the  night  with  Basedow.  He  never  laid  down 
on  the  bed,  but  dictated  incessantly.  Sometimes  he  threw  himself  down  on  a 
couch  and  slept,  while  his  secretary,  pen  in  hand,  sat  quietly,  all  ready  to  write, 
when  his  half-awake  master  should  again  give  free  course  to  his  thoughts.  And' 
all  this  was  done  in  a  room  closely  shut,  and  full  of  the  smoke  of  tobacco  and 
tinder.  Whenever  I  left  off  dancing  I  ran  straight  to  Basedow,  who  was  always 
ready  to  talk  or  discuss  upon  his  problem  ;  and  when,  after  a  little  while,  I  went 
out  to  dance  again,  he  took  up  the  thread  of  his  treatise,  even  before  I  had  shut 
the  door,  dictating  as  quietly  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  Basedow  was  pursu- 
ing an  object  of  primary  importance,  the  better  education  of  youth  ;  and  for  this 
purpose  he  was  seeking  large  contributions  from  the  noble  and  the  rich.  But 
scarcely  had  he,  by  his  reasoning  or  the  force  of  his  powerful  eloquence,  brought 
them,  if  not  to  the  point  where  he  wished,  at  least  into  the  state  of  mind  favora- 
ble to  himself,  when  his  vile  anti-trinitarian  notions  would  catch  hold  of  him,  and, 
without  the  least  regard  for  the  place  where  he  might  be,  he  would  break  out  into 
the  strangest  speeches,  exceeding  religious  in  their  intention,  but,  according  to  the 
beliefs  of  society,  exceedingly  abominable.  We  tried  to  find  means  of  preventing 
the  mischief — Lavater  by  mild  earnestness,  I  by  evasive  sport,  the  ladies  by  divert- 
ing walks ;  but  the  trouble  could  not  be  removed.  Christian  conversation,  such 
as  was  expected  from  Lavater,  pedagogical,  such  as  was  looked  for  from  Basedow, 
sentimental,  such  as  I  should  have  been  ready  for,  all  were  alike  broken  up  or 
changed.* 

Basedow  had  at  first,  at  Dessau,  only  three  assistants,  "Wolke,  Si- 
mon, and  Schweighauser.  The  first  of  these  was  the  most  efficient 
in  the  work  of  teaching.f  He  was  born  in  1742,  at  Jever,  and  died 
at  a  great  age,  known  especially  for  his  remarkable  labors  for  German 
orthography.  He  first  began  to  study  in  his  twentieth  year,  but  had 
before  learned,  without  a  teacher,  drawing  and  etching.  In  five  half- 
years  he  finished  the  necessary  studies  in  Latin,  Greek,  and  French, 
entered  the  University  of  Gottingen  in  1763,  (where  he  studied  chiefly 
mathematics,  natural  sciences,  and  French,)  and  in  1766  went  to  Leip- 
zig, where  he  taught  Latin  and  mathematics.  Through  Biisch  he 
came  to  Basedow,  at  Altona,  in  1770,  to  assist  him  in  working  upon 
his  "Elementary  Book," 

Here  Wolke  made  his  first  experiment  of  a  new  method  of  in- 
struction, upon  Basedow's  daughter,  Emilie,  who  seems  to  have  been 
named  after  Rousseau's  "Emile?  This  experiment  stands  in  such  close 
connection  with  the  Philanthropinum,  and  is  so  characteristic,  that  I 
shall  give  Wolke's  own  account  of  it.  He  says : — 

When  I  came  to  Herr  Professor  Basedow,  at  Altona,  at  new  year's  of  1770,  to 
take  part  in  the  labor  upon  his  "Elementary  Book."  in  the  departments  of  natural 
history  and  mathematics,  his  little  daughter,  Emilie,  was  three-quarters  of  a  year 
old.  My  inclination  to  be  employing  myself  about  children  led  me  to  help  her 
mother,  who  was  instructing  her  carefully,  about  an  hour  a  day,  in  little  exercises, 
which,  if  made  as  complete  as  possible,  are  much  more  important  than  would  be 
supposed.  I  taught  her,  for  example,  after  a  certain  order  and  selection,  about 
things  of  all  kinds  and  their  qualities,  by  showing  them  to  her,  and  by  clear  and 
accurate  descriptions  of  them ;  how  to  stand  up,  how  to  fall  down  judiciously, 

'  GiMhe's  Works ;  22,  273— S,  279,  80,  91.    Edition  of  1*10. 

t  See  Wolke'i  autobiography,  in  Basedow's  work,  "Tke  PhHanthropinumt  tttabliihtd  in 
Dessau,  1774." 


492  JOHANN  OERNHARD  BASEDOW. 

how  to  save  a  fall  by  catching  hold  of  something  and  by  other  means.  Both  in 
sport  and  in  earnest,  we  were  very  careful  to  avoid  that  confusion  of  ideas  which 
is  usual  in  such  teaching.  For  example,  she  saw  in  a  looking-glass  not  herself, 
but  her  image;  in  pictures,  not  men,  trees,  beasts,  but  only  their  representations ; 
she  was  not  permitted  to  call  the  cooked  meat  and  bones  of  a  hen,  a  Inn,  nor  a 
doll  a  baby,  a  penny  a  ducat,  &c.  By  such  care,  which  I  earnestly  recommend 
to  all  in  charge  of  children,  and  such  a  method  as  is  now  taught  in  the  ^Element- 
ary Book,"  Emilie  had  in  her  third  half-year  learned  to  form  opinions  with  a  cor- 
rectness which  was  the  admiration  of  all  who  saw  her.  When  she  was  a  year 
and  a  half  old,  she  could  not  only  speak  much  more  clearly  and  correctly  than  is 
usual  at  her  age,  but,  by  means  of  our  peculiar  method  of  teaching  spelling  before 
the  knowledge  of  the  letters,  to  understand  sentences  if  we  only  said  over  the 
letters  of  them  to  her.  If,  for  example,  any  one  said  to  her  the  letters  you 
shall  have  a  cake,  she  would  say  "  you  shall  have  a  cake."  The  success 
of  this  practice,  the  facility  of  which  had  been  foreseen  by  Herr  Professor  Base- 
dow,  pleased  him  exceedingly,  when  Emilie,  without  further  trouble  or  the  weari- 
some spelling  in  a  book,  learned  to  read  in  a  month,  to  her  own  pleasure  and  to 
mine.  This  was  at  the  end  of  her  third  year.  Three  months  after  this,  Herr 
Professor  Basedow  left  home  for  ten  weeks.  To  give  him  a  pleasure  at  his  re- 
turn— for  he  had  but  little  during  his  tabors  upon  the  "Elementary  Book  " — I  exer- 
cised Emilie  in  that  time  in  French,  of  which  she  had  not  before  heard  a  word. 
In  a  month  and  a  half,  she  could  speak  of  her  wants  and  of  things  about  her,  in 
French,  so  well  that  the  mixing  of  German  words  in  the  instruction  was  no  longer 
necessary.  Since  the  Feast  of  St.  John  of  the  present  year,  I  have  done  some- 
thing similar  in  Latin,  with  a  boy  of  five  years  old ;  of  which  I  shall  speak  fur- 
ther. Emilie  learned  French  as  quickly  as  she  did  German.  In  this  language  I 
used  a  book  called  "Joujou  de  nouce/Je/afon;"  for  the  elementary  "Manuel  d'ed- 
ucation  "  was  not  yet  published.  About  a  month  and  a  half  after  the  beginning 
of  this  learning  to  read,  Emilie  was  with  us  for  a  few  days  with  his  very  worthy 
grace,  the  Herr  Canon  von  Roohow,  where  she  excited  the  wonder  of  various 
gentlemen,  masters,  and  officers  from  Brandenburg  and  Potsdam,  by  her  facility 
in  reading  German  and  French.  At  this  time  she  read,  in  writing  and  printing, 
German  and  Latin  ;  knew  a  large  number  of  natural  objects  and  tools,  with  their 
origin  and  use ;  distinguished,  with  reference  to  the  particular  case,  mathematical 
lines,  surfaces,  and  bodies;  counted  forward  or  added  to  100;  backward  or  sub- 
tracted, by  ones  and  by  twos,  from  20  or  21  to  0  or  1 ;  practiced  drawing  or 
writing  by  copying  the  copies  in  pencil  which  were  set  before  her;  sometimes 
dictated  a  letter  to  her  father,  &c.  With  all  this  knowledge,  which  Emilie  ac- 
quired in  play — that  is  without  exertion  or  harmful  sitting  still — we  avoided  the 
fault,  so  common  in  such  circumstances,  of  making  her  what  is  called  a  learned 
lady,  who  is  lifted  by  her  knowledge  above  her  sex,  and  neglects  her  feminine 
employments.  She  was,  on  the  contrary,  in  every  way  imbued  with  a  love  for 
feminine  labors,  and  instructed  in  them.  She  was  often,  and  with  much  pleasure, 
employed  in  preparing  food  in  the  kitchen,  setting  the  table  for  the  children,  put- 
ting the  table-furniture,  &c.,  which  they  left  in  disorder,  in  its  proper  place,  and 
had  made  a  good  beginning  in  learning  to  sew  and  to  knit.  I  have  taken  every 
opportunity  of  drawing  Emilie's  attention  to  the  goodness  and  wisdom  of  God,  in 
her  studies  of  nature.  She  often  rejoices  in  God,  as  in  a  wise,  powerful,  and 
good  father  of  herself  and  of  all  men.  She  takes  pleasure  in  the  lightning  and 
thunder,  recognizing  them  and  the  rain  which  follows  them  as  indispensibly  di- 
vine benefits,  by  means  of  which  vegetation,  for  the  nourishment  of  men  and 
beasts,  is  supported,  and  the  beautiful  flowers  are  made  to  grow.  She  rejoices  in 
the  convenience  and  human  form  of  her  body,  in  the  reasoning  faculties  of  her 
soul ;  in  rain,  wind,  snow,  and  darkness,  even  when  she  suffers  inconvenience 
from  them,  and  at  times  when  others  complain  of  them.  The  sight  of  caterpillers, 
spiders,  mice,  snakes,  and  lizards,  is  neither  disgusting  nor  frightful  to  her.  She 
lias  never  had  any  trouble  about  witches,  ghosts,  or  the  devil,  since  they  have 
never  been  named  to  her  as  things  which  do  any  injury  to  man.  The  silly  rep- 
resentations of  the  devil  are  only  ridiculous  to  her ;  not  frightful.  Of  the  Christ- 
ian religion  she  knows  many  portions,  but  only  such  as  will  be  useful  at  her  age ; 
preparatives  to  virtue,  to  trust  in  God,  and  to  peace.  Although  she  speaks  and 
judges  upon  many  subjects,  yet  she  has  never  made  any  misuse  of  what  has  been 
told  her  of  the  origin  of  the  human  race.  Up  to  Michaelmas  1773,  when  she 


JOIIANN  BERMIARD  BAREDOW. 


493 


was  four  and  one-half  years  old,  she  heard  not  a  word  of  Latin.  Her  father 
having  at  that  time  to  go  to  Berlin  on  business  connected  with  the  "Elementary 
Book,'1  I  was  desirous  of  preparing  for  him  at  his  return  such  a  pleasure  in  his 
daughter's  knowledge  of  Latin  as  I  had  the  year  before  in  that  of  Fretieh.  I 
had,  however,  so  many  employments,  that  I  could  talk  with  Emilie  only  two  hours 
a  day.  My  instruction  was  still  more  interrupted  by  my  absence  at  Herlin  dur- 
ing November,  Yet,  Emilie  now  speaks  Latin  with  a  facility  and  correctness^ 
which  is  admired  by  many.  For  the  sake  of  any  who  may  doubt  the  truth  of  thw 
account,  and  who  may  be  willing  to  believe  it,  if  they  or  any  one  whom  they  can 
trust  will  visit  us,  to  hear  for  themselves,  I  will  have  an  examination,  (which 
otherwise  I  am  very  willing  to  avoid,)  in  which  they  may  hear  that  Emilie  (who 
has  never  learned  one  word  by  rote,  after  the  school  fashion,)  knows  at  least  fifty 
words  of  any  two  leaves  taken  at  random  from  ( Vll.-iriu*'  Dictionary,  (because  most 
people  take  the  number  of  words  known  for  a  measure ;)  and  that  from  the  same 
book,  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  leaves,  she  knows  at  least  three  thousand  words, 
and  that,  not  after  the  fashion  of  a  school-boy,  but  like  the  words  of  her  own 
mother-tongue.  And  of  these  fifty  words,  I  can  vary  each,  by  declensions  and 
conjugation,  so  that  no  less  than  five  hundred  different  questions  can  be  made 
from  them,  which  Emilie  shall  answer.  Thus  no  one  can  doubt  that,  with  all 
these  words  from  Cellarius'  dictionary,  (besides  which  she  knows  many  others,) 
more  than  thirty  thousand  questions  can  be  asked,  all  differing  from  each  other, 
which  she  can  understand,  and  can  either  translate  correctly  into  German,  or 
answer  them  in  Latin,  whichever  is  preferred.* 

Basedow  himself  published  an  account  of  his  daughter,!  from 
which  it  appears  clearly  how  far  his  instruction  followed  Rousseau's 
plans.  He  says  that,  when  she  was  scarcely  three  and  one-half  years 
old,  she  began  to  observe  "  errors  in  correct  reading,  both  in  French 
and  German."  And  in  anticipation  he  says  that,  "before  the  end  of 
her  ninth  year,  she  will  fluently  read  in  German  out  of  Latin  writers." 
If  the  question  is  asked,  what  is  the  purpose  of  all  this  ?  Basedow 
answers,  "  I  intend  Emilie,  God  permitting,  for  the  teacher  of  other 
girls." 

This  remarkable  child  was  repeatedly  cited  by  her  father  and  by 
Wolke,  both  in  writing  and  speaking,  as  a  standard  by  which  it  might 
be  judged  what  was  to  be  expected  from  the  rhilanthropimim. 
These  expectations  were  especially  excited  by  the  periodical  which 
Basedow  published,  under  the  title  "Philanthropic  Archives;  ad- 
dressed by  the  fraternity  of  friends  of  youth  to  the  guardians  of  hu- 
manity, and  to  fathers  and  mothers,  who  may  send  children  to  the 
Dessau  Philanthropinum.  Dessau,  1776."  The  preface,  Feb.  1st, 
1776,  is  addressed  "To  guardians,  intercessors,  benefactors  of  hu- 
manity, intelligent  cosmopolites." 

This  singular  address  is  surpassed  in  the  second  part  of  the  "Ar- 
chives," which  is  dedicated,  in  the  name  of  the  Philanthropinum,  to  four 
kings.  First,  to  Joseph  the  Second,  the  "  Father  of  Germany." 
honor  you,"  it  says,  "as  the  most  eminent  of  all  the  inhabitants  of 
the  world,  and  as  one  of  the  best ;  as  my  own  indirect  supreme  lord 
and  protector ;  as  the  foundation  of  my  hopes  for  better  times  in 

*  lb.,  p.  44-52.        t  Quarterly  Account,  sixth  part,  1773. 


494 


JOIIANN  DERNHARD  DASEUOW. 


Germany,"  &c.  In  the  dedication  to  the  king  of  Denmark,  Base- 
dow  calls  himself  a  Cimbrian ;  and,  to  the  Empress  Catharine,  he 
promises  to  establish  a  Catharineum,  for  women  from  all  the  world. 
( Weltburgerinnen.) 

The  Philanthropinum  had  been  in  existence  seventeen  months, 
when  the  first  part  of  the  "Archives  "  appeared-  Basedow  gave  an  in- 
vitation to  the  great  examination,  on  the  13th,  14th,  and  15th  of 
May,  1776. 

"  Send  children,"  he  says,  "  to  a  happy,  youthful  life  of  studies  cer- 
tainly successful.  This  affair  is  not  Catholic,  Lutheran,  or  Reformed, 
but  Christian.  We  are  the  philanthropists ;  cosmopolitans.  The  free- 
dom of  Switzerland,  here,  is  not  placed  below  the  sovereignty  of  Rus- 
sia or  Denmark,  in  our  teaching  or  our  opinions."  He  adds  repeated 
appeals  for  contributions.* 

Furtherf  he  says,  "  The  aim  of  education  must  be,  to  train  a  Euro- 
pean^ whose  life  shall  be  as  harmless,  as  useful,  and  as  peaceful,  as  it 
can  be  made  by  education.  Care  must  also  be  taken,  1.  That  he 
may  endure  little  trouble,  grief,  or  sickness ;  and,  2.  That  he  may  learn 
to  take  real  pleasure  in  what  is  good." 

"  The  wisdom  of  all  wisdoms  is  virtue  and  peace.  Few  exercises 
in  virtue,  as  it  should  be  taught,  in  our  education,  are  found.  Here, 
ye  wise  men,  ye  philanthropic  writers,  a  plan  for  an  orderly  ar- 
rangement of  exercises  in  virtue,  for  parents  and  schools,  is  one  of  the 
most  important  works  for  the  good  of  all  humanity.  Were  we  rich, 
we  would  offer  ten  thousand  thalers  for  the  best  book  of  this  kind 
which  should  appear  within  two  years."§  "  For  the  paternal  religion 
of  each  pupil,"  Basedow  remarks,  "the  ministry  of  this  place  will 
care.  Natural  religion,  however,  and  ethics,  are  the  chief  part  of 
philosophy,  of  which  we  have  charge.  In  the  Philanthropinum  the 
first  beginning  of  instruction  is,  to  have  faith  in  God  as  the  creator, 
upholder,  and  Lord  of  the  world.  As  we  have  a  universal,  Christian, 
Philanthropinist  liturgy,  approved  by  persons  of  reputation  in  all  the 
churches,  we  promise  to  give  a  general  Christian  instruction,  which, 
by  means  of  its  omission  of  all  points  of  distinction,  shall  offend  neither 
Catholics,  Protestants,  nor  Greeks;  but  which  shall  necessarily  please 
all  Christians,  even  if  they  are  as  different  as  Zinzendorf  and  Foster."! 

In  this  universal,  private  instruction  in  religion,  he  says  further,^]" 
"Neither  word  nor  deed  will  be  introduced,  which  will  not  be  approved 

'  Uoarders  paid  two  hundred  and  fifty  thalers.    "Archives"  p.  38.       t  Archives,  p.  16. 
5  By  a  European,  "we  understand  a  man  of  H  civilized  nation,  who  has  such  manners  and 
dispositions  as  are  almost  universal  in  Europe." 

i  Ib.,  p.  20,  21.        lib.,  p.  39.       Mb.,  p.  03. 


JOIUNN  BERNHARD  BASEDOW.  4g5 

of  by  every  one  who  fears  God,  by  the  Christian,  Jew,  Mohammedan, 
or  Deist.  And  just  as  satisfactory  shall  we  be  to  the  friends  of  all 
systems  of  Christianity,  from  Zinzendorf  to  Foster."  Afterward, 
clergymen  of  the  different  professions  may  "  instruct,  drill,  and  con- 
vince the  children  in  their  paternal  religions."* 

All  the  Philanthropinist  manuals  are  to  be  free  from  "theologizing 
distinctions  in  favor  of  Christianity  as  opposed  to  the  Jews,  Moham- 
medans, Deists,  or  the  so-called  Dissidents,  who  are  in  some  places 
called  heretics." 

"  In  the  temple  of  the  Universal  Father,  the  Dissident  brethren  ap- 
pear like  brethren  with  the  rest.  And  until  that  time  let  us  come 
like  brethren,  one  (as  long  as  the  difference  shall  last,)  to  the  holy 
mass ;  another  to  pray  with  his  fellows,  after  one  form ;  and  a  third 
to  pray  with  his  fellows,  after  another."* 

So  much  may  suffice  to  describe  Basedow's  religious  tendency ;  his 
proceeding  from  the  broadest  deism  is  the  most  general  idea,  (leaving 
out  the  poor  heathen,  after  Rousseau's  example,)  to  the  narrow  idea 
of  Christianity,  the  still  narrower  ideas — illiberal  ones  as  Basedow 
thinks  them — of  the  Christian  professions,  he  leaves  to  be  taught  to 
the  children  by  the  clergy.  The  positive  ideas  which  he  lays  down 
I  shall  consider  hereafter. 

From  what  Basedow  says  in  his  invitation  of  the  moral  and  relig- 
ious tendency^  the  Philanthropinum,  I  proceed  to  what  he  prom- 
ises, and  claims  to  have  accomplished,  in  intellectual  education,  in 
Latin,  German,  French,  knowledge  of  nature  and  of  art,  and  mathe- 
matics. 

Of  memorizing,  he  says,  there  will  be  but  little  with  us.  The  students 
will  not  be  forced  to  learn  even  by  advice.  Yet  we  promise,  by  the  excellence  of 
our  method,  and  by  means  of  the  agreement  of  it  with  the  whole  of  the  Philan- 
thropist education  and  method  of  living,  at  least  twice  as  much  progress  in  study 

*  "He  who  believes  in  one  God,  anil  in  the  eternal  existence  of  virtue,  will  not  be  a  here- 
tic in  the  institution.  Public  religious  exercises  will  be,  as  heretofore,  merely  the  worship- 
ing of  God,  or  Christian  merely  in  general.  The  former,  the  chief  Rabbi,  or  the  Mufti,  if 
they  understood  them,  could  not  disapprove  of:  and  by  the  latter,  the  Catholic,  the  Greek, 
the  Protestant,  the  Bohemian  brother,  and  the  Socinian,  would  be  edified.  Any  thing  more 
is  the  province  of  the  ministry." 

t  The  interest  taken  by  the  Jews  and  Freemasons  in  the  Philanthropinum  Is  remarkable. 
Thus,  four  Hamburg  lodges  sent  five  hundred  thalers,  one  at  Leipzig  one  hundred,  nne  at 
Giittingen  twenty-five  One  Meyer  translated  an  "Erplanatioit  of  Freemasonry"  from  the 
English,  and  recommended  the  Philanthropinum  to  the  support  of  the  masons.  "  Basedow's 
Philanthropinum,''  he  says,  '•that  quite  masonic  design  for  making  poor  humanity  more  fit 
for  the  purpose  of  its  being,  by  a  reasonable  instruction  of  youth,  for  spreading  virtue,  re- 
ligion, and  knowledge,  and  removing  prejudices,"  &c.— ("Pedagogical  OmTertation*  nf  Bate- 
dote,"  part  first,  p.  101.)  Had  Basedow,  without  being  a  freemason,  made  application  to  this 
"  honorable  fraternity  of  architects  of  the  council-house  of  universal  citizenship,  pupils  of 
Solomon  and  Socrates,"  as  he  calls  them  l—<"Phi:anthropinum,"  p.  8.)  From  the  Jews, 
especially  from  those  of  Berlin,  he  received  at  one  time  five  hundred  and  eif  htecn  thalers, 
ic.  .  Among  others,  Mendelssohn  interested  himself  for  him. 


490  JOHANN  BERNUARD  BASEDOW. 

as  is  usual  in  the  best  schools,  boarding  institutions,  or  gymnasiums.  And  espe- 
cially we  promise  great  development  of  the  understanding,  by  the  practice  of  a  truly 
philosophical  art  of  thinking. 

The  results  which  have  been  already  shown  prove  that  what  we  promise  is  true. 
In  the  tolling,  and  when  their  means  are  not  seen,  they  are  incredible.  Every 
thing  is  so  pleasant  with  us,  that  no  one  wishes  to  be  at  home  again.  At  the 
age  of  fifteen  there  is  need  of  punishment  but  few  times  a  year.  The  pupils  learn 
without  sitting  too  much,  and  more  outside  than  in  school-hours.  Of  our  method 
we  can  say  (and  God  knows  it  is  with  fairness  and  reflection,)  as  follows  :  when 
we  have  all  our  apparatus  and  arrangements  all  completed,  a  boy  of  twelre  years 
old,  who  shall  be  sent  to  us,  with  his  manners  not  too  far  destroyed,  and  of  mode- 
rate capacity,  if  he  knows  only  how  to  read  and  to  write,  will  become  with  us, 
without  constraint  or  discomfort,  in  four  years,  well  fitted  to  study  for  either  of  the 
higher  faculties  in  a  university.  For,  whatever  is  valuable  for  all  students  in  the 
philosophical  faculty,  he  will  have  studied  with  us  so  thoroughly  that,  in  order  to 
arrive  at  a  higher  grade,  he  will  need  only  himself  and  his  books.  From  thia 
measure  of  our  institution  all  other  things  in  relation  to  it  can  be  judged  of. 

You  wise  cosmopolites,  this  is  said,  not  by  foolish  project-makers,  idle  talkers, 
but  by  men  who  are  worthy  of  friendship  and  of  your  assistance. 

One  language  requires,  with  us,  unless  it  is  to  be  brought  by  grammatical  ex- 
ercises to  the  natural  degree  of  accuracy,  six  months,  in  order  to  enable  the 
students  to  understand  whatever  he  hears  or  reads  in  it,  as  if  it  was  his  mother- 
tongue  ;  and  to  speak  and  write  it,  little  by  little,  after  rules,  by  himself. 

After  this  we  require  six  months  more  of  grammatical  exercises,  to  make  a 
Latin  or  a  French  scholar  so<;omplete,  or  so  little  lacking  of  it,  as  it  is  not  possible 
for  him  to  be  from  the  ordinary  school,  without  uncommon  good  fortune,  genius, 
and  application. 

In  May»  1775,  he  says,  two  boys,  of  thirteen  and  seventeen  years,  were  sent  to 
the  Pltilanthropinum.  "They  had  minds  of  ordinary  capacity.  Neither  of  them 
had  the  least  attainments  in  study,  or  the  least  rudiments  of  Latin.  They  can 
now,  (Feb.  1st,  1776,  nine  months  afterward,)  understand  a  Latin  address  on 
any  art  which  may  be  selected,  if  only  the  technical  terms  be  explained  to  them, 
and  the  unusual  words  made  clear  by  Latin  synonyms,  or  by  the  connection. 
They  read  a  classical  author  understand! ngly,  if  he  is  easy ;  that  is,  if  he  is  good. 
They  can  express  themselves,  either  orally  or  in  writing,  upon  any  subject,  so 
well  that  they  would  get  on  much  better  in  ancient  Rome  than  one  could  do  in 
Leipzig  now,  who  could  write  and  speak  only  low  Dutch." 

This  is  roguery.  Further  on  Basedow  praises  himself  for  having 
found  a  way  of  making  the  work  of  learning  "  three  times  as  short 
and  three  times  as  easy  as  it  usually  is."  All  studies  must  be  arranged 
in  a  common  plan,  and  be  placed,  by  means  of  uniformity  of  text- 
books, in  such  a  connection  that  one  shall  always  shorten  and  assist 
the  other.  Only  the  useful  part  of  each  science  is  to  be  learned. 

To  fill  up  the  sketch  here  given  from  Basedow's  invitation,  I  quote 
the  following  from  a  letter  of  his  written  to  Campe,  the  same  year ; 
which,  as  they  say,  lets  us  into  the  whole  programme.  Latin,  he  says 
in  this,  must  be  learned  by  speaking  ;  and,  for  this  reason,  Basedow 
requires  his  teachers  to  use  every  means  to  gain  facility  in  speaking 
Latin.  They  must  use  all  their  leisure  in  reading  the  colloquies  of 
Erasmus,  Terence,  <fec.;  they  must  try,  when  alone,  to  translate  silently 
in  their  thoughts  expressions  which  they  could  not  manage  in  con- 
versation, and  "  get  all  their  religious  instruction  from  Castalio's  Bible 
only." 

"  The  actual  design  of  the  institution,  it  would  scarcely  be  possible 


JOHANN  BERNHARD  BASEDOW.  ^ 

to  follow  out.  But  Latin,  Latin — when  we  see  that  the  end  of  our 
well-trodden  and  brief  road  leads  to  correctness  and  elegance,  (not  to 
say  any  thing  of  eminent  skill,)  in  this  language,  this  alone  can  give 
certain  encouragement.  But  well  for  thee,  thou  dear  young  posterity ! 
you  learn  Latin,  Latin,  without  rod  or  care  I  Greek,  however,  we 
shall  not  teach  by  speaking ;  it  is  too  difficult. 

But  ye  ancient  and  modern  languages,  ye  tormenting  ghosts  of 
youth,  ye  flatterers  of  unthinking  people,  who  have  memory  and  pa- 
tience, when  will  it  be  possible  to  have  the  name  of  being  well-edu- 
cated, intelligent,  and  learned,  without  having  at  first  let  one's  self  be 
destroyed  by  your  discipline  and  afterward  by  your  flattery  ?'' 

I  return  to  Basedow's  "Invitation?  In  this  he  very  openly  asks  for 
contributions.  "Dearest  cosmopolitans,"  he  says,  "your  wills  may 
be  most  heartily  good  and  your  sentiments  correct ;  but  our  enterprise 
can  not  go  into  operation  except  by  means  of  deeds." 

Let  us,  lastly,  hear  how  urgently  he  invites.*  "We  promise,"  he 
says,  "  under  the  penalty  of  contumely,  that  upon  the  aforesaid  13th 
of  May,  (1776,)  there  will  be  in  the  Philanthropinum  so  much  worth 
seeing,  hearing,  investigating,  and  considering,  by  the  intelligent 
guardians  of  humanity,  in  regard  to  schools,  that  it  will  be  worth  thc-ir 
while  for  some  of  them  to  be  sent  to  us,  by  the  order  of  the  German 
Diet,  from  Copenhagen,  Saint  Petersburg,  and  the  most  distant  places ; 
for  it  is  a  duty,  by  the  arithmetic  of  morals,  in  respect  to  such  good 
works  as  must  be  of  great  use,  to  proceed  upon  probabilities.  God, 
thou  father  of  posterity,  secure  us,  we  pray  thee,  a  hearing  with  the 
wise  inhabitants  of  the  world." 

The  examination  which  was  to  decide  upon  the  existence  or  non- 
existence  of  the   Philanthropinum  took  place,  and   was,  according  to") 
Basedow's  expression,  "attended  by  many  skillful  men,  citizens  of  the  u 
world,  most  of  whom  had  come  abroad   for  the  purpose."     Among  / 
others  came  from  Berlin,  Nicolai  and  Teller;   from   Halbcrstadt,  con- 
sistory-councilor Struensee ;  from   Leipzig,  Plattner  and  Zollikofer; 
from  Magdeburg,  Resewitz  and  Schummel;   from  Potsdam,  Campe ; 
from  Quedlinbtirg,  Stroth  ;  from  Hamburg,  Bode,  the  translator  of 
Montaigne ;  and  from  Rekalm,  Rochow. 

The  Philanthropinum  however  included  only  thirteen  pupils,  besides 
Emilie  and  Friedrich  Basedow.  Two  accounts  of  the  examination  are 
l^ing  before  me,  one  by  Basedow,  the  other  by  the  above  named 
rnfijfessor,  Schummel ;  it  is  entitled  "  Fritz's  journey  to  Dessau?  f 
They  agree  with  and  complete  each  other.  I  shall,  however,  chiefly 
follow  the  journey,  which  is  in  a  form  of  letters  from  a  boy  of  twelve, 

*  Cb.,  58.       J  Buedotv's  account  to  in  the  2nd  part  of  "  PAiVojiMropi/u'sf  Arckirtt." 
No.  14— [You  V.,  No.  2,]— 32.  2 F 


498  JOHANN  BERNHARD  BASEDOW. 

who  goes  with  his  father  to  Dessau  ;  as  it  is  from  an  impartial  per- 
son. 

In  the  third  letter  the  boy  says:  "I  am  just  come  from  the  Philan- 
thropinum  ;  I  already  know  llerrn  Basedow,  Wolke,  Simon,  Schweig- 
hauser,  and  all  the  little  Philanthropists.  I  am  already  greatly  de- 
lighted, and  do  not  know  where  to  begin." 

Fritz  goes  to  the  Philanthropinum  with  his  father.  "There  are  two 
great  houses  close  to  each  other,  all  painted  white,  and  right  before 
them  the  great  wide  square  with  trees,  and  between  the  houses  and 
the  trees  the  street  goes  through.  One  of  the  scholars,  but  one  of 
the  real  scholars,  only  one  of  the  lower  ones,  whom  they  call  Famu- 
lants,  stood  at  the  door  and  asked  us  if  we  would  like  to  speak  to 
Herr  Basedow  ?  We  said  yes ;  so  he  let  us  right  into  the  house,  and 
we  knocked,  and  some  one  said  "come  in!"  Herr  Basedow  was 
standing  behind  a  desk,  in  his  dressing-gown,  and  writing ;  we  came 
upon  him  at  a  somewhat  inconvenient  time  ;  but  he  was  very  friendly, 
and  told  father  that  he  must  not  take  it  ill  that  he  had  so  much  work 
to  do  in  the  morning ;  but  that  at  evening  he  would  call  upon  us  at 
our  lodging.  Then  we  went  away,  and  went  into  the  Philanthropinum. 
Father  asked  for  Herr  Wolke.  He  was  at  table,  but  came  immediately 
out.  He  is  a  large,  tall  man,  with  a  worn  face  ;  but  I  know  very  well 
that  that  comes  from  hard  labor ;  for  he  often  works  day  and  night. 
He  otherwise  looks  so  good  and  so  friendly,  that  one  must  be  good 
to  him  from  the  very  first.  He  asked  us  if  we  would  like  to  corne  in 
and  see  the  Philanthropinists  at  their  meals,  and  immediately  he 
opened  the  door  and  showed  us  in.  The  whole  table  was  full  of  great 
and  small,  and  there  was  just  one  lady  there  ;  she  was  Fran  Wolke." 

In  the  fourth  letter  he  describes  the  Philanthropinists.  "  They 
all  have  the  hair  cut  short,  and  none  of  them  patronize  the  wigrnaker. 
The  children  go  without  neckcloths,  with  their  necks  open,  the  shirt 
turned  back  over  the  dress." 

In  the  fifth  letter  Fritz  describes  the  little  girl  already  mentioned ; 
"snow-white,  with  coal-black  hair,  and  a  wreath  upon  it.  The  child 
looked  at  me  and  said  to  me  in  Latin,  Salve  ;  and  threw  me  a  kiss." 
This  was  Emilie  Basedow. 

He  very  correctly  describes  the  prince  and  the  princess  as  a  most 
beautiful  pair ;  and  relates  that  the  prince  had  been  in  France  and 
Italy,  and  was  very  much  beloved.* 

*  The  author  does  not,  in  this,  flatter  this  excellent  prince.  He  was  a  very  accomplished 
man  ;  to  be  convinced  of  this,  it  would  be  enough  for  any  one  to  see  the  gardens  which  he 
laid  out  at  Worlil/.  The  whole  of  his  little  territory,  indeed,  he  brought  almost  into  the  con- 
dition of  a  garden.  And  what  id  still  more,  he  enacted  paternal  care  over  all,  even  the  very 
least  of  hig  gubjeclH,  and  was  heartily  loved  by  all  of  them.  I  was  born  in  Wiirlitz ;  my  fath- 
er nerved  that  prince  for  more  than  fifty  years ;  and  he  himself  gave  me  the  account  of  his 


JOHANN  BERNHARD  DASEDOW.  ±QQ 

He  mentions  Wieland,  Gothe,  and  Lavater  as  expected,  but  as  not 
coming;  and  then  describes  the  guests:  Teller,  Rochow,  Zollikofcr, 
Bode,  &c.  Of  consistorial-councilor  Struensee,  of  Halberstadt,  a 
distinguished  educator,  he  says  he  was  not  very  well  pleased ;  or,  at 
least,  he  kept  looking  straight  before  him  with  a  very  serious  face. 

In  the  eighth  letter,  he  comes  to  the  examination  : — 

The  children  did  some  very  droll  things.  First  they  played  the  commander 
game ;  all  together,  some  eight  or  nine ;  do  you  see,  Charley,  this  was  the  way. 
First,  they  all  stood  in  a  row,  like  soldiers.  Herr  Wolke  was  commander  ;  lie 
commanded  in  Latin,  and  they  were  to  do  every  thing  that  he  said.  For  exam- 
ple, when  he  said  clauditc  oculos,  they  all  shut  their  eyes ;  or,  circumspicite,  and 
they  all  looked  around  them  ;  or,  imitumiiii  sartorem,  and  they  all  sewed  like 
tuilors ;  or,  imitamini  sutorcm,  and  they  all  drew  out  waxed-ends,  like  cobblers. 
Herr  Wo'lke  ordered  a  thousand  queer  things. 

Now  I  will  tell  you  about  the  other  game  ;  the  hiding  game.  In  this,  a  word 
is  written  behind  the  blackboard,  where  the  children  can  not  see  it ;  the  name  of 
some  part  of  the  human  body,  or  of  n  plant,  or  a  beast,  or  a  metal ;  and  then  they 
guess  what  it  is,  until  one  of  them  guesses  it ;  and  the  one  who  gueasea  it  has  an 
apple  or  a  piece  of  cake  for  a  reward.  One  of  the  visitors  wrote  on  the  board, 
intestina,  the  intestines  ;  and  told  the  children  that  it  was  a  part  of  the  human 
body.  They  then  began  ;  one  guessed  caput,  others  naxtis  or  manu*,  pc»,  digiti, 
pectus,  rollum,  lithium,  genu,  aures,  oculi,  crines,  dorsum,  and  so  on,  for  a  long 
time,  until  at  last  one  cried  out  it  is  the  intestines!  Then  Ilerr  Wolke  wrote  the 
name  of  n  beast.  I  can  not  now  remember  myself  what  it  was.  They  then  be- 
gan ;  if  you  could  have  seen  it !  Leo,  ursus,  camelua,  elephas,  for  you  must 
understand  it  was  a  four-footed  animal,  eques,  bos,  asinux,  rsacca.  »u»,  canis,  &c. 
Well,  now  I  remember  it !  at  lost  one  suid  HIM*,  a  mouse ;  he  had  guessed  it, 
and  he  received  a  piece  of  cake.  Once  the  name  of  a  city  was  written  ;  and  then 
they  guessed  Lisbon,  Madrid,  Paris,  London,  Stockholm,  Copenhagen,  until  they 
came  to  Petersburg,  which  was  the  name  written  behind  the  board. 

Then  they  played  still  another  game.  Herr  Wolke  ordered  in  Latin,  and  the 
children  imitated  the  voices  of  beasts;  so  that  we  laughed  until  we  were  weak. 
Sometimes  they  roared  like  a  lion,  then  crowed  like  a  cock,  mewed  like  a  cat; 
made  noises  like  a  donkey,  a  dog,  and  a  raven ;  in  short,  like  every  thing  which 
was  told  them. 

Herr  Woike  brought  in  a  picture,  hung  it  up,  and  said,  •'  Dear  children,  I 
bring  you  here  a  picture  which  you  have  not  seen  ;  and  I  tell  you  beforehand,  it 
represents  the  most  serious  thing  in  the  world  ;  so  do  you  be  serious  also."  And 
the  children  were.  Now  I  must  first  tell  you  what  the  picture  was.  First,  a 
pregnant  woman  was  sitting  in  an  arm-chair,  and  near  her  stood  a  man  who  held 
her  by  the  hand.  Next,  on  the  other  side  stood  a  table,  and  on  it  lay  two  little 
caps,  one  for  a  girl,  and  the  other  for  a  boy  ;  and  underneath  stood  a  tub,  with 
water  and  a  sponge  in  it.  Then  Ilerr  Wolke  began  to  ask  what  sort  of  a  woman 
this  was,  and  why  she  looked  so  sad,  and  why  the  man  held  her  by  the  hand  ; 
and  the  children  said  that  it  was  a  pregnant  woman,  and  that  the  man  who  stood 
by  her  was  her  husband,  who  was  encouraging  her,  because  she  was  in  great 
danger,  and  would  almost  die.  Then  Herr  Wiilke  asked  further,  what  wo*  the 
meaning  of  the  two  little  caps  ?  Then  some  of  the  spectators  began  to  laugh  ;  but 
if  you  could  once  have  seen  Ilerr  Wolke,  how  serious  he  was,  and  how  he  ut  once 
turned  round  to  us  and  requested  us  very  earnestly  not  to  laugh,  during  so  sorioiw 
a  business,  or  he  should  much  rather  not  teach  at  all.  Then  in  a  twinkling  all 
was  as  still  as  a  mouse.  Then  he  began  again,  and  a*ked  about  the  little  caps. 
Then  the  children  said,  it  was  not  known  whether  it  was  a  boy  or  a  girl  that  was 
corning,  and  therefore  the  parents  had  made  both  caps.  But  there  were  a  great 
many  things  more  that  Herr  Wolke  said  and  asked  ab<mt.  as.  for  example,  he  said 
about  the  table  and  water,  that  when  the  child  came  into  the  world,  it  would 

beneficence ;  which  facts  may  serve  as  an  excuse  for  these  remarks,  which  I  hmre  written 
from  a  thankful  heart  and  with  truth. 


gOO  JOHANN  BERNHAHD  BASEDOW. 

strangle  in  its  own  blood,  if  its  good  parents  did  not  take  it,  and  wash  it,  and  clean 
it.  After  this  Herr  Wolkc  began  and  made  an  address  to  the  children,  which  I 
shall  never  forget  in  my  life.  I  remember  almost  all  of  it,  although  I  had  to  cry 
almost  all  the  time.  "  Listen,  dear  children,"  he  said ;  "  if  I  were  able  to  hate 
any  body,  although  I  am  not,  it  would  be  that  one  among  you  who  could  be  so 
godless  as  to  be  ungrateful  to  his  parents.  Think  oncu  what  your  mother  has 
undergone  for  you  !  She  came  into  danger  of  death,  for  your  sake,  and  endured 
the  most  inexpressible  pain  ;  and  your  parents  had  cared  for  you  even  before  you 
came  into  the  world.  How  then  do  you  think  you  can  be  thankful  enough  to 
them  ? " 

Then  Herr  Wolke  asked  Fabreau,  one  of  the  children,  where  the  little  children 
came  from.  Then  he  began  to  smile  and  said,  "  Parent*  tell  very  different  stories 
about  it.  There  are  judicious  parents,  and  silly  ones.  The  judicious  ones  say 
the  mother  bore  the  child  ;••  the  •silly  ones,  that  the  stork  brought  it !  "  Then  he 
asked  again,  "If  your  mother  bore  you,  whom  have  you  to  thank  for  being  in  the 
world  ? "  "  Why,"  he  said, ."  I  have  to  thank  my  mother."  "  But  what  if  it 
was  the  stork  that  brought  you  ?  "  "  Then,"  he  said,  "  I  should  have  to  thank 
the  stork  ;"  and  he  laughed  heartily.  I  wish  I  had  been  as  wise,  in  my  sixth 
year,  as  Fabreau  !  How  I  would  have  answered  my  aunts,  when  they  always 
kept  telling  me  that  silly  story  about  tho  stork  J  But  I  am  wiser  now  ;  let  them 
try  it  again ! 

I  could  not  pass  over  this  coarse  and  conceited  examination, 
especially  as  Basedow  himself  speaks  of  it  with  emphasis.  He  says, 
"We  tell  the  children  the  truth  about  the  generation  of  beasts  and 
men.  We  do  not  dwell  upon  the  act.of  generation,  but  upon  the 
results  of  it;  the  painful  pregnancy  of  the  mother."  The  picture 
which  was  hung  up  was  taken  from  the  "Elementary  Book"  and  printed 
on  a  large  scale.  "  Some  hearers,"  relates  Basedow,  "cried  out,  'now 
it's  coming  ! '  and  others  laughed,  but  Wolke  said  to  them,  '  we  beg 
you  not  to  laugh,'  and  this  was  the  only  part  of  our  plan  which  was 
laughable."  "O,  how  hard  it  is  for  good  reformers,"  he  adds,  "  to  over- 
come the  hindrances  which  are  placed  in  their  way  by  the  good  !  "  * 

Now  Fritz  comes  to  the  instruction  in  arithmetic. 

First  Herr  Wolke  dictated  a  number  as  long  as  my  arm ;  the  blackboard  had 
scarcely  been  set  up,  before  Emilie  began  with  14'J,532  quadrillions,  so  many 
trillions,  so  many  billions,  and  then  the  millions,  thousands,  and  hundreds,  until 
it  was  all  done.  Then  they  went  to  adding,  Herr  Wolke  wrote  a  long  row  of 
figures  under  each  other,  as  many  as  ten,  and  there  was  none  of  the  children  who 
took  chalk ;  they  reckoned  it  all  in  their  heads,  or  often  counted  upon  their  fingers, 
and  brought  every  thing  out  right  to  a  hair,  and  often  corrected  even  Herr  Wolke, 
when  he  made  mistakes ;  but  he  did  that  only  for  sport.  So  they  went  on  for  a 
long  time,  and  the  spectators  all  had  much  pleasure  in  seeing  the  children  so 
ready,  and  able  to  work  out  an  example  before  one  could  turn  his  hand  over. 

From  arithmetic  Wolke  proceeded  to  an  "  experiment  with  all 
sorts  of  little  drawings." 

*  Philanlhropinum,  part  2d,  pp.  26,  27.  All  this  is  very  delicate,  however,  in  comparison 
with  an  article  of  Wcilke's  in  Vol.  2d  of  the  •'  Pedagogical  Conrersations,"  entitled,  "When 
and  how  shall  children  be  taught  that  their  father  and  mother  are  the  origin  of  their  life?  " 
and  in  particular  tho  extracts  given  from  Basedow's  "Elementary  nook."  One  paragraph 
begin* :  "  But  no  woman  becomes  pregnant  until,  Ace."  It  appear*  from  the  article  that 
Rousseau'ii  "Itow  children  are  made,  ifr..,"  was  the  immodest  theme  upon  which  Base- 
do*,  whose  character  was  the  opposite  of  Lavaler'n  delicacy,  made  the  most  vulgar  and  in- 
decent variations. 


JOIIANN  BERMIARD  BASEDOW. 


501 


Then  he  took  chalk  and  asked  the  children  what  they  would  like  to  have  him 
draw.  Leonem,  Leonem,  they  all  cried  out  together.  Then  llcrr  Wolke  pre- 
tended that  he  was  going  to  draw  a  lion ;  but  instead  of  that  he  drew  a  great 
beak.  "  Hu,"  they  cried  out,  "  non  eat  leo,  non  e»t  leo."  "  Why  not?"  "Qu>o 
habet  rostrum,"  they  said,  "  Leones  non  habent  rostrum."  Then  Herr  Wolke 
drew  the  ears,  but  frightfully  long.  Then  they  cried  out  again  that  it  was  not 
right ;  that  they  are  asses'  ears.  In  short,  they  told  Ilerr  Wolke  ever}'  thing 
that  he  was  to  draw,  from  the  head  to  the  tail ;  and  then  they  had  not  had  enough 
of  it.  They  told  him  to  draw  a  boy  on  the  lion.  Then  Herr  Wolke  drew  it 
carefully,  all  wrong ;  first  an  eye  was  wanting,  then  an  ear,  then  the  nose ;  and 
the  children  saw  it  in  a  moment,  and  made  him  put  it  in.  And  that  was  not 
enough  either.  The  beast  must  have  a  bridle  in  his  mouth,  and  the  boy  mum 
hold  the  bridle  in  his  hand  ;  it  was  a  figure  to  laugh  yourself  speckled  at.  When 
that  was  through,  Herr  Wolke  asked  them  what  he  should  draw  next ;  and  they 
all  cried  out,  domum,  domum .'  "Good,"  said  Ilerr  Wolke  ;  "  and  now  what  is 
the  first  thing  in  a  house  ?"  Fundamentum,  Fundamentum  !  Then  in  a  twink- 
ling he  drew  the  foundation.  Then  they  told  him  to  make  the  first  story  and  then 
the  second  story,  and  then  the  roof;  and  he  did  it.  "  What  next?"  Jannam, 
januam .'  "  And  where  must  the  door  be  ?"  In  media,  in  media  !  "  Hut  I 
will  not  put  it  in  the  middle  this  time,"  said  Herr  Wolke  ;  u  it  shall  be  here ;" 
and  so  he  drew  it  pretty  near  one  end.  "  Yes,"  said  the  children,  "  but  then  there 
must  be  one  at  the  other  end  too."  "  But  why  ?"  Propter  tymmetrium. 
When  that  was  done,  he  proceeded  to  the  window.  Herr  Wolke  did  it,  on  pur- 
pose, wrongly  ;  but  they  told  htm  how  it  must  be  ;  and  which  was  too  large  or 
too  small.  Then  came  the  chimneys ;  and  Emilie  drew  a  chimney-sweep  on  one 
of  them,  with  a  broom.  Then  they  played  another  game,  called  the  judicial 
game.  In  this  they  threw  dice,  and  he  who  lost  had  to  explain  a  picture.  These 
pictures  represented  all  kinds  of  artisans.  The  first  I  did  not  know ;  it  was  a  turner. 
But  I  knew  all  the  others.  There  was  a  sculptor,  a  painter,  and  a  scribe.  The 
sculptor  had  a  chisel  in  his  hand,  and  was  chiseling  a  Minerva,  and  the  whole 
room  was  full  of  statues. 

In  the  twelfth  letter  Fritz  relates  what  happened  on  the  last  day  of 
the  examination.  There  had  been  on  the  first  day  a  sort  of  celebra- 
tion, after  the  pattern  of  Basedow's  universal  religion  ;  but  on  the  last 
day  it  said,  "  First  there  was  divine  service,  and  this  time  according 
to  the  Christian  religion."  Basedow  has  given  the  exercises  performed 
on  the  three  days  of  the  examination.*  The  first  was  a  "  universal 
worship  of  God."  There  was  a  liturgy  alternating  with  a  "  choir  of 
experienced  worshipers  of  God,"'  and  with  the  congregation.  The 
whole  is  a  deistical,  ethical,  prosaic  patch-work  ;  Christ  is  not  named 
in  it.  For  example  : — 

Give  the  dark  nations  wholesome  light ; 
Make  every  doubter  see  ; 
Belief  by  force  continue  not, 
Nor  forced  hypocrisy. 

May  those  with  child  have  strength  from  thec, 
Their  children  strong  be  made  ; 
And  may  the  pain  of  bringing  forth, 
With  pleasure  be  repaid. 

May  youth  grow  up  with  worth  and  strength 
Beneath  thy  training  wise  ; 
And  give  to  all  the  wish  to  aid 
The  schools'  great  enterprise. 

»  Philanthropinist  Contribution*,  p.  1,  4c. 


I 


502  JOHANN  BERNHARD  BASEDOW. 

Give  wisdom  to  all  friends  of  youth, 
And  tasks  not  too  severe ; 
The  seed  we  sow  is  still  despised, — 
The  harvest  is  not  here. 

The  second  divine  worship  held  at  the  examination  is  entitled  :  "A 
foundation  for  youth,  of  instruction  and  education,  in  faith  in  God, 
from  the  study  of  nature  and  a  sense  of  conscience,  with  the  help  of 
faith  and  the  example  of  adults."  Nothing  is  said  here,  either,  of 
Christianity;  but  the  matter  is  a  stupid,  poetical  kind  of  prose,  mostly 
about  the  creation  ;  for  example  :  "  Before  the  beginning  of  things 
whispered  no  soft  brook,  roared  no  falling  cataract."  And  the  liturgy 
says  :  "  Hear,  ye  children,  pleasant  teachings,  which  you  will  cer- 
tainly believe,  when  you  understand  them  and  consider  them." 

Lastly,  Basedow  gives  the  divine  service  held  on  the  third  day  of 
the  examination.  It  is  entitled,  "  Foundation  of  a  Christian  instruc- 
tion and  exercises  of  conscience  for  children,  with  the  help  of  their 
elders  ;"  and  begins  with,  "  We  all  believe  on  Jesus  Christ."  The 
former  line,  "  We  all  believe  in  one  God,"  is  considered  as  havino- 

7  O 

been  disposed  of  in  the  previous  deistical  service.  The  whole  is 
orthodox,  and  agreeable  to  the  apostolical  confession  of  faith  ;  being 
universally  Christian,  it  appears  calculated  for  Catholics,  Greeks,  and 
Protestants,  for  all  who  believe  in  God  and  in  him  whom  he  has  sent ; 
even  for  Jews.* 

On  this  same  third  day  of  the  examination,  Basedow  delivered  an 
address,  whose  burden  was,  "Support  the  institute!"  He  says: 
"  Fathers,  fathers  !  Mothers,  mothers  !  Have  patience  !  Give  a  part 
of  your  superfluous  manure  for  the  garden  where  our  happiness,  (that 
of  our  children  and  our  childrens'  children,)  is  planted  and  waited 
for.  Remember  the  defects  of  your  own  school  lives."  He  asks  over 
and  over  again  for  thirty  thousand  thalers,  and  uses  all  sorts  of  induce- 
ments to  give.  "  Whoever  gives  not  less  than  fifty  thalers,  but  not 
more  than  five  hundred,  shall  have  his  name,  with  a  number  showing 
how  many  times  fifty  thalers  he  has  given,  cut  in  capitals  in  the 
bark  of  a  young  tree,  in  a  grove  of  lindens,  consecrated  to  that  pur- 
pose." 

After  Basedow's  speech,  Simon  examined  the  children  in  French. 
He  explained  to  them  a  "  picture  of  Spring."  "  First,"  says  the  letter- 
writer,  "  he  asked  them  one  and  another  question,  and  then  brought 
out  a  model  of  a  plough  and  of  a  harrow,  and  showed  them  every 
thing  belonging  to  the  plough,  and  how  the  farmer  uses  it  when  he 

•After  what  has  been  said  before  upon  Basedow's  religious  views,  we  might  wonder  at 
this  orthodoxy.  But  in  this,  an  in  Latin,  he  knew  how  tocomply  wilh  the  times.  De  Marges, 
wen  known  for  hit  Christian  character,  was  then,  as  superintendent,  at  the  head  of  the  church 
in  Dessau. 


JOIIANN  BERMIARU  BASEDOW. 


503 


ploughs.  Now  it  was  that  I  saw  what  it  was  to  learn  words  after 
Herr  Basedow's  methods.  I  never,  in  my  life,  knew  what  was  a  har- 
row in  French  ;  and  now,  while  Herr  Simon  was  showing  the  harrow, 
I  heard  it,  for  the  first  time,  called  la  herse,  and  now  I  know  that  I 
can  never  forget  it." 

Afterward  a  historical  examination,  upon  Alexander's  expedition 
to  India,  was  held  by  Mangelsdorf,  the  same  who  translated  the  "Ele- 
mentary Book  "  into  Latin.  Basedow  says  that  the  answers  were  very 
well  made  ;  Fritz  says  that  Mangelsdorf  asked  his  questions  of  one 
scholar  especially.  This  scholar  was  one  of  the  four  who  translated 
a  passage  from  Curtius,  and  the  eighth  chapter  of  the  Gospel  of  John 
from  Castellio's  Bible.  Basedow  repeated  the  passage  from  Curtius, 
by  periods,  and  each  of  the  four  "  translated  it  correctly  and  with 
facility.  And  none  of  them  had  heard  a  word  of  Latin  a  year  before, 
nor  during  that  year  had  they  ever  committed  one  word  to  memory, 
or  learned  any  thing  from  Donatus  or  the  grammar."  After  another 
year,  he  promised,  these  scholars  should  be  able  to  translate  into 
Latin,  from  any  German  book  which  they  could  understand,  orally  or 
in  writing,  "  with  grammatical  correctness,  and  not  bad  rhetoric."* 
"  The  spectators,"  says  Fritz,  "  were  much  pleased  with  the  Latin, 
all  except  one  couple,  whom  I  heard  reasoning  doubtfully  to  each 
other  by  themselves.  They  said  that  this  was  all  mere  childishness ; 
that  they  ought  to  bring  up  Cicero,  Livy,  Horace,  Virgil,  and  the  like ; 
and  that  then  only  it  would  be  seen  whether  the  Philanthropists 
understood  Latin." 

In  geography  and  natural  history,  no  examinations  were  made. 
Two  of  the  elder  Philanthropinists  demonstrated  the  Pythagorean 
theorem,  and  proved  a  trigonometrical  problem. 

After  the  examination  came  an  exhibition  of  two  plays,  by  thechild- 
dren  ;  one  in  French  and  the  other  in  German.  The  prince  took  the 
most  friendly  care  of  the  guests  who  came  to  Dessau  to  the  examin- 
ation, both  there  and  in  Worlitz ;  so  that  most  of  the  strangers  went 
away  with  high  opinions  of  the  examination  itself,  of  Dessau,  and 
especially  of  the  beautiful  prince  and  princess.  Advantageous  ac- 
counts of  the  result  appeared,  soon  after,  in  the  ''•Deutsche  Aferkur,'"  and 
in  the  "Allgemeine  Deutsche  Biblioth(k.r>\ 

Among  those  who  declared  themselves  in  favor  of  the  Philanthro- 

*  Ib.,  p.  15.    The  younger  scholars  translated  from  the  •'•CoUoquirs  "  of  Erasmus. 

t  In  the  "3/erA-ur"  for  1776,  is  the  report  of  Canon  Von  Rochow.  8lrolh,ofQuedliiiburf.  al»o 
wrote  upon  the  examination  ;  Prof.  Eck.of  Leipzig,  chaplain  Rambach.of  Que.llinb.ir*.  mnd 
others,  wrote  letters  to  Basedow  in  praise  of  it,  which  lie  raused  to  be  printed  (-PHilanlHropi- 
num,"  part  2d,  p.  107;)  and  provost  Ri>tger,of  Magdtburg,  wrote,  aUo  on  the  same,  "Letter! 
of  an  Impartial  Cotmopolitan." 


504  JOHANN  BERNHARD  BA8EDOW. 

pinum  was  Kant   In  1777,  he  published,  in  the  "Konigsberg  Gazette? 
the  following  article  : — 

For  the  Common  Good. 

There  is  no  want,  in  the  civilized  countries  of  Europe,  of  educational  institutions, 
or  of  teachers,  ambitious  to  be  useful  in  t  licit-  calling;  and  it  is  equally  clear,  that 
they  are  all,  taken  together,  spoilt,  by  the  fact  that  every  thing  in  them  operates 
against  nature,  and  thus  they  are  of  very  much  less  benefit  to  man  than  nature 
has  made  the  latter  capable  of ;  and  it  is  clear  that,  inasmuch  as  by  <dueation 
we  become  men,  from  brutish  creatures,  we  should  in  a  short  time  see  around  us 
men  of  an  entirely  different  character,  if  a  method  of  education  wisely  derived 
from  nature  herself  should  come  into  universal  use,  instead  of  one  slavishly  imi- 
tated from  the  custom  of  a  rude  and  ignorant  antiquity.  It  is  however  in  va'm  to 
expect  this  benefit  to  the  human  race  from  a  gradual  improvement  of  the  schools. 
v  They  must  be  revolutionized,  if  any  thing  good  is  to  be  derived  from  them  ;  for 
•  they  are  bad  in  their  fundamental  organization  ;  and  even  their  teachers  them- 
selves must  receive  a  new  training.  It  is  not  a  slow  reform,  but  a  quick  revolu- 
tion, which  can  accomplish  this.  To  this  end  nothing  is  wanting,  except  one 
single  school,  organized  anew  from  the  very  beginning,  strictly  upon  the  right 
method,  conducted  by  intelligent  men,  not  from  pecuniary  but  from  honorable 
motives,  watched  over  during  its  progress  to  completion  by  the  attentive  eyes  of 
men  of  experience  in  all  countries,  and  sustained  until  its  maturity  by  the  united 
contributions  of  all  the  benevolent.  Such  a  school  would  not  be  merely  for  those 
whom  it  would  instruct,  but — which  is  infinitely  more  important — for  those  to 
whom  it  would  give  an  opportunity  to  train  themselves,  in  gradually  increasing 
numbers,  for  teaching  upon  the  true  system  of  education.  It  would  be  a  seed, 
from  the  careful  protection  of  which,  in  a  short  time,  a  multitude  of  well-trained 
teachers  would  spring  up,  who  would  supply  the  whole  land  with  good  scholars. 
Interest  for  the  common  good  of  all  countries  should  first  be  directed  to  this  end ; 
to  get  assistance  from  every  place  to  such  a  model  school,  that  it  may  quickly  at- 
tain that  entire  completeness,  the  sources  of  which  are  already  within  it.  For  to 
imitate  its  organization  in  other  countries  immediately,  and  to  keep  imperfect  and 
hindered  in  its  progress  toward  completion,  what  should  be  the  first  perfect  exam 
pie  and  seed-bed  of  good  instruction,  would  be  to  sow  unripe  seed,  in  order  to 
reap  weeds.  Such  an  educational  institution  is  no  longer  a  mere  idea ;  but  the 
actual  and  visible  demonstration  of  its  practicability,  which  has  been  so  long 
needed,  is  given.  Such  a  phenomenon,  in  our  times,  though  overlooked  by  com- 
mon eyes,  must  have  more  importance  to  observers  of  intelligence,  who  are  inter- 
ested in  the  good  of  humanity,  than  the  glittering  nothingness  which  appears  on 
the  rapidly  changing  stage  of  the  great  world  ;  by  which  the  good  of  the  human 
race,  if  not  absolutely  impeded,  is  not  one  hair's  breadth  promoted.  The  public 
designation,  and  especially  the  united  voice  of  upright  and  intelligent  men  of  ex- 
perience in  all  countries,  have  already  taught  the  readers  of  this  paper  to  recognize 
the  educational  institution  of  Dessau  (the  Philanthropinum,)  .is  the  only  one 
which  bears  these  marks  of  excellence ;  of  which  it  is  not  one  of  the  least  that,  by 
the  plan  of  its  organization,  it  must  of  itself  naturally  throw  off  all  the  faults  which 
belong  to  its  beginning.  The  incessant  attacks  and  libels  which  have  appeared 
here  and  there,  are  such  general  marks  of  censoriousness,  and  of  the  old  custom 
of  defending  one's  self  with  one's  tongue,  that  the  indifference  of  this  sort  of 
people,  who  always  look  with  evil  eyes  at  whatever  shows  itself  good  and  noble, 
would  raise  a  suspicion  of  the  mediocrity  of  the  new  claimant  of  excellence.  An 
opportunity  is  now  given  to  afford  to  this  institution,  which  is  devoted  to  the  good 
of  humanity,  and  that  deserves  the  sympathy  of  all  men,  assistance,  which  will  be 
insignificant  to  each  person,  but  important  from  the  large  number.  If  the  inven- 
tion should  be  tusked  to  contrive  the  means  by  which  a  small  gift  should  do  the 
greatest,  most  lasting,  and  most  universal  good,  it  would  be  found  to  be  that  means 
by  which  the  seeds  of  good  are  planted  and  maintained,  so  that  they  may  grow 
and  strengthen  themselves  with  time.  According  to  this  idea,  and  to  the  high 
opinion  which  we  have  of  the  number  of  benevolent  persons  in  this  country,  we 
refer  to  the  21st  part  of  this  literary  and  political  gazette,  with  the  appendix ; 
where  we  find  a  numerous  subscription,  from  men  of  standing  in  the  church  and 


JOHANN  BERNHARD  BABEDOW. 


505 


in  schools,  and  especially  from  parents  to  whom  nothing  can  be  indifferent  which 
will  serve  for  the  better  education  of  their  children ;  mid  evon  from  those  who, 
although  they  have  no  children  themselves,  have  heretofore,  as  children,  received 
education,  and  who  therefore  feel  the  obligation  to  contribute,  if  not  to  the  increase 
of  mankind,  at  least  to  the  improvement  of  their  education.  The  subscription  to 
the  monthly  journal  issued  by  the  Dessau  educational  institution,  entitled  "Peda- 
gogical Conversations,"  is  two  rcichsthalers  ten  groschen  of  our  money.  Hut 
as  it  is  impracticable  exactly  to  determine  the  number  of  issues,  and  as  thus  there 
might  be  a  further  payment  necessary  at  the  end  of  the  year,  it  would  perhaps  be 
best  (though  this  is  left  to  the  good  feelings  of  each  man,)  to  send  a  ducat  for  his 
subscription  ;  the  overplus  of  which,  if  he  demands  it,  shall  be  punctually  returned 
to  him.  The  institution  indulges  in  the  hope  that  there  are  many  liberal  per- 
sons in  all  countries,  who  will  gladly  seize  this  opportunity  to  make  the  small  free- 
will offering  of  this  surplus  over  the  subscription,  as  a  contribution  to  its  support, 
while  it  is  yet  near  being  completed,  but  has  not  received  in  time  the  help  which 
it  expected.  For  since,  as  Herr  O.  C.  R.  Busching  says,  the  governments  of  the 
present  day  do  not  seem  to  have  any  money  for  the  improvement  of  schools,  it 
must,  unless  they  are  to  be  entirely  broken  up,  be  left  to  wealthy  private  persons, 
to  sustain,  by  generous  contributions,  these  so  universally-important  institutions. 

KANT. 

It  is  remarkable  that  Kant  conceived  as  great  hopes  from  the 
Philanthropinum  as  did  Fichte,  afterward,  from  Pestalozzi's  institu- 
tion ;  and  both,  led  by  their  amiable  benevolence,  hoped  for  too  much. 
Kant  perceives  this  himself,  afterward,  as  appears  from  the  following 
passage,  from  his  work  "  On  pedagogy."  He  says  :* 

It  was  imagined  that  experiments  in  education  were  not  necessary ;  and  that, 
whether  any  thing  in  it  was  good  or  bad,  could  be  judged  of  by  the  reason.    But 
this  was   a  great  mistake ;    experience  shows   very  often  that  results  are   pro- 
duced precisely  the  opposite  to  those  which  had  been  expected.     We  also  see 
from  experiment  that  one  generation  can  not  work  out  a  complete  plan  of  educa- 
tion.    The  only  experimental  school  which  has  made  a  beginning  toward  break- 
ing the  path  was  the  Dessau  institution.     This  praise  must  be  given  to  it,  in\ 
spite  of  the  many  faults  which  may  be  charged  against  it ;  faults  which  belong  to   \ 
all  conclusions  based  upon  such  undertakings ;  and  which  make  new  experiments     ! 
always  necessary.     It  was  the  only  school  in  which,  the  teachers  had  the  liberty     \ 
to  work  after  their  own  methods  and  plans,  and  where  they  stood  in  connection,    ,' 
not  only  with  each  other,  but  with  men  of  learning  throughout  all  Germany. 

In  the  first  part  of  the  "Pedagogical  Conversations"  is  found  also 
the  letter  of  "A  poor  country  clergyman  in  Alsace"  to  Simon,  a 
professor  in  the  Philanthropinum,  whose  teacher  the  clergyman  had 
been.  This  clergyman  was  no  other  than  the  excellent  Oberlin,  well 
known  to  all.  Here  is  his  letter  :f 

My  dear  Fritz  :  You  wish  to  be  loved  by  me  as  much  as  you  love  me  ?  Right ; 
I  am  glad  to  have  you  say  so.  Judge  now  yourself  whether  I  love  you.  I  carry 
your  institution  in  my  heart.  Oh,  how  willingly  would  I  devote  myself  to  it ;  but 
God  requires  my  services  here.  How  earnestly  have  I  wished  to  be  present  in 
it,  if  only  for  a  few  months  or  even  a  few  weeks,  to  hear,  to  learn,  and  then  to 
go  back, richer  than  before,  to  my  Steinthal,  and  finish  learning  by  myself!  But 
my  God  has  quite  forbid  me;  for  nothing  but  my  wish  is  favor;Jjl<;  to  that  wish. 
I  have  already  been  kept  poor,  and  hard  pressed  ;  and  am  so  now  ;  evon  to  ex- 
tremity. O,  if  we  had  money,  money  which  is  so  useless  in  many  hands !  So  I 
have  thought  a  thousand  times  since  I  have  known  of  the  institution  at  l)i«pau  ; 
and  so  I  and  my  wife  had  to  think  again,  when  we  read  the  third  part  of  your 
"Archives."  We  thought  of  every  thing,  whether  we  had  not  some  thing 

*  Kant's  works,  Vol.  9,  p.  381.    Rosenkranz's  edition. 
t  Pedagogical  Conversations,  first  part,  pp.  97-100 


506  JOHANN  BERMIARD  BASEDOW. 

which  we  could  turn  into  money.  I  was  grieved,  for  I  knew  we  had  not.  Then 
my  wife  came  silently  into  my  study,  and  with  pleasure  in  her  eyes  brought  me  a 
pair  of  ear-rings,  with  the  request  that  I  would  send  them  to  the  Philanthropinum, 
or  their  value,  if  we  could  sell  them.  She  had  given  thirty  gulden  for  them,  ten 

or  twelve  years  b?fore.     I  wrote  at  once  to  Ilerr ,  in  Strasburg,  but  without 

telling  him  the  name  of  the  giver.  Now  I  do  not  know,  my  dear  friend,  whether 
the  ear-rings,  or  the  money  paid  for  them,  will  accompany  this  letter.  You  can 
imagine  how  much  pleasure  I  take  in  these  ear-rings.  I  can  feel  no  regard  for  such 
idle  things,  which  cost  so  monstrous  a  sum  for  so  emaciated  a  purse.  God  gives 
me  bread  to-day,  and  has  promised  it  to  me  for  the  future.  My  friend,  besides 
God  and  ourselves,  no  one  knows  who  has  made  this  gift,  so  little  in  itself;  but 
the  secret  is  placed  fully  at  your  disposal.  I  do  not  know  what  gift  could  have 
been  made  to  me,  so  agreeable  as  the  three  copies  of  the  "Elementary  Book."  I 
hardly  know  myself;  for  I  had  been  looking  with  covetous  eyes  upon  those  who 
could  buy  them ;  and  I  saw  no  shadow  of  hope  that  I  could  ever  buy  them  ;  for 
I  and  my  money-box  are  quite  empty.  I  try  to  make  this  excellent  book  known 
wherever  I  can  in  Strasburg.  My  friend,  I  can  speak\>penly  with  you  ;  so  many 
copies  frightened  me  and  my  wife.  And  I  could  hardly  restrain  myself;  and 
had  to  make  an  effort  to  keep  from  tears.  Thanks,  and  pleasure,  and  shame,  and 
sorrow  at  my  inability  to  make  a  return  to  the  institution  and  to  you,  were  too 
strong  for  me.  I  can  pay  you  for  them,  my  friend,  in  nothing  but  wishes,  ardent 
wishes  to  my  dear  God,  who  keeps  me  so  poor,  for  you  and  for  your  and  my  care, 
the  institution.  Yes,  my  friend,  I  hold  your  vocation  and  your  labor  enviable. 
May  God  strengthen,  bless,  and  encourage  you,  and — which  I  always  shall  for 
myself — give  you  a  more  tender  love  for  Jesus  and  for  the  children,  bought  with 
his  blood,  and  so  dear  to  him.  Adieu,  my  dear  friend,  and  all  my  friends.  I 
remain,  even  until  death,  and  anew  after  that,  your  sincere,  willing,  and  tender 
friend,  OBERLIN. 

Waldersbach  in  the  Steinthal,  on  the  borders  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine,  March 
16,  1777. 

In  1776,*  the  same  year  in  which  the  examination  was  held, 
Campe,  then  chaplain  at  Potsdam,  took  the  curatorship  of  the  Phil- 
anthropinum, but  left  it  in  the  following  year.  After  his  departure, 
Basedow  was  again  "  director  of  instruction,"  and  Wolke  vice-curator. 
Trapp,  from  Altona,  became  a  teacher,  but  was  appointed  professor  of 
pedagogy  in  Halle,  in  I778.f  Busse,  "candidate  in  pedagogy,"  and 
known  for  his  mathematical  text-books,  and  who  was  afterward  pro- 
fessor of  mathematics  in  the  mining  academy  at  Freiberg,  became  a 
teacher  in  1778. 

/  In  1778  there  were  thirty-three  boarders.  The  plan  of  instruction 
was  nearly  as  in  1776,  and  extracts  from  Cicero,  Terence,  <fcc.,  were 
read.  "At  the  last,  at  the  very  last,"  Basedow  directs  to  instruct  in 
the  principal  heads  of  grammar.  "A  very  wrong  method,  in  the 
opinion  of  most,''  says  he,  "  but  in  truth  the  method  of  nature  and  of 
reason." 

*  Philanllir.  Aroiiives,  pan  3d.  In  (he  same  year  Simon  and  Schweigha'user  Mi  the  insti- 
tution. 

t  Trapp  received  thin  invitation  by  the  means  of  the  Prussian  minister  for  schools,  Von 
Z ed lit z,  who  was  si ro ugly  in  favor  of  Hasedow.  In  an  address  "On  patriotism  as  an  object 
of  education."  Zed  I  it  7.  says,  "The  cuts  of  Basedow 's-'Stemen/ary  Hook  "  should  be  the  first 
manual  for  all  instructor*."  They  were  to  be  a  picture-gallery,  by  menus  of  which  children 
can  easily  and  clearly  be  taught  the  first  ideas  of  civil  employments.— '-Pedagogical  Conttrxa- 
Hunt,"  Vol.  1.  p  004. 


JOHANN  liERNHARD  BA8EDOVV.  gQ* 

German  exercises  were  written.  "  For  each  exercise,  the  author 
shall  receive  tickets  of  industry,  according  to  their  value ;  by  which 
he  can  earn  for  himself  golden  points  upon  the  white  table  of  merit."* 

Neuendorf,  afterward  rector  of  the  school  in  Dessau,  had  an 
especial  oversight  of  the  Philanthropinists,  whom,  upon  one  occasion, 
he  addressed  as  follows:  "My  dear  children,  we  are  here  a  little 
republic,  of  which  each  one  of  us  is  a  free  member.  You  are  my 
young  friends,  and  I  am  your  older  and  more  experienced  friend." 
Trotzendorf  organized  his  school  as  a  republic,  but  declared  himself, 
not  the  older  friend  of  the  youths,  but  the  dictator  jxrpetuus.  Neuen- 
dorf, as  a  follower  of  Rousseau,  was  seeking  to  show  his  scholars  the 
necessity  of  laws  for  their  republic. 

Turning,  planing,  and  even  threshing,  were  among  the  branches  of 
instruction.! 

While  the  Philanthropinum  made  many  friends,  it  did  not  want 
enemies.  One  of  them  published  a  romance,  "Spitzbart;  a  comico- 
tragic  pedagogical  history  of  this  century.  Parturiunt  monies,  nasci- 
tur  ridiculus  mus,  1779."J  This  book  had  much  success.  It  was 
directed  especially  against  Basedow.  In  the  third  volume  of  the 
"Pedagogical  Conversations'"  is  a  commentary  by  the  institution  upon 
"Spitzbarl"  "Although  this  institute,"  it  says,  "  is  still  called  the 
Philanthropinum,  it  is  as  unlike  the  Philanthropinum  which  Basedow 
founded  and  would  have  carried  on,  not  as  a  hen  to  the  egg,  but  as 
the  hen  to  another  fowl.  If  charges  are  to  be  brought  against  Ba<e- 
dow  and  his  plans,  they  do  not  apply  to  us,  because  we  have  not 
adhered  to  all  of  them."  They  say,  again,  that  they  have  not  let 
Basedow 's  work  go  to  destruction,  but  that  they  occupy  themselves 
no  longer  with  constructing  plans,  but  with  carrying  them  out. 

Criticism  had  had  a  good  effect,  at  all  events. 

As  will  have  been  concluded  from  what  has  been  said,  Basedow 
soon  left  the  institution,  and  even  got  into  a  quarrel  with  Wolke ;  it 
was  out  of  enmity  with  him  that  the  former  refused  to  have  any  part 
in  the  direction.  Wolk-eAvas  now  director,  and  with  him  were  live 
professors.  In  1781-,-Salzmann,  professor  and  clergyman  at  Erfurt, 
and  Olivier,  from  Lausanne,  became  teachers.  The  former  was  also 
chaplain;  and,  as  such,  published,  in  1783,  "Divine  services,  held  iu 
the  chapel  of  the  Philanthropinum." 

*  In  1782  four  pupils  were  admitted  to  the  Order  of  Industry. 

t  See  appendix  for  full  order  of  exercises. 

J  The  same  professor  Schummel,  who  earlier,  while  a  teacher  in  the  girls'  school  at  Mafde- 
burg,  had  attended  the  examination  at  Dessau,  and  had  written  "frits'*  Journey.''  wa«  the  au- 
thor of  "Spilzbart;"  "A  satire,"  says  his  biographer,  Menzel,  upon  the  I'hilanlhropinic 
scheme  of  education  which  he  had  previously  subscribed  to."  The  work  was  pe rhap»  the 
result  of  a  reaction  from  his  first  excessive  valuation. 


508  JOHANN  BERNHARD  BASEDOW'. 

In  1782,  Matthisson,  the  poet,  and  Spazier,  became  teachers  in  the 
Philanthropinum.  At  this  time  there  were  fifty-three  boarders,  from 
all  countries  of  Europe,  from  Riga  to  Lisbon. 

Salzmann  left  Dessau,  in  1784,  and,  with  the  assistance  of  the  Duke 
of  Gotha,  founded  his  well-known  institution  in  Schnepfenthal.* 

From  the  year  1778  Basedow  taught  privately  in  Dessau,  and  gave 
great  offense  by  many  vulgarities,  especially  by  drunkenness.  He 
got  into  very  violent  open  quarrels  with  Wolke,  and  even  into  a  law- 
suit, which  was  ended,  in  1783,  by  a  reconciliation.  He  again  wrote 
many  theological  treatises.  In  1785,  he  supervised  the  second  edition 
of  the  "Elementary  Book"  and  wrote  "On  the  method  of  teaching 
Latin  by  the  knowledge  of  things;'1''  and  also  upon  learning  to  read. 
In  1786,  he  published  "Neio  Assistant  for  Teaching  Reading,  for  the 
knowledge  of  God,  and  for  the  necessary  correctness  in  language ;  by 
Basedow,  and  a  society  laboring  for  enlightenment;"  and  also  "New 
Assistant  for  the  suitable  enlightenment  of  scholars  by  teachers  of  the 
middle  classes."  A  strange  title !  The  book  is  intended  to  contain 
lessons  in  virtue  and  the  principles  of  practical  wisdom.  From  the 
year  1785,  Basedow  was  accustomed  to  take  a  yearly  journey  to 
Magdeburg  for  a  few  months,  and  to  teach  there  in  a  family  school. 

/r  While  there  on  his  third  trip,  in  July,  1790,  he  was  seized  with  a 
T  hemorrhage.    Feeling  that  his  end  was  near,  he  dictated  some  additions 
of  his  will,  took  an  affectionate  farewell  of  his  youngest  son,  and  died, 
in  the  full  possession  of  his   faculties,  on  the  25th  of  July,  aged  t>G 
/  years,  10  months,  and  14  days.     His  last  words  were  characteristic: 
*     "I  desire  to  be  dissected  for  the  benefit  of  my  fellow-men."     He  was 
buried  in  the  church  of  the  congregation  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     He 
was  twice  married.     His  first  wife  died  in  Sortie;  with  the  second,  a 
Danish  woman,  he  lived  thirty-three  years,  until  her  death  in  1788. 
She  was  of  a  very  melancholy  disposition,  and  was  especially  affected 
by  the   excommunication   of  her   husband   in  Altona.     Emilie,   his 
daughter,  whom  we  have  so  often   mentioned,  married,  in  1789,  a 
clergyman  named  Cautius,  who  lived  near  Bernburg. 
Let  us  return  once  more  to  the  Philanthropinum. 
There  is  so  much  that  is  strange  and  remarkable  in  the  informa- 
tion which  I  have  given,  that  the  whole  seems  almost  a  pedagogical 
caricature.      Yet   it   would   be,  in   the    highest   degree,  unjust   to 

*  The  authentic  accounts  in  my  possession,  come  down  only  to  1784  ;  so  that  I  am  obliged 
to  break  off  at  that  point.  The  "Pedagogical  Contertationa  "  ended  with  their  Oth  year,  1784. 
In  1796,  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  I  came  to  Dessau,  and  there  saw  several  of  the  teachers  of  the 
Philantliropiuum  ;  Uutoit.  the  enthusiastic  follower  of  Rousseau,  liusse,  Wiilke,  and  Neuen- 
dorf. I  was  especially  often  in  the  house  of  the  honest,  benevolent,  and  enthusiastic  Olivier, 
of  whose  important  method  of  reading  I  shall  hereafter  speak. 


JOHANX  I1ERNIIARI)  BASEOOW.  ggg 

keep  in  the  back-ground  the  good  qualities  of  the  institution,  and  of 
its  managers. 

As  it  regards  the  teachers  in  the  Philanthropinum,  whatever  dif- 
ferences there  may  be  in  estimates  of  them,  we  must  recognize  with 
honor  their  honest  and  unselfish  purposes ;  and  even  for  that  of  Base* 
dow,  in  spite  of  his  shameless  begging  for  plans  which  his  brain, 
which,  says  Gothe,  would  not  let  him  rest  day  or  night,  incessantly 
brought  forth.  He  died  poor,  and  while  dying  requested  to  be  dis- 
sected for  the  benefit  of  his  fellow-men.  Even  his  boasting  habit  of 
promising  impossible  things,  and  even  asserting  them  to  have  been 
done,  at  the  Philanthropinum,  to  the  great  after  injury  of  the  institu- 
tion, may  well  be  ascribed  in  part  to  a  rude  enthusiasm  for  his  plans. 
Most  of  the  teachers  gave  themselves  to  their  work  with  self-sacrificing 
love,  and  with  their  whole  hearts.  With  what  unwearied  and  vivid 
activity  did  Wolke  labor!  Olivier,  to  his  death,  felt  a  youth's  enthusi- 
asm for  his  vocation  as  a  teacher ;  and  the  honest,  conscientious,  and 
persevering  activity  in  teaching,of  Salzmann  and  Carnpe,  is  well  known. 

Was  then  all  the  labor  of  these  men  in  vain,  and  even  more  than 
in  vain  ?  Certainly  not.  To  convince  ourselves  of  this,  however,  we 
must,  as  in  forming  our  estimate  of  the  character  of  Rousseau,  take 
into  consideration  the  character  of  the  pedagogy  of  that  time ;  not  as 
it  was  exhibited  in  the  single  cases  of  eminent  philologists,  but  as  it 
prevailed  upon  an  average  taken  through  most  of  the  schools.  The 
time  of  youth  was  then,  for  most  of  them,  a  very  miserable  time;  and 
the  instruction  was  hard  and  heartlessly  strict.  The  grammar  was 
whipped  into  their  memories,  as  were  al^o  texts  from  Scripture  and 
hymns.*  A  common  school  punishment  was  the  learning  by  rote  of 
the  119th  Psalm.  The  school  rooms  were  miserably  dark;  it  was  a 
wonder  that  the  children  could  work  with  pleasure  at  any  thing ;  and  no 
less  a  wonder  that  they  had  any  eyes  left  for  any  thing  besides  writ- 
ing and  reading.  The  godJess  age  of  Louis  XIV  also  inflicted  uj>on 
the  poor  children  of  the  higher  ranks  hair  frizzled  with  powder  and 
smeared  with  pomade,  embroidered  coats,  knee-breeches,  silk  stock 

•  I'edagog.  Confers.,  Vol.  3,  p.  467.  In  thi«  place  ia  the  following  item :  ••  About  this  tim« 
died  llauberle,  Collega  jubilaevs  at  a  village  in  fluabia.  During  the  51  years  7  months  of  hit 
official  life,  he  had,  by  a  moderate  computation,  inflicted  911.327  blows  with  a  cane,  124.010 
blows  with  a  rod, 20,889  blows  and  rapswiih  a  ruler,  136,715  blows  with  the  ham!.  10.233 
blows  over  the  mouth,  7,905  boxes  on  the  ear,  1,115330  raps  on  the  head,  and  22.763  notnbentt 
with  the  Bible,  catechism,  Binsritig-book,  and  grammar.  He  had  777  time*  made  boys  kneel 
on  peas,  and  613  time*  on  a  three-cornered  piece  of  wood  ;  had  made  3001  wear  the  jackass, 
and  1707  hold  the  rod  up  ;  not  to  enumerate  various  more  unusual  punishments  which  he 
contrived  on  the  spur  of  the  occasion.  Of  the  blows  with  a  cane,  about  800.000  were  for  Latin 
words  ;  and  of  those  with  the  rod  76  000  were  for  i«-x'»  fr»m  the  Bible  and  verses  from  (ho 
sin«ing-b>ok.  He  had  about  3,000  expressions  to  scold  with  ;  of  which  he  had  found  about 
two-thirds  ready-made  in  his  native  language,  and  the  re*  he  had  invented  himself.1' 


510  JOHANN  BERNHARD  BA8EDOW. 

ings,  a  sword  at  their  sides ;  all  of  which  was  the  severest  torture  for 
young  and  active  children.* 

Like  Kant,  F.  II.  Jacobi,  Euler.f  and  others,  conceived  at  first  great 
hopes  from  the  institution,  and  that  gained  great  reputation  and 
received  assistance,  in  and  from  all  parts  of  Europe.  The  unnat.ura.U- 
ness  of  much  that  was  usual  was  so  strongly  felt,  and  there  was  so 
strong  a  desire  after  freedom,  after  what  may  be  called  natural  in  the 
best  sense  of  the  word,  that,  as  Kant  says,  there  was  a  powerful  wish 
not  only  for  a  reformation,  but  for  a  revolution,  for  the  freedom  of 
youth. 

Rousseau's  oratorical  exhortations  had  caused  much  attention  to  be 
paid  to  the  more  intelligent  management  of  little  children;  mothers 
nursed  them  themselves,  and  many  effeminate  habits  were  avoided. 

In  the  Philanthropinum,  the  same  principles  were  followed  in 
educating  boys ;  and  bodily  education  was  attended  to  in  a  manner 
which  had  never  been  any  where  seen  before.  J 

The  preposterous  and  painful  clothes  of  boys,  embroidered  coats, 
V  breeches,  curling,  and  hair-bags,  were  all  done  away  with.  It  may 
be  imagined  how  delightful  it  must  have  been  to  the  boys,  to  be  let 
out  of  their  tormenting  dress — coats,  breeches,  and  cravats — permitted 
to  wear  the  most  convenient  sailor's  jackets  and  pantaloons  of  striped 
blue  and  white  tick,  to  have  their  necks  free  and  their  collars  turned 
down,  §  to  be  quite  rid  of  the  smear  of  powder  and  pomade  in  their 
hair,  and  of  their  hair-bags.  A  report  of  the  institution  for  1779 
says,  "If  parents  insist  upon  it  that  the  hair  of  their  children  shall  be 
daily  dressed  and  powdered  by  the  usual  barbers,  the  institution  can 
not  answer  for  the  purity  of  their  characters;  for,  by  means  of  the 
barbers,  they  can  easily  establish  a  connection  with  immoral  persons, 
&c."  This  appeal  was  efficient. 

Care  was  taken  that  the  body  should  be  disciplined  and  hardened. 

*  Most  of  the  children  can  be  judged  of  by  the  cnls  \nl\ie  "Elementary  Book."  Of  (he  influence 
of  the  unnatural  French  manners  upon  the  German  girls,  GOthe  has  given  a  vivid  representa- 
tion in  a  scene  of  the  earlier  edition  of  "Ericinand  Elmire."  See  his  works,  first  edition,  Vol. 
34,  p.  211. 

tThis  great  mathematician  was  the  author  of  the  favorable  testimony  which  the  Academy 
of  St.  Petersburg  published,  upon  Basedow  and  the  Philanthropinum.  in  1773  Basedow  had 
sent  his  book,  "The.  I'hilanthropinum,"  to  St.  Petersburg.  They  say,  "The  academy  con- 
siders this  work  worthy  of  iis  praises.  It  applauds  in  particular  the  cordial  zeal  with  which 
the  author  is  penetrated  for  the  good  of  the  human  family  ;  and,  us  the  plan  of  education  and 
the  method  of  instruction  for  the  young,  which  is  therein  proposed,  is  in  several  respects 
preferable  to  those  which  have  been  followed  hitherto,  the  academy  has  no  doubt  that  if  it 
•hall  be  carried  into  execution,  and  imitated  by  other  institutions,  there  will  result  a  material 
advantage  to  the  public." 

:  What  had  been  begun  in  the  Philanthropinum  wag  carried  further  by  Gutsmuth?,  in  the 
S:ilxm;mi]  institution, at  Schnepfenthal.  Cuismuths  indeed  shows  himself,  in  his  gymnastics, 
the  forerunner  of  Jahri. 

i  This  wai  the  custom  of  the  children  under  the  care  of  Olivier,  when  I  saw  them  in  17%. 


JOHANN  BERNHARD  BA3EUOW.  gj| 

The  boys  learned  carpentering  and  turning,  wrestled  in  the  open  air, 
ran  foot  races,  <fec.  As  the  instruction  proceeded  as  much  as  jK>ssible 
from  actual  seeing,  the  training  of  the  eyes  was  not  neglected. 

Here  also  should  be  mentioned  the  fact  that  the  Philanthropinum, 
and  the  teachers  who  adhered  to  its  principles,  made  special  efforts 
for  the  prevention  of  certain  frightful  secret  practices. 

As  to  instruction,  the  teachers  of  the  Philanthropinum  did  many 
great  services  to  it. 

It  was  one  of  their  favorite  principles,  that  the  scholars  should  learn 
with  love  and  not  with  repugnance.  In  this  they  were  certainly 
right,  although  they  made  many  mistakes  in  their  method  of  inspiring 
this  love  of  learning.  They  severely  blamed  the  unloving  indifference 
of  so  many  teachers  toward  their  pupils,  and  toward  their  pleasure  or 
displeasure  in  learning.  That  teacher  will  accomplish  most,  whose 
work  is  adapted  at  once  to  the  growing  natural  gifts  of  his  scholars, 
and  to  their  weak  conscientiousness.  To  have  regard  only  to  the 
natural  gifts  of  the  children  leads  to  a  servile  following  of  them ;  to 
make  demands  upon  their  conscientiousness  onlv,  and  to  overlook 
and  neglect  their  individual  endowments,  leads  to  the  tyrannical  prac- 
tice of  requiring  every  thing  from  all  alike.  In  the  first  of  these 
cases,  the  wills  of  the  children  are  left  to  themselves,  and  they  are 
treated  only  as  personified  powers,  vegetating  and  developing  them- 
selves ;  which  the  teacher  must  follow  only,  and  to  which  he  must 
subject  himself  entirely.  In  the  second  case,  on  the  other  hand,  they 
are  regarded  as  personified  wills,  and  they  are  required  to  will  and  to 
do  all  things,  even  the  impossible;  as  if  one  should  require  a  blind 
man  to  become  a  painter  by  the  power  of  his  will.  In  the  Philan- 
thropinum, the  ethical  element  was  comparatively  neglected ;  the 
pleasure  and  wishes  of  the  children  was  too  much  consulted,  and  their 
conscience  and  wills  too  little  called  into  activity;  even  a  wrong  vanity 
was  put  in  requisition.*  This  may  well  have  happened  in  opposition 
to  the  already  mentioned  caricaturized  character  of  the  ancient  peda- 
gogy, and  its  extreme  severity,  which  commanded  and  set  lessons 
recklessly,  in  reliance  upon  punishment,  had  reference  neither  to  the 
pleasure  nor  the  consciences  of  the  children,  and  would  carry  all 
things  through  by  fear. 

I  now  proceed  to  consider  the  method  followed  in  the  Philanthro- 
pinum in  giving  instruction  on  different  subjects. 

In  teaching  language,  Comenius  was  followed  in  this  respect,  th;»t 

*  Inthe  fourth  collection  of  ••  Worshiping  Exrrcistt,  holdeti  in  the  chapel  ofthe  PhiUnlhro- 
pmuin,"  the  exercivee  are  given,  with  which  seven  pupils  were  admitted  to  the  Order  of  lu- 
dustry. 


512  JOHAKN  BERNHARD  BASEDOW. 

the  teaching  of  words  of  foreign  languages  was  as  .much  as  possible 
united  with  the  inspection  of  the  things  designated  by  his  words. 
At  the  examination  in  French,  the  teacher  showed  the  picture  of  a 
harrow  and  called  it  kerse.  The  word  was  to  be  impressed  upon  the 
memory  by  seeing,  and  the  sight  by  the  memory.  The  "Elementary 
Book"  like  the  "Orbis  Pictus"  before  it,  aimed  at  such  a  united 
knowledge  of  things  and  their  names,  in  different  languages. 

A  second  distinction  between  the  instruction  in  languages  at  the 
Philanthropinum  and  that  elsewhere  was  this,  that  foreign  languages 
were  taught,  first  by  speaking  them,  and  next  by  reading.  The  gram- 
mar, which  in  other  schools  was  always  made  the  beginning,  was  not 
brought  in  until  a  late  period.  But  this  is  not  entirely  new.  In  this 
way,  as  we  have  seen;  Montaigne  learned  Latin ;  Ratich  placed  the 
reading  of  Terence  before  the  grammar ;  and  Locke's  principles  were 
similar.  Basedow  and  Wolke,  however,  were  accustomed  to  cite, 
principally,  various  places  in  Gesner's  " Isagogef  in  one  of  which  it 
is  said,  that  it  is  a  hundred  times  easier  to  teach  a  language  by  use 
and  practice,  without  grammar,  than  it  is  to  teach  it  by  grammar, 
without  use  and  practice. 

To  avoid  repetition,  I  omit  here  the  fall  discussion  of  this  pedagogi- 
cal controversy ;  I  shall  hereafter  have  occasion  to  take  it  up  in  my 
account  of  the  Hamiltonian  method.  I  will  only  remark  that,  so  far 
as  I  know,  no  philologist  of  eminence  proceeded  from  the  Philanthro- 
pinum. This  is  the  less  to  be  wondered  at,  since  Basedow  himself 
must  have  been  entirely  destitute  of  all  susceptibility  to  the  grandeur 
and  beauty  of  the  ancient  classics ;  and,  by  his  own  confession,  studied 
the  dead  languages  industriously  himself,  and  caused  them  to  be  dili- 
gently studied  by  others,  only  because  otherwise  the  Philanthropinum 
could  not  be  kept  in  existence. 

The  instruction  in  arithmetic  seems  to  have  been  very  good ;  at 
least  the  manuals  of  Busse,  the  professor  of  mathematics,  have  had 
much  reputation.  In  geometry,  the  views  of  Rousseau  appear  to 
have  been  followed  ;  who,  as  we  have  seen,  insisted  much  upon  draw- 
ing the  geometrical  figures  as  neatly  and  accurately  as  possible.  This 
was  entirely  correct.  Nowhere  is  the  imposing  principle  of  "Spirit- 
ualism "  less  appropriate,  than  in  the  instruction  of  youth.  This 
spiritualism  despises  the  form,  and  immediately  requires  the  idea; 
whereas  the  young  need  the  best  and  truest  representations,  as  being 
the  symbols  of  the  clearest  and  truest  ideas. 

I  possess  a  collection  of  geometrical  drawings  on  pasteboard,  which 
were  used  for  instruction  in  the  Philanthropinum.  In  these,  nothing 
is  omitted  which  can  make  the  representation  more  correct,  or  the 


JOIIANN  BERNHARD  BA8EDOW.  513 

demonstration  more  easy.  Even  painting,  in  the  names  of  the  sepa- 
rate parts  of  the  figures,  is  employed  ;  and  some  of  the  triangles  can 
even  be  taken  out  of  their  places,  to  show  how  they  may  be  placed 
upon  other  triangles.  The  great  Euclid  certainly  would  not  have 
used  the  word  "-cover,"  unless  he  had  actually  laid  one  figure  upon 
the  other. 

Upon  the  instruction  in  geography,  natural  history,  and  physics, 
we  may  give  some  particulars  from  the  "Elementary  Book"  The  geo- 
graphical instruction  is  arranged  in  two  courses,  but  offers  nothing 
special.  But  the  strange  political  and  religious  remarks  of  the  au- 
thor, repulsive  to  men,  and  wholly  unintelligible  to  children,  are 
worthy  of  attention.  Of  the  method  of  procedure,  he  says,  "It  is  a 
practical  method  to  begin  with  a  sketch  of  a  room,  a  house,  a  town, 
and  a  well-known  neighborhood ;  and  then  to  go  on  to  the  map  of  a 
country,  and  so  on  to  a  continent."  This  is  after  Comenius,  and 
Rousseau ;  but  I  do  not  know  whether  this  method  was  actually  fol- 
lowed. 

To  the  geography,  in  the  "Elementary  Book"  is  subjoined  a  some 
what  confused  universal  history,  which  is  mingled  with  all  manner 
of  inappropriate  observations;  and  this  is  followed  by  portions  of 
mythology,  narrated  in  the  most  vulgar  and  disgusting  manner. 

The  natural  history,  in  the  "Elementary  Hook"  contains  one  thing 
and  another  from  the  three  kingdoms ;  and  rather  more  from  physics 
and  astronomy.  The  structure  of  the  human  body  is  also  considered. 
Many  absurdities  are  attributable  to  the  condition  of  natural  science 
at  that  day.  There  is  also  a  technology,  containing  a  description  of 
the  most  common  trades  and  arts. 

All  these  things  were  subjects  of  instruction  at  the  Philanthropi- 
num,  where  the  "Elementary  Book"  indeed,  was  in  its  proper  place. 
The  numerous  representatives  from  nature  and  art,  which  were  placed 
before  the  children,  like  pictures  passed  before  them  in  a  magic  lan- 
tern, must  have  been  a  great  diverson  to  them ;  but  how  wearisome, 
on  the  other  hand,  must  have  been  the  homilies  which  they  had  to 
endure  on  morals,  politics,  and  religion !  Basedow  had  not  bestowed 
any  thought  upon  the  questions,  what  was  appropriate  for  boys  in  this 
country ;  what  stimulates  them ;  what  they  can  understand ;  what 
appeals  to  their  hearts?  Not  less  than  sixty-one  pages,  in  the  "Ele- 
mentary Book"  are  occupied  with  "Fundamental  Ideas  of  Politics," 
which  tell  about  a  certain  Democratus,  who  lived  in  the  country  of 
Universalia ;  of  a  great  Count  Aristocratus ;  of  actionable  injuries,  <tc. 

Religion  is  the  foundation  of  education  ;  upon  the  solidity  of  this 
foundation  depends  the  excellence  of  the  whole  building.  Basedow's 

No.  14.— [VOL.  V.,  No.  2.]— 33. 


514  JOHANN  BERNHARD  BASEDOW. 

house  was  built  upon  the  sand ;  and,  notwithstanding  the  beautiful 
execution  of  some  of  its  parts,  it  was,  therefore,  uncomfortable  and 
insecure.  What  we  find  on  this  subject,  in  the  "Elementary  Book" 
and  in  the  other  writings,  which  have  proceeded  from  the  Philan- 
throjiiiuitn,  go  beyond  any  thing  hitherto  referred  to.  We  expect  to 
find  in  them  only  a  tiresome  rationalism ;  and  it  is  with  wonder  that 
we  discover  more.  I  shall  cite  a  few  examples. 

Wolke  quoted,  with  approval,*  some  remarks  of  a  third  person, 
which  begin  thus:  "To-day  I  revealed  to  Fritz  the  existence  of  a 
God.  For  a  long  time,  I  have  been  preparing  him  for  this  import- 
ant occasion  ;  especially  by  carefully  directing  his  attention  to  every 
thing  in  nature,  and  leading  him  to  guess  at  causes  wherever  h« 
noticed  results."  The  narrator  had  not  taken  the  boy  out  of  the 
village  for  four  days,  that  on  the  fifth  he  might  be  more  impressible 
and  attentive,  when  God  should  then,  for  the  first  time,  be  named  to 
him  as  the  creator  of  the  sun,  <fec.  Here  Wolke  adds  this  observa- 
tion :  "One  who  desires  to  make  the  impressions  of  such  an  occasion 
still  deeper,  and  to  raise  still  higher  the  pleasure  felt  at  the  beauty 
of  nature,  and  in  its  creator,  must  stay  at  home  for  a  still  longer  time, 
with  his  pupil,  in  a  room  whose  windows  are  shut  close,  day  and 
night,  and  which  is  lighted  only  by  a  feeble  lamp.  But  the  pupil 
must  know  nothing  of  the  design,  and  during  this  last  day  must  be 
kept  busily  and  pleasantly  occupied."  The  Fritz  of  this  account 
had,  up  to  the  appointed  day,  never  heard  the  name  of  God ;  or,  at 
least,  ought  not  to  have  heard  it ;  and  is  first  made  acquainted  with 
prayer,  after  this  day  of  revelation ;  having  before  been  taught  to 
thank  his  father  or  guardian  only,  after  meals,  for  his  food  and  drink. 

Something  of  the  same  kind  is  found  in  the  "Elementary  Book."\ 
Tn  this  the  passage  from  "younger  childhood"  to  "elder  childhood" 
is  thus  described: — 

The  parents  issue  preparatory  orders,  relating  to  the  change,  as  well  in  the  re- 
lations of  the  ehild  as  of  the  deportment  of  others  toward  him  ;  and  in  relation 
to  the  festivities  of  the  day.  These  are  previously  explained  to  the  ehild,  a  part 
at  a  time,  and  he  is  practiced,  by  preparatory  exercises,  in  the  behavior  proper  for 
so  great  and  honorable  an  oceasion,  also  with  the  admonition,  that  too  childish 
conduct  may  cause  a  postponement  of  the  day  selected.  The  day  comes.  He 
rises,  once  more,  as  a  little  child.  A  few  of  his  mother's  friends  come  in,  with 
pleasure,  to  assist  in  putting  on  his  new  clothes.  An  uncommonly  good  break- 
fast is  provided.  All  his  old  toys,  &c.,  are  collected  and  thrown  away,  and  his 
new  ones  brought  out,  together  with  his  clothes.  The  ehild  is  congratulated  upon 
having  advanced  to  this  period.  He  is  taken  up  into  a  church,  and  is  taught 
what  is  the  purpose  of  the  assemblies,  which  meet  there ;  but  not  yet  in  the  pe- 
culiarities of  his  national  religion.  They  return  home.  The  father  offers  a  short 
j.rayer  for  his  child  ;  and  a  pair  of  good  singers  sing  an  appropriate  stanza.  Af- 
ter a  few  questions  by  the  parents,  and  answers  by  the  ehild,  the  rod  is  burned  in 
the  fire.  Now,  for  the  first  time,  the  ehild  prays,  kneeling,  and  after  a  form.  The 

•  Pedagogical  Conversations,  3d  vol.,  p.  146.        t  Part  1,  pp  87-00. 


JOI1ANN  BERNHARD  BA8EDOW. 


515 


father  prays  again,  with  a  hand,  for  benediction,  upon  his  child'*  head.  Tho 
singing  of  a  final  stanza  concludes  the  more  serious  part  of  the  solemnity.  All 
go  into  the  house,  and  some  guests,  with  their  children,  offer  their  congratulation* 
upon  the  change.  After  this,  until  8  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  company  of 
children  are  entertained,  and  made  to  enjoy  themselves,  after  their  fashion,  but 
with  such  games  as  are  agreeable  to  others,  and  not  too  noisy ;  as  any  other 
would  not  be  suitable  to  the  solemnity  of  the  day.  At  evening,  the  mother 
prays,  with  her  hand,  for  benediction,  upon  the  child's  head.  Next  day,  the 
tutor  prays  for  the  chill,  and  over  him,  and  gives  him,  in  the  name  of  his  parent*, 
a  beautiful  set  of  tablets,  bound  in  red,  and  whose  vignette  represents  a  whole 
company  of  children,  following  their  teacher  in  prayer.  During  the  day  of  this 
festivity,  at  each  item  of  the  arrangements,  its  reason  is  explained  to  him.  For 
example,  the  reddish  binding  is  for  a  reminder  of  modest  sincerity,  in  which,  for 
one  occasion  and  another,  children  should  be  trained,  even  nt  so  early  an  age,  etc., 
etc.  In  this  manner  does  the  little  child  become  an  older  child. 

What  was  Basedow's  ideal  of  divine  worship  will  appear  from  the 
following : — 

For  the  weekly,  and  other  less  extraordinary  solemnities  of  the  family,  a  cham- 
ber should,  if  circumstances  permit,  be  consecrated  ;  that  is,  set  apart  for  this  solo 
use.  Each  object  in  it  is  instructive  and  significant  to  this  end  ;  for  example,  the 
ceiling  signifies  heaven,  or  the  elevated  happiness  of  the  virtuous  after  death,  and 
is  so  finished  as  to  inculcate  this  idea.  The  chief  color  of  the  walls  is  striped  with 
black  stripes,  to  represent  the  preponderance  of  good  over  evil,  in  this  life.  The 
middle  of  the  carpet  has  the  figure  of  a  coffin,  for  the  sake  of  increasing  wisdom, 
by  reminding  men  of  death.  In  the  highest  place,  behind  the  speaker's  scat,  is  a 
box,  in  which  is  kept  the  book  of  God's  laws  and  promises.  The  cover  of  the 
box  has  a  mirror  in  it,  to  indicate  the  necessity  of  self-examination,  according  to 
God's  law.  At  the  sides  of  this  box  burn  two  wax  candles,  to  signify  the  two 
methods  of  acquiring  religious  knowledge,  by  the  instruction  of  others  and  by  our 
own  insight.  Over  the  box,  on  the  wall,  are  represented,  in  statues,  pictures,  or 
words,  the  four  cardinal  virtues;  prudence,  moderation,  justice,  and  benevolence. 
These  means  of  instruction  are  to  be  employed  at  the  beginning  of  every  service, 
with  the  help  of  certain  words,  and  gestures,  and  of  the  liturcy.  All  who  enter 
this  chamber  must  be  cleanly  clad ;  and  no  one  in  it  must  turn  his  back  to  the  box.* 

After  a  variety  of  other  particulars,  he  adds:  "For  setting  forth  a 
domestic  liturgy  and  ceremonial,  a  whole  book  would  be  required. 
True,  many  would  think  ill  of  the  purpose  of  such  a  work  ;  would 
laugh  at  it,  and  revile  it.  Let  them  do  so.  Even  for  its  own  ad- 
vantage, posterity  has  decided  in  favor  of  the  Copernioan  system." 
Compare  these  fantasies  with  Luther's  homely  directions  for  the 
fathers  devotions  with  his  family  !  Basedow,  as  a  follower  of  Rous- 
seau, seems  to  have  been  led  into  these  singular  details  by  one  remark 
in  "Emile."  This  is,  "  We  depend  too  much  upon  the  unassisted  rea- 
son ;  as  if  men  were  minds  only.  In  neglecting  the  language  of  sym- 
ools,  which  speaks  to  the  imagination,  we  neglect  the  most  impress- 
ive part  of  language.  The  impression  of  words  is  always  feeble; 
and  the  heart  is  better  addressed  through  the  eye  than  through  the 
ear." 

To  the  strange  rhetoric  of  Basedow's  incoherent  religious  addresses 
are  subjoined  hymns  of  a  very  appropriate  character.  For  a  speci- 

•Sarne,  part  2,  pp.   110,   111,  113.     But  this  worship   is  described  only    in    Bwdow't 
"Alethinie."    It  reminds  us  much  of  "  IVilMin  Mcisler." 


516  JOIIANN  BERNIIAIID  BASEDOW.  . 

men,  I  give  the  following,  from  a  collection  entitled  "The  whole  of 
natural  religion  in  hymns."* 

No  mortal  being  knew  me  yet, 
Within  my  mother's  womb ! 
i<  .  Not  even  herself !     She  but  believed 
I  was  a  human  child  ! 

There  lay  I,  all  prepared,  I ! 

With  soul  and  flesh,  all  I ! 
I,  now  n  child,  and  soon  a  man, 

Prepared  completely  there  ! 

Thus,  then  was  I  prepared,  I ! 

Not  by  my  parents'  plan  ! 
But  he  who  shaped  me  to  his  mind, 

He  was  my  God,  my  God  ! 

T  is  God  who  shapes  the  milk-soft  form 

From  out  of  drink  and  food ; 
Who  changes  these,  and  makes  them  blood ; 

And  sends  the  blood  around. 

The  body  uses  what  it  needs, 
And  what  would  harm,  rejects  f 

By  lungs,  and  by  magnetic  skin- 
Thus  works,  thus  works  my  God ! 

Thou,  God,  of  father  hast  no  need 

To  make  the  human  form. 
No  generation,  and  no  birth, 

My  primal  father  bad. 

The  wind  thou  leadest  on  its  way, 

Teachest  the  air  to  move. 
That  one  may  speak,  another  hear, 

And  both  may  understand. 

In  thinner,  or  in  thicker  air, 

No  sound  nor  life  could  be ! 
Father  of  life,  thou  causest  it 

In  measure  just  to  stay  ! 

In  the  place  of  a  Christian,  renewing  faith,  enlivening  for  time  and 
eternit}r,  was  thus  constructed  a  human,  superficial,  lifeless,  and  ab- 
surd patchwork  of  natural  religion.  From  such  a  barren  seed  could 
never  grow  a  plant  to  bear  fruit,  both  in  time  and  eternity. 

From  the  Dessau  Philanthropinum  a  great  pedagogical  excitement 
and  agitation  spread  over  Germany  and  Switzerland,  and,  indeed, 
over  a  great  part  of  Europe.  This  is  evident,  both  from  the  list  of 
the  patrons  of  Basedow's  "Elementary  Book,"  and  from  the  fact  that 
boys  were  sent  to  his  school  from  all  quarters,  from  Riga  to  Lisbon. 

Educational  institutions,  on  the  model  of  the  Philanthropinum, 
arose  in  all  quarters.  Ulysses  von  Salis  first  established  one,  in  1775, 
at  Marschlins,  in  Switzerland.  He  selected  for  its  principal  the  well- 
known  Dr.  Bahrdt,  who  had  been  professor  of  theology  at  Giessen, 
but  was  about  being  sent  away  for  his  heterodoxy.  Salis  and  Bahrdt, 

*  The  original  IB  nut  rhymed.    ( Tram/atar.) 


JOHANX  BERNIIARD  BA8EDOW.  r-,n 

however,  had  a  disagreement  within  a  year,  and  tho  latter  accepted 
an  appointment  from  Count  von  Leininger^as  superintendent  at  Durk- 
heim.  The  count,  at  the  same  time,  gave  him  the  occupation  of 
Castle  Heidenheim,  for  the  erection  of  a  philanthropinist  institute. 
But  this  feeble  institution  expired  after  three  years,  (in  1779,)  Bahrdt 
being  deposed  by  the  royal  council  for  theological  error.  By  the  as- 
sistance of  Teller,  however,  he  found  an  appointment  at  Halle,  under 
the  protection  of  the  minister,  Zedlitz. 

Campe  founded  a  third  institution,  in  Hamburg,  after  leaving  Des- 
sau. This  he  left,  in  1783,  to  the  care  of  Trapp,  who,  however,  seems 
to  have  let  it  quite  perish,  for  he  went  to  Wolfenbuttel,  in  1786. 
Salzmann's  Institute,  founded  in  1784,  existed  longest,  and  still  exists. 
Among  the  teachers  and  pupils  of  this  institution,  have  been  such 
men  as  Gutsmuths  and  Karl  Hitter. 

The  Philanthropinists  exerted  an  influence,  not  only  through  these 
institutions,  but  through  a  multitude  of  authors,  for  young  and  old,  who 
swarmed  all  over  Germany.  At  the  head  of  the  teachers  who  wrote, 
stands  Campe.  The  most  successful  of  his  writings  was  "The  Swiss 
Family  Robinson"  (Robinson  der  Jungere.)  He  seems  to  have  been 
induced  to  write  this  by  Rousseau's  strong  recommendation  of  the 
"Robinson  Crusoe"  of  Defoe,  as  a  book  for  children.  But  Canape's 
Robinson  is  far  below  its  original,  and  is  much  weakened  and  diluted, 
by  the  sapient  observations  of  the  children,  and  weak  and  silly  preach- 
ments about  morals  and  usefulness.  Campe 's  books  on  travels  also 
had  much  success,  especially  that  upon  the  discovery  of  America ; 
although  even  this  truly  poetical  material  was  injured  by  tiresome 
disquisitions,  doubly  tiresome  for  children.  Campe's  purely  ethical 
writings  for  children,  like  his  "  Theophron,  or  the  Experienced  Coun- 
selor of  Youth,"  must  have  been  unendurable  to  a  sprightly  boy. 
"As  soon  as  Campe's  Robinson  came  into  the  hands  of  all  children, 
of  the  educated  classes,  the  biblical  histories  disappeared.  In  conse- 
quence, there  came  up,  besides  the  practical  prose  of  our  youthful  re- 
lations, a  theoretical  element  of  them.  There  grew  up  a  generation 
of  youth,  who  regarded  nothing  but  what  was  material,  domestic,  or 
of  immediate  use  in  the  external  relations  of  life  ;  and  full  of  childish 
pertness."*  When  the  poisonous  wind  of  the  desert  blows,  all  the 
fresh,  green,  tender  plants,  quickly  fail  and  wither.  But  many  chil- 
dren escaped  the  fatal  effects  of  the  pedagogical  Simoom,  which,  at 
that  time,  blew  from  France  over  Germany. 

Among  Campe's  works  for  teachers,  his  collection  of  writings  on 

*  Schloseer,  ("Hutory  of  the  Eightetnth  Century,"  3,  2.  103.)  in  hi*  excellent  e»i«r»cter  of 
Campe.  My  own  vivid  recollection  of  the  effect  upon  myself,  when  a  boy,  of  tneae  juvenile 
books,  fully  coincides  with  hi*  remarks  upon  them. 


518  JOIIANN  BERNHARD  BASEDOW. 

the  whole  subject  of  schools  and  education  must  be  placed  first.  He 
was  assisted  in  this  undertaking  by  educators  and  instructors  of  like 
views  with  himself,  Resewitz,  Elers,  Trapp,  &c.  This  includes  trans- 
lations of  Locke's  "Thoughts  on  Education"  and  Rousseau's  "Entile  ;" 
and  it  deals  with  the  most  important  pedagogical  problems ;  especially 
those  upon  which  the  old  and  new  schools  in  education  are  at  va- 
riance. • 

After  Campe,  Salzmann  was  the  most  influential  of  this  class  of 
pedagogical  writers. 

Their  restless  activity  gave  the  Philanthropinists  great  influence 
upon  the  educational  systems  of  Germany.  They  attacked  in  all  ways 
the  old  schools;  who,  on  their  part,  sheltered  themselves  behind  re- 
ceived principles,  and  often  made  successful  attacks  upon  the  many 
weak  points  exposed  by  the  assailing  Reformers. 

Notwithstanding  this  hostile  attitude,  however,  the  old  schools 
could  not  wholly  avoid  the  influence  of  the  Philanthropinists.  Some 
rectors  of  gymnasia  even  passed  over  to  the  ranks  of  their  oppo- 
nents ;  as  Gedike,  rector  of  the  Gray  Friars1  Gymnasium,  at  Berlin. 
In  an  ode*  to  Basedow  he  says : — 

Thou  North-Albion's  son,. lighted  the  sparkling  torch, 

Flung'st  it  aloft  with  a  fiercules'  mighty  arm — 
Many  ran  toward  thee,  kindled  their  lights  from  thine, 
Brighter  and  brighter  the  light  of  the  torches  shone, 
Till  the  very  snorers  rose, 
Rubbing  their  sleepy,  blinking  eyes. 

Gedike  also  assisted  in  Campe's  collection  of  educational  writings. 
Being  a  man  naturally  inclined  to  the  older  schools,  a  legitimist,  he 
would  have  been  doubly  welcome  to  the  Philanthropinists,  could  he 
have  been  ranked  as  an  able  philologist  even  by  the  humanists.  He 
was,  moreover,  much  too  rough  as  a  teacher. 

Far  above  him,  though  a  cotemporary,  stands  Meierotto,  the  able 
rector  of  the  Joachimsthal  Gymnasium,  at  Berlin.  His  brethren 
called  him  the  Frederic  the  Great  of  the  rectors.  He  never  wrote 
any  odes  to  Basedow,  but  was  indefatigable  in  his  efforts  to  secure  in- 
struction in  drawing  in  his  gymnasium,  a  cabinet  of  natural  objects 
collected  there,  an  area  with  apparatus  for  gymnastic  exercises ;  and 
thus  proved  himself  an  honorably  sincere  and  earnest  educator,  and 
intelligently  accquainted  with  the  new  pedagogy. 

The  isolated,  independent  labors  of  the  Philanthropinists  grew 
weaker  and  weaker  toward  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  ;f  and, 
in  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth,  a  new  epoch  of  reform  com- 
menced with  the  establishment  of  the  Pestalozzian  institution  at 

•Not  rhymed.     (Tramtlator.) 

t  Only  Salzmann's  Institution,  at  Schnepfenthal,  as  we  have  seen,  outlasted  the  century. 


IOIIANN  OERNHARD  BA8EDOW.  51Q 

Burgdorf,  and  the  substitution  of  the  too  theoretical  Pestalozzians  in 
the  place  of  the  too  practical  Philanthropinists. 

In  the  educational  institutions  and  writings  of  the  followers  of 
Basedow  are  found  only  imitations,  or,  at  the  most,  variations  of  what 
was  practiced  and  written  in  the  Philanthropinuin ;  and,  in  fact,  in 
that  institution  itself,  only  imitations  and  variations  upon  the  themes 
of  Rousseau's  "Emile" 

We  shall  now  leave  the  consideration  of  the  philanthropist  schools 
proper;  but  it  will  still  be  of  the  utmost  interest  to  trace  the  influ- 
ence of  Rousseau's  thoughts,  and  of  Basedow's  realization  of  them, 
upon  other  eminent  Germans,  whether  belonging  to  the  old  or  the 
new  school,  or  seeking  to  harmonize  the  two.  We  shall,  at  the  same 
time,  see  what  peculiar  educational  thoughts  and  views  were  origi- 
nated in  such  men,  by  means  of  so  great  a  pedagogical  revolution. 
In  our  account  of  the  Philanthropinuin,  Gothe  and  Kant  have  already 
been  quoted  for  this  purpose.  To  these  may  now  be  added  Ilamann 
and  Herder,  and  lastly,  Friederich  August  Wolf,  the  official  successor 
and  antipodes  of  the  philanthropist,  Trapp ;  the  most  genial  of  the 
later  philologists ;  who  ought  to  have  been  ashamed  to  shelter  him- 
self, in  the  defense  of  classical  education,  behind  prescription. 


INTERIOR  ARRANGEMENTS  IN  THE  PHILANTIIROPINUM. 

At  five  o'clock,  a  house-servant  awoke  a  "  furnulant,"  and  the  latter  a  teacher, 
and  the  other  famulants.  The  teacher  then  inspected  their  rooms,  to  fee  if  every 
thing  was  in  good  order,  and  their  business  properly  arranged.  At  a  quarter  be- 
fore six,  the  reveille  was  sounded,  by  a  servant  or  farnulant.  when  all  the  teachers 
and  Philanthropinists  arose.  Then  the  teacher  and  inspector  of  the  day  visited 
all  the  pupils  in  their  rooms,  and  called  the  attention  of  each  to  any  thing  in  re- 
gard to  which  he  was  to  blame.  After  having  passed  inspection,  and  washed,  and 
dressed,  the  pupils  met  in  the  fourth  auditorium  for  morning  devotions.  After 
this  all  went  to  breakfast,  and  then,  in  winter  at  eight  o'clock,  in  summer  at 
seven,  to  the  school-rooms.  The  order  of  exercises  there  was  as  follows : — 

For  the  First  Class  of  Older  Boarders. 

From  8  to  9.  Instruction  in  taste,  and  in  German  style,  by  Prof.  Trapp.  from 
Ramler's  "Battenx,"  Schiitzen's  '••Manual  for  Training  the  Understanding 
and  the  Taste,'1'1  and  Sul/cr's  ^  First  Exercises,"  (Voriibungen.)  This  for  the 
first  three  days  of  the  week.  In  the  other  three.  Prof.  Trapp  instructed  in  natural 
religion  and  morals,  from  Basedow's  "Natural  Wisdom  for  those  in  private 
station*.''1 

From  9  to  10.  Dancing,  with  a  master,  riding,  with  riding-master  Schr.'Hlter, 
under  the  inspection  of  Federand  Ilauber,  alternately,  every  day,  except  Wednes- 
day and  Saturday.  Dancing  was  taught  in  the  fourth  auditorium,  riding  in  the 
prince's  riding-school. 

10  to  12.  Instruction  by  Basedow,  at  his  house,  in  Latin ;  either  in  ancient 
history,  (with  accompanying  studies,)  or  in  practical  philosophy,  from  Ciccru  "De 
Offici'is." 

12  to  1.     Dinner. 

1 — 2.  Moderate  exercise ;  as,  turning,  planing,  and  carpentry,  in  the  rooms 
of  Prince  Dietrich's  palace,  granted  for  that  purpose  by  the  prince. 

2 — 3.  Monday  and  Tuesday,  Geography,  by  JIauber,  from  Pfennig's  "Geog- 
raphy.'" Wednesday,  knowledge  of  the  human  body,  and  a  partial  course  in 
Chemistry,  by  the  prince's  privy  councilor  and  private  physician,  Kr^tzschinar, 


520  JOHANN  BERNHARD  BASEDUW. 

at  his  house,  where  the  preparations  and  instruments  were  at  hand.  On  the 
other  three  days  of  the  week,  mathematical  drawing,  by  Prof.  Wolke. 

3 — 5.  French  and  universal  history,  by  Prof.  Trapp,  from  Schrockh's  "Uni- 
versal History,"  and  Millot's  "Historie  Universelle,"  during  five  days.  Satur- 
day, a  news-lecture,  by  llauber,  to  make  the  elder  pupils  gradually  acquainted 
with  public  transactions  and  remarkable  occurrences. 

5 — 6.  Mathematics,  by  Busse,  from  Ebert's  '•'Further  Introduction  to  the 
Philosophical  and  Mathematical  /Science*,"  during  the  first  three  days  of  the 
week  ;  iu  the  other  three,  physics,  from  Erxleben's  "Natural  Philosophy." 

6 — 7.  Knowledge  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  by  Wolke,  from  Schmid's 
"Book  of  the  Celestial  Bodies,''''  twice  a  week ;  the  other  four  days,  Greek,  by 
Banner,  from  rector  Stroth's  "Chrestomathia  Graeca,"  Lucinn's  "Timon,"  and 
Xenophou's  "Memorabilia.'1'' 

For  the  Second  Class  of  Elder  Scholars. 
S —  9.     Similar  to  the  studies  of  the  first  class ;  by  Prof.  Trapp. 
9 — 10.     Riding  and  dancing,  interchangeably  with  the  first  class.     Arithme- 
tic for  some  of  them,  with  Prof.  Trapp. 

10 — 11.  Latin,  with  llauber;  from  Basedow's  "Chrestomathia  in  hisloria 
antiqua." 

11 — 12.     Latin,  with  Banner ;  from  Basedow's  "Chreitomathia." 

1 —  2.     Turning  and  planing,  in  alternation  with  first  class. 

2 —  3.     Brawing,  with  Doctor  Samson.     Some  were  instructed  with  the  first 
class ;  and  some  study  arithmetic,  with  Busse. 

3 —  5.     Same  exercises  as  the  first  class. 

5 —  6.     Mathematics,  with  Banner,  three  days ;  on  the  other  days,  some  were 
taught  with  the  first  class,  and  others  received  various  kinds  of  private  instruction. 

6—  7.     English,  from  the  "  Vicar  of  Wakefield,"  with  Prof.  Trapp. 

For  the  First  Class  of  Younger  Scholars. 

8 —  9.  Reading  German,  with  Jahn  ;  the  books  being,  Von  Rochow's  and 
Weissen's  "Children's  Friend,"  Campe's  "Manual  of  Morals  for  Children  of 
the  Educated  Classes."  Feddersen's  "Examples  of  Wisdom  and  Virtue,"  Funk's 
"Little  Occupations  for  Children,"  and  "First  nourishment  for  the  sound  hu- 
man understanding." 

9 — 10.     Writing,  with  Vogel,  alternately  with  the  second  class,  all  the  week ; 

and  instructive  conversation  with  rector  Neuendorf,  at  his  room,  or  during  walks. 

10 — 11.     Latin,  with  Feder;  from  "Phaedrus,"  Busching's  "Liber  Latinus," 

and  select  parts  of  Basedow's  "Liber  ElementariSj"  and  "  Chrestomathia  Col- 

loquiorum  Erasmi." 

11 — 12.     French,  with  Jasperson. 

1 —  2.     Music,  and  recreation,  under  care  of  Feder. 

2 —  3.     Brawing,  with  Boctor  Samson,  under  charge,  alternately,  of  Jasper- 
son,  Vogel,  and  Spener. 

3 —  4.     Bancing,  with  the  master,  under  care  of  Vogel. 

4 —  5.     French,  with  Spener ;  from  select  portions  of  Bnsedow's  "Mannal 
d?  education." 

5 —  6.     Latin,  with  Feder:  from  select  portions  of  the  Latin  "Elementary 
Book." 

6 —  7.     For  walking,  under  the  care  of  Neuendorf. 

For  the  Second  Class  of  Younger  Pupilt. 
8 —  9.     Writing,  with  Vogel. 

9 — 10.     Writing  and  walking,  alternately  with  first  class. 
10—12.     Latin,  with  Wolke. 

1 —  2.     As  tho  firnt  class. 

2 —  3.     Brawing,  as  in  first  class. 

3 —  4.     Bancing,  as  in  first  class. 

4 —  5.     French,  with  Jaspersou  ;  from  scclcct  parts  of  the  "Manval  d'educa- 
tion.'\ 

5 —  6.     Instructive  reading,  with  Jahn,  in  his  room. 

6 —  7.     Conversation  with  Neuendorf.     On  the  first  and  fifteenth  of  each 
month,  letter-writing  was  practiced.     Walks  were  taken  two  afternoons  a  week. 


JOHANN   MATTHIAS  GESNER.* 

[Translated  from  the  German  of  Von  Raumer.  for  the  American  Journal  of  Education.] 


JOHANN  MATTHIAS  GESNER  was  the  son  of  a  preacher,  and  born 
in  1691,  at  Roth,  a  village  of  Ansbach,  in  the  liezat.  He  early  lost 
his  father,  but  was  well  instructed  after  his  death  by  his  stepfather, 
Pastor  Zuckerraantel,  and  afterward  sent  to  the  gymnasium  at  Ans- 
bach. Under  the  learned  Pastor  Kohler,  he  here  acquired  not  only 
Latin  and  Greek,  but  also  Hebrew,  Arabic,  and  Syriac,  and  several 
modern  languages. 

In  1710,  he  went  to  the  University  of  Jena,  where  he  studied 
Hebrew  more  thoroughly  under  Danz,  and  attended  the  theological 
lectures  of  Buddeus,  to  whom  he  became  much  attached.  This 
teacher  had  long  entertained  the  wish  that  a  great  want  in  the  uni- 
versity should  be  supplied.  After  their  university  studies,  most  of 
the  theological  students  went  into  situations  which  required  positive 
pedagogical  knowledge  and  efficiency.  Many  became  school  officers, 
many  tutors,  and  still  others  school  inspectors.  But  in  the  university 
there  was  not  the  least  pains  taken  to  prepare  the  students,  in  any 
measure,  for  these  duties.  This  want,  Buddeus  thought,  could  be  best 
supplied  by  the  erection  of  a  pedagogical  seminary.  In  the  young 
Gesner  he  believed  that  he  had  found  the  right  man  to  be  placed  at 
the  head  of  such  an  institution.  He  therefore  induced  him  to  write 
the  "Institutiones  rei  Scholasticce,"1  which  appeared  in  1715,  and  were 
to  serve  as  a  compendium  for  the  use  of  this  seminary.  All  were 
astonished  at  the  learning,  sound  judgment,  and  clearness  of  the 
author  at  twenty-four  years. 

Even  in  this  work,  Gesner's  tendency  to  polymathia  showed  itself; 
for  it  contains  many  of  the  outlines  of  his  later  "Isagoge  in  Eruditi- 
onem  Universalem" 

He  fully  discussed  instruction  in  the  ancient  languages.  It  would 
be  imagined  that  an  experienced  educator  was  speaking,  upon  hearing 
the  acute  rules  which  he  sometimes  gives  for  teachers. 

In  his  remarks  upon  instruction  in  Hebrew  and  the  modern  lan- 
guages, he  gives  evidence  of  his  studies  at  Ansbach  and  Jena. 

*  Materials.— 1.  "J.  A.  Emetti  Narratio  de  J.  M.  Gesner  ad  D.  Ruh*ke*ittm."  1  Ow- 
ner's Works ;  vir..,  ^Inttitutiones  rei  Scholattirtr."  Jena.  1715 ;  "Minor  German  ll'orkt,"  CW- 
tingen,  1756;  -Opuxula  Minora,"  Breslau.  1743;  t-Prima>  Linut,  Itaeagt*  in  Erudition** 
Unitersnlem.  Accedunt  pr<tlectiones  per  J.  .V.  Xiclas."  2  vola  ;  Leipzig,  1774. 


522  JOIIANN  MATTHIAS  GESNER. 

He  then  passes  to  other  studies,  recommending  especially  the  pure 
and  mixed  mathematics. 

He  did  not,  however,  confine  himself  entirely  to  instruction,  but 
considered  all  that  lies  within  the  province  of  pedagogy.  Thus,  he 
fully  discusses  the  requisites  of  a  teacher ;  not  only  as  to  knowledge 
and  gifts  for  teaching,  but  also  moral  character.  He  further  describes 
the  scholar,  and  gives  directions  for  examining,  guiding,  and  manag- 
ing him. 

In  short,  this  little  book,  for  that  time,  completely  fulfilled  its  pur- 
pose, as  the  compendium  of  pedagogical  lectures  at  the  university ; 
and  we  can  only  wish  for  a  similar  work,  equally  as  good,  in  our  own 
times. 

One  design  of  the  "Institutiones"  however,  failed ;  Gesner  himself, 
that  is,  did  not  get  the  appointment  of  lecturer  upon  them  at  Jena; 
for  he  was  shortly  afterward  invited  to  Weimar,  as  conrector  and 
librarian.  During  his  thirteen  years'  stay  in  this  place,  he  was  all  the 
time  increasing  the  universality  of  his  knowledge  by  the  most  com- 
prehensive studies,  a  work  in  which  his  place  as  librarian  was  of  the 
greatest  service  to  him.  He  was  thus  well  fitted  to  be  afterward  of 
essential  service  to  one  of  the  greatest  European  libraries,  that  at 
Gottingen,  and  to  facilitate  its  first  youthful  progress.  From  Weimai 
he  went,  in  1728,  to  Ansbach,  as  rector  of  the  gymnasium  there,  and 
then  again,  in  1730,  he  became  rector  of  the  celebrated  Thomas 
School,  at  Leipzig.  This  he  found  in  a  very  low  condition,  both  in 
respect  to  studies  and  discipline. 

Jacob  Thomasius*  was  rector  of  this  school  from  1676  to  1684. 
At  the  latter  period,f  he  was  opposed  to  the  reading  of  the  ancient 
classics  in  the  school,  and  at  last  came  out  in  a  distinct  hostility 
against  them.  Accordingly  he  almost  entirely  banished  them  from 
the  school,  and  put  in  their  place  the  reading-books  and  chrestomath- 
ies  of  modern  Latinists;  such  as  Muret,  Buchanan's  "Paalterium" 
Schoenieus'  "Terentius  Christianus"  <fec.  Johann  Heinrich  Ernesti, 
who  succeeded  Thomasius  and  was  rector  for  forty-five  years,  from 
1684  to  1729,  did  not  discontinue  this  practice.  When  Gesner  came 
into  Ernesti's  place,  and  found  that  scarcely  one  or  two  classics  were 
read  in  the  school,  he  suspected  the  wisdom  of  the  rule.  He  had 
previously  distinctly  defended  the  reading  of  the  classics,  excluding 
only  those  which  taught  openly  godlessness  and  sin.  On  this  point 
he  had  no  scruples  in  Leipzig ;  but  he  considered  whether  such 
scholars  as  commonly  learn  Latin,  only  to  understand  their  professional 

*  Father  of  the  celebrated  Christian  Thomas! us. 

t"The  Thomaa  School, at  Leipzig.    A  centennial,  by  G.  Stallbaum,  Ph.  D.,  and  rector  of 
the  school.    1839." 


JOIIANN  MATTHIAS  GE9NER.  523 

text-books,  should  not  read  those  text-  books  at  once ;  the  theological 

O 

students  the  symbolic  books  and  llutterus ;  the  jurists  the  "Inttitu- 
tiones"  <fec.  But  in  a  man  of  so  thoroughly  classical  an  education, 
an  error  so  truly  unnatural  to  him*  could  prevail  only  for  a  moment, 
in  regard  to  the  nobler  studies  of  youth.  He  soon  bethought  him- 
self, and  introduced  anew  a  study  of  the  classics.  Gesner  at  the  same 
time  made  provision  for  a  suitable  pursuit  of  real  studies,  esjjecially 
of  mathematics;  which  were  taught,  from  1731,  by  Johann  Heinrich 
Winkler,  well  known  as  a  natural  philosopher. 

The  Thomas  School  was  celebrated  for  its  long-established  music 
department,  which  was  at  one  time  under  the  management  of  the 
most  skillful  masters,  such  as  Sethus  Calvisius,  Hermann  Schein,  and 
Kiihnau.  The  most  distinguished  of  all  its  masters,  however,  was  that 
one  whom  Gesner  found  in  the  place  at  his  entrance  into  the  school ; 
namely,  the  immortal  cantor,  Johann  Sebastian  Bach,  for  whom  he 
entertained  a  great  respect.f 

I  have  mentioned  that,  at  Gesner's  coming  to  Leipzig,  he  found  not 
only  the  classic  studies,  but  the  discipline,  of  the  Thomas  School,  in 
the  lowest  state.  There  was  among  the  pupils  an  universal  and  dis- 
graceful indolence.  They  had  one  habit  in  particular,  of  pretending 
to  be  sick,  in  order  to  get  the  better  diet  which  was  provided  for 
sickness,  and  to  have  vacations  for  months  together.  The  medicines 
which  were  given  them,  they  threw  away.  Thus  the  expenditures  for 
medicine  and  the  care  of  the  sick  increased,  until  it  might  have  been 
believed  that  the  institution  was  not  a  school,  but  a  hospital.  Gesner 
put  an  end  to  this  practice  in  this  way  :  When  the  scholar  told  him 
he  was  sick,  he  visited  him  at  once,  inquired  in  a  friendly  way  what 
he  wanted,  and  said:  "It  does  not  yet  appear  clearly  what  the  dis- 
ease is ;  until  it  does,  you  must  eat  only  the  simplest  food,  and  stay 
in  bed."  A  watcher  was  then  appointed  for  the  sick  man,  to  see  that 
he  complied  strictly  with  this  direction.  By  far  the  greater  part  of 
them,  quite  restored  by  fasting  and  weariness,  recovered  in  one  or  two 
days ;  and  over  the  few  who  were  really  sick,  and  who  were  obliged 
to  remain  so,  Gesner  exercised  fatherly  care. 

In  1733,  Ihere  appeared  the  "Laws  of  the  Thomas  School,"  drawn 
up  by  him,  which  related  mostly  to  the  discipline  of  the  scholars. 
"  It  is  incredible,"  says  Ernesti,  "  how  useful  Gesner  was  to  the  school ; 
not  merely  by  organizing  a  better  administration,  and  fixing  it  fast 
and  steadily  by  the  new  laws,  but  by  teaching  in  a  manner  then  new 

*  Later  educators  could  be  named,  to  whom  this  error  was  natural— »nd  i*  now 
tin  a  note  upon  Quintilian,  1,  12.  3.  Gesner  says:  "  I  believe  the  greatest  admirer  of  antiq- 
uity would  confess  that  many  Orph«>uses  and  twenty  Arions  are  all  included  in  Bach  atone, 
and  in  any  one  else  like  him,  if  there  be  any  such." 


524  JOHANN  MATTHIAS  GESNER. 

to  us,  and  exceedingly  beautiful."*  In  the  next  year,  1734,  Gesner 
left  Leipzig,  having  received  an  invitation  to  the  new  university  at 
Gottingen.  He  was  there  professor  of  eloquence  and  poetry,  and 
also  librarian.  He  was  also  made  director  of  the  philological  semi- 
nary, and  inspector  of  all  the  Hanoverian  schools;  two  important 
pedagogical  offices,  for  which  the  experience  which  he  had  gathered 
in  his  three  rectorates  had  well  fitted  him.  The  views  which,  under 
the  influence  of  Buddeus,  he  had  advanced  in  Jena,  in  1715,  he  now, 
twenty-three  years  afterward,  in  1738,  introduced  in  the  seminary  of 
Gottingen.  This  was  intended  for  giving  to  young  theologians  a 
theoretical  and  practical  training  for  the  business  of  teaching.  For 
his  lectures  upon  the  whole  of  pedagogy,  he  took,  as  a  basis,  his 
"Institutiones  rei  Scholasticce"  Besides  their  philological  studies, 
the  pupils  of  the  seminary  studied  also  pure  and  mixed  mathematics, 
natural  sciences,  and  geography.  They  practiced  teaching  in  the  city 
school  of  Gottingen.  The  most  important  of  Gesner's  lectures  are  in 
his  "Isaffoge  in  Eruditionem  Universalem  ;  "  a  scientific  encyclopedia. 
We  have  these  lectures  in  the  form  in  which  they  were  written  down 
by  a  learned  hearer,  Niclas.  When  Niclas  laid  his  manuscript  before 
Gesner,  the  latter  said:  "I  recognize  myself  in  them;  print  them." 

In  1740,  a  German  society  was  formed  in  Gottingen,  of  which 
Gesner  was  chosen  president.  Afterward,  in  1751,  was  founded  the 
Gottingen  society  of  sciences ;  at  the  head  of  the  historical  and 
philological  section  of  which  Gesner  was  placed.  He  afterward 
became  president  of  the  society. 

Notwithstanding  the  many  offices  which  required  so  much  of  his 
activity,  he  wrote  works  extraordinary  in  number  and  value.  Two 
of  them  I  have  already  mentioned.  To  these  must  be  added  many 
excellent  editions  of  the  classics;  as,  for  instance,  Livy,  Quintilian, 
Horace,  the  writers  on  agriculture,  &c.,  and  also  his  celebrated 
"Thesaurus."^  Many  of  his  single  Latin  treatises,  inscriptions,  ad- 
dresses, prefaces,  <fec.,  have  been  published,  under  the  title  "Gesneri 
Opuscula  Minora"  besides  a  similar  collection  of  German  composi- 
tions, called  ^Gesner's  Minor  German  Works" 

In  the  "Isayoge"  and  in  these  collected  Latin  and  German  writings, 
is  to  be  found  a  treasure  of  pedagogical  experience  and  opinions. 
"  May  these  instructions,"  says  Gesner,  in  the  preface  to  his  German 
writings,  "  based  upon  an  experience  of  more  than  forty  years,  and 
the  often  repeated  consideration  of  them,  have  a  good  influence  upon 

*  Ernesti'i  opinion  is  the  more  important,  as  he  was  Gesner's  successor  in  the  rectorate  of 
the  school. 

t  Ernest!  call*  the  -'Thfsauntt"  "a  very  great  and  most  laborious  and  erudite  work, 
sufficient  alone  to  secure  the  immortality  and  perennial  glory  of  his  namo." 


.IOIIAVN  MATTHIAS  GESNER.  525 

practical  teaching."  The  teaching  and  learning  of  the  ancient  lan- 
guages continues  to  have  an  especial  attraction  for  him,  a*  earlier, 
when  he  wrote  the  "Instilutiones."  In  this  department  his  views 
were  entirely  opposed  to  the  usual  ones,  especially  in  regard  to  tne 
grammars  used  in  schools.  "These  weje  originally,"  he  says,*  "in- 
tended for  facilitating  the  study  of  languages;  but,  latterly,  very 
learned  grammars  have  appeared,  which  are  as  unfit  for  teaching  the 
rudiments  of  grammar,  as  the  most  subtly  and  skillfully  made  lancet, 
for  cutting  bread."  "Children,"  he  says  further,  "should  not  be 
martyred  with  the  unintelligent  learning  by  rote  of  rules  and 
exceptions,  and  thus  be  made  to  lose  the  taste  for  study,  in  the  begin- 
ning, and  perhaps  forever."  Languages  were  made  before  grammar ; 
men  spoke  correctly  before  they  thought  of  the  art  of  speaking. 
Also,  he  says,  "  It  is  a  hundred  times  easier  to  learn  a  language  by 
use  and  practice,  without  the  grammar,  than  from  the  grammar,  with- 
out use  and  practice."  "The  latter  is  absolutely  impossible."  In 
particular,  it  is  not  necessary  to  make  the  boys  learn  Latin  rules  for 
the  gender  of  words,  &c.;  it  is  better  for  them  to  learn  a  phrase  or  a 
sentence,  in  which  the  rule  appeal's.  For  our  knowledge  every  where 
proceeds,  not  from  general  abstract  rules,  but  from  single  examples. 

He  then  speaks  against  the  general  overvaluation  of  grammatical 
knowledge.  "It  is  among  the  most  common  faults  of  Latin  instruc- 
tion," he  says,  "to  reprove  harshly,  to,  punish  or  to  ridicule,  for  any 
fault  in  the  scholar's  grammar,  as  if  he  had  sinned  against  the  laws  of 
God  and  man."  f  "  Moreover,"  he  continues,  "  those  who  need  to 
understand  Latin,  in  order  that  they  may  be  enabled  to  read  books  in 
it,  are  very  seldom  in  a  position  to  need  a  grammatical  oracle ;  and 
even  there  would  be  twenty  or  thirty  to  one,  who  would  be  in  need 
of  the  ability  to  write,  and  particularly  to  write  in  an  accurate  man- 
ner. J  These  views  of  Gesner  were  so  entirely  opposite  to  those 
of  the  day,  that  he  was  attacked  on  account  of  them  from  many 
directions,  but  mostly  under  a  misunderstanding.  "  I  reject  gram- 
mar," he  replied  to  his  opponents,  "  only  for  youth,  as  hurting  them 
more  than  helping  them.  But,  for  grown  persons,  it  is  in  the  highest 
degree  necessary." 

Here  we  must  mention  Gesner's  valuable  preface  to  his  edition  of 
Livy,  in  which  he  speaks  of  the  two  different  methods  of  reading  the 

*  See  his  German  Works,  p.  266.  And  see  p.  296,  for  a  description  of  Ihe  bad  methods  of 
teaching  language  which  were  usual  in  the  schools. 

t  In  like  manner  he  says  ("Insiitut.,"  81.)  "  It  would  have  been  betterto  speak  bart»rou*ly, 
and  think  piously,  than  to  express  an  evil  mind  even  in  the  most  elegant  word*  With  ll.n 
sentiment,  Augustine  agrees  entirely.  See  his  "Confetaions"  1,  18. 

I  Gesner  discusses  the  question  for  what,  and  to  wliat  extent,  a  knowledge  of  Latin  k*  oecw 
sary,  in  the  '-lacifogc,"  1,  114,  Ac. 


526  JOHANN  MATTHIAS  GESNER. 

classics ;  the  rapid,  and  the  slow.*  Here,  likewise,  he  sets  himself  in 
opposition  to  the  usual  customs  of  the  schools.  He  admits,  it  is  true, 
that  it  is  a  good  method  to  read,  in  the  beginning,  some  book  of  a 
reasonable  size,  or  at  least  some  part  of  it,  very  thoroughly,  for  the 
sake  both  of  obtaining  certainty  of  knowledge,  and  also  so  as  to 
learn,  as  it  were  by  example,  what  is  a  thorough  understanding  of  the 
classics.  But  he  goes  on  to  declare  himself  most  distinctly  against  the 
entire  dominion  of  the  method  of  slow  reading  in  the  schools,  which 
has  become  degenerated,  because  in  the  course  of  the  explanation  of 
one  author,  the  most  heterogeneous  things  are  lugged  in.  Thus, 
pupils  sometimes  read  for  years  together  in  one  book  of  Cicero's 
Letters,  or  the  "De  Ojficus"  divide  one  play  of  Terence,  or  one  book 
of  Ca3sar,  into  so  many  little  parts  that  even  an  extraordinary  memory 
can  not  retain  them  all. 

After  this  he  goes  on  to  describe  and  recommend  the  more  rapid 
method,  that  of  reading  in  course ;  in  which  the  scholar  endeavors, 
with  his  whole  soul  and  individual  attention,  to  fix  in  his  mind 
whatever  author  he  is  reading,  and  to  understand  him  only,  and 
enjoy  his  beauties.  He  relates  that,  when  he  has  read  Terence  in  this 
manner  to  his  scholars,  they  have  sat  with  open  mouths,  silent,  with 
eyes,  ears,  and  minds  occupied,  laughing  even,  and  thus  betraying 
their  pleasure  by  their  gestures.  But  when  he  read  the  Phcenissae 
of  Euripides  in  the  slow  way,  with  the  same  scholars,  they  sat,  it  is 
true,  with  open  mouths,  but  it  was  because  they  were  silently  gaping 
or  sleeping. 

Gesner,  as  we  have  said,  was  among  the  first  who  undertook 
earnestly  to  bring  to  pass  the  adaptation  of  the  gymnasiums  not 
only  to  such  scholars  as  were  to  pursue  a  learned  occupation,  but  for 
those  who  were  not,  also ;  and  thus,  that  in  them  real  studies  should 
be  more  practiced. 

While  he  was  thus  laboring,  earnestly,  wisely,  and  practically,  for 
the  improvement  of  schools,  he  had  also  at  heart,  during  the  twenty- 
seven  years  of  his  professorship,  the  good  of  the  university.  This 
appears  in  the  academical  prospectuses,  which,  as  professor  of  elo- 
quence, it  was  his  business  to  write.  It  will  appear  from  them,  he 
says,  "How  strenuously  it  has  been  endeavored  to  keep  in  order 
the  youth  of  the  university,  who  have  a  good  title  to  a  noble  free- 
dom, by  means  not  having  the  shape  of  strict  laws,  which  belong  to 
the  common  unreasoning  crowd,  but  that  of  a  fatherly  and  friendly 

"This  edition  of  Livy  appeared  in  Leipzig, in  173o.  The  preface  is  reprinted  in  the  "Opus- 
wla,"  7, 239. 

Ernest!  entirely  agree*  with  Gesner  on  the  point  in  question,  ana  jays  that  he  followed  his 
method  in  explaining  the  classics  in  the  Thomas  School. 


JOHANN  MATTHIAS  GE8NEII.  .      7 

address,  and  thus  to  preserve  them  from  the  dangers  into  which  so 
many  fall  by  a  misuse  of  freedom."  He  expresses  himself  in  a  clear 
and  noble  manner  in  "Considerations  upon  the  friends  of  students;" 
"  All  teachers  in  the  higher  institutions  of  learning  are,  by  their  Na- 
tion and  duty,  the  intended  and,  as  it  were,  the  born  friends  of  the 
students;"  and  it  is  their  duty  to  seek  the  good  of  the  student*, 
without  regard  to  their  own  profit.  For  this  reason,  those  who  do 
not  conceal  the  faults  of  the  students,  must  expose  themselves  to  the 
danger  of  awakening  displeasure  by  their  admonitions.  He  prays 
God  "to  keep  the  fathers  of  the  university  in  this,  the  only  right  state 
of  feeling  toward  those  intrusted  to  them,"  and  to  preserve  the 
university  free  from  "harmful  students'-friends,"  and  "hvpocrites.'' 

There  are  indications  in  the  "Itagogt*  of  the  frequency  and  plain- 
ness with  which  he  attacked  his  hearers  in  his  lectures.  He  there 
complains,  for  example,  that  while  the  sciences  have  increased,  the 
students  have  lost  in  industry.  "When  he  studied  in  Jena,  lectures 
were  given  as  early  as  five  in  the  morning ;  while  later,  the  professor 
set  the  hour  at  seven,  and  even  then  got  scarcely  a  hearer.  "  For- 
merlv,"  he  says,  "the  students  listened  to  lectures  all  the  day,  now 
they  spend  two  hours  over  their  coffee;  while  the  friseur  is  coming, 
the  curling-tongs  are  heating,  and  the  hair  frizzling,  hours  pass  away. 
To  study  after  four  or  five  in  the  evening  is  thought  by  many  a 
degrading  requisition."  In  the  programme  for  the  summer  lectures 
for  1743,  Gesner  recommends  very  earnestly  to  the  students  a  per- 
severing attendance  upon  the  lectures.  The  more  skillful  the  teacher, 
he  says,  the  more  close  the  connection  of  lectures,  so  that  by  as  much 
as  the  latter  are  based  upon  the  former,  and  they  all  constitute  one 
whole,  so  much  the  more  injurious  is  frequent  absence  to  the  student. 
And  again,  he  advises  his  hearers  to  be  attentive  during  their  lec- 
tures, as  this  stimulates  and  increases  the  zeal  of  the  teacher.  **  If 
there  be  any  thing  pleasant  in  my  books,"  says  Martial,  "  my  hearers 
have  occasioned  it."  This  is  owing  to  the  happy  influence  of  men's 
minds  upon  each  other;  and  in  like  manner  a  bad  influence  is 
exerted.  "One  gaper,"  he  continues,  "makes  the  re^t  gape.  Noth- 
inf  is  more  wearisome  than  to  instruct,  when  most  of  the  hearers  are 

3 

sleepy.  Quintilian  says,  'as  it  is  the  duty  of  the  teacher  to  teach,  so 
it  is  of  the  scholar  to  be  desirous  of  learning.'" 

We  have  seen  that  Gesner  sought  and  followed  new  methods  for 
schools;  it  should  be  also  mentioned  tl.at  he  opposed  an  academical 
custom ;  that  of  the  use  of  Latin  in  the  lectures.  Let  us  now  pnss 
to  other  points  of  distinction  between  him  and  most  of  the  philolog- 
ical pedagogues  of  his  age. 


628  JOHANN  MATTHIAS  GESNER. 

Thvj  chief  of  them  is  this ;  that  he  repeatedly  recommended  real 
studies.  Studies  in  languages,  he  said,  should  never  be  disjoined 
from  those  in  things.  This  separation  of  things,  which  are  by  their 
nature  intimately  joined  together,  is  a  real  evil.  By  reason  of  it, 
youth  learn  so  many  names,  without  one  idea  of  the  things  which  are 
named.  For  the  purpose  of  elementary  instruction,  such  books 
should  be  used  as  will  furnish  also  real  knowledge.  He  liked,  ac- 
cordingly, the  works  of  Comenius,  especially  the  "Orbis  Pictus." 
As  president  of  the  German  society  of  Gottingen,  a  place  which 
would  scarcely  have  been  offered  to  any  other  philologist  of  his 
times,  he  esteemed  those  schools  fortunate  whose  instructors,  by 
sympathy  with  that  society,  have  acquired  "  a  love  for  the  mother 
tongue,  neglected  in  so  many  ways,  and  the  ability  to  express 
themselves  well  m  it"  This  facility  is  to  be  attained,  not  by  rules, 
but  by  making  translations  from  the  masterpieces  of  the  ancient 
classics. 

Among  real  studies,  Gesner  gave  a  high  place  to  the  natural 
sciences,  in  which  such  great  advances  have  been  made  of  late  years. 
He  himself,  while  rector  in  the  Thomas  School,  attended  the  lectures 
of  Hausen,  upon  experimental  physics.  The  boys,  he  says,  ought 
certainly  to  study  drawing;  and  we  have  seen  how  high  a  value  he 
set  upon  mathematical  studies,  especially  astronomy.  "  God,"  he 
says,  "has  so  connected  them  with  the  heavens,  that  it  is  only  by  the 
observation  of  them  that  we  can  see  where  and  at  what  time  we  are 
living."  He  recognizes  geography  as  the  vestibule,  basis,  and  light 
of  history,  especially  of  that  of  the  mother  country. 

Gesner  thus  showed  himself  to  be  a  man  who  united,  with  the 
most  thorough  knowledge  and  love  of  antiquity,  a  correct  apprecia- 
tion of  real  studies;  and  who  sought  new  methods  of  teaching,  when 
he  was  convinced  of  the  faults  of  the  old.  No  one  can  imagine  that 
for  this  reasoti  he  is  to  be  classed  with  Basedow.  In  addition,  I  may 
here  give  one  extract  from  the  "Isagoge"  which  shows  clearly  how 
lie  differed  from  most  of  the  reformers  of  the  eighteenth  century  in 
his  most  fundamental  plans.  He  says:  "The  beginnings  of  all  sci- 
ences must  be  believed.*  This  is  a  very  important  rule,  especially 
at  the  present  day,  when  even  little  children  are,  from  an  early  age, 
instructed  by  their  teachers  to  believe  nothing.  As  soon  as  they 
begin  to  show  one  spark  of  understanding,  and  wisdom,  they  are 
spoken  to  of  opinions.  And  since  we  are  by  nature  only  too  much, 
inclined  to  see  every  thing  for  ourselves,  and  to  receive  nothing  by 
simple  belief,  but  to  wish  to  discover  the  truth  for  ourselves,  the  boys 

*  In  another  place  he  quote*  Aristotle's  remark,  that  "  it  in  nectseary  to  believe  what  ia 
learned." 


JOHANN  MATTHIAS  GESNER.  £>J9 

too  soon  get  the  idea  that  that  only  is  true  which  we  understand 
from  our  natural  senses ;  and  this  has  the  evil  consequence  that  they 
are  willing  to  believe  nothing,  will  not  learn  what  is  necessary,  and 
are  unwilling  to  obey  their  teachers.  Man  can  not  by  himself  gain 
the  first  elements  of  learning ;  he  must  receive  them  from  others,  and 
what  they  teach  him  he  must  believe.  If  the  boy  should  begin  to 
dispute  about  why  one  letter  is  called  A  and  another  li,  and  especially 
if  he  demands  reasons  for  it,  he  could  ask  questions  for  years  without 
learning  any  thing;  and,  moreover,  it  would  not  be  possible  to  answer 
him.  Very  often  no  account  can  be  given  of  the  first  elements  of 
things.  For  instance,  let  a  pupil  ask,  why  are  such  and  such  things 
called  point,  line,  surface?  And  let  him  take  nothing  by  belief  until 
the  reason  of  it  is  given,  and  he  will  learn  nothing  to  eternity.  I 
know  this  by  experience.  I  have  often  seen,  in  good  families,  boys  so 
precocious  as  to  ask  questions  all  day.  But  the  German  proverb  was 
true  of  them — that  a  fool  can  ask  a  thousand  times  more  question* 
than  a  wise  man  can  answer.  I  do  not  mean  by  this  that  the  utter- 
ances of  the  teacher  are  to  be  considered  as  oracles,  from  whose 
sayings  there  is  to  be  no  variation;  but  only  this,  that  as  long  as  we 
are  pupils,  we  must  take  things  by  belief.  Afterward  only,  when 
our  understanding  is  ripened,  and  we  have  become  independent,  may 
we  prove  what  we  have  learned." 

In  Gesner  we  have  thus  become  acquainted  with  a  man  distin- 
guished for  thorough  learning,  clear  understanding,  pedagogical  wis- 
dom, and  gifts  for  teaching;  and  unwearieclly  active  and  conscientious 
in  his  official  duties.  Ernesti,  who  lived  in  close  connection  with  him 
for  many  years,  describes  him  as  exceedingly  religious,  resigned  to 
the  will  of  God,  and  thus  of  like  demeanor  both  in  good  and  evil 
days,  and  as  a  loving  father  and  friend.  After  a  long  and  active  life, 
his  end  drew  near.  When  the  physicians  announced  to  him  his  ap- 
proaching death,  he  answered :  *'  What  is  to  be  settled  between  me 
and  God,  I  have  not  put  off  to  this  time."  He  departed  in  a  peace- 
ful and  Christian  manner,  August  3rd,  1761. 

2H 


JOHANN  AUGUST  ERNESTI. 

[Translated  from  the  German  of  Von  Raumer,  for  the  American  Journal  of  Education.] 


JOHANN  AUGUST  ERNESTI  was  born  in  1707,  at  Tennstiidt,  a  small 
town  of  Thuringia,  where  his  father  was  pastor.  He  received  his 
first  instruction  in  the  school  of  Tennstadt,  and,  in  his  sixteenth  year, 
he  was  placed  in  the  princes'  school  of  Schulpforte.  Here  he  distin- 
guished himself  by  his  important  acquisitions,  especially  in  Greek. 

In  his  twentieth  year  he  entered  the  University  of  Wittemberg, 
where  Wolf's  philosophy  was  in  the  bight  of  fashion;  and  after- 
ward went  to  Leipzig,  where  he  attended  the  lectures  of  Gottsched 
on  German  eloquence,  and  of  Hausen  upon  mathematics. 

When  twenty-three,  he  was,  upon  the  recommendation  of  Gesner, 
employed  as  private  tutor,  by  Counselor  of  Appeals  Stiglitz,  the  same 
to  whom  the  epistle  upon  the  study  of  the  ancients,  prefixed  to  his 
edition  of  Cicero,  is  addressed.  Stiglitz  was  superior  (antistes)  of  the. 
Thomas  School ;  it  was  by  his  influence  that  Gesner  had  been  ap- 
pointed rector,  and  it  was  he  also  who  procured  the  appointment  of 
Ernesti,  when  only  twenty -four,  as  conrector,  and  afterward,  at  the 
departure  of  Gesner,  in  1734,  as  rector.  Ernesti,  at  the  same  time, 
read  lectures  at  the  university,  upon  polite  learning.  At  a  subsequent 
period,  he  gave  up  his  rectorship,  and  devoted  his  whole  time  to  the 
university,  giving  his  attention  especially  to  theology. 

He  died  in  1781,  at  Leipzig,  aged  seventy-four. 

From  Ernesti's  own  expressions,  he  would  seem  to  have  taken 
Gesner  for  his  model  in  teaching.  The  latter  induced  him  to  publish,  in 
1734,  the  "Initia  Doctrince  Solidioris"  a  work  which  passed  through^ 
repeated  editions,  and  was  brought  into  use  as  a  school-book  in  various 
countries,  as  Saxony  and  Hanover,  for  instance.  In  this  book,  Ern- 
esti aimed  to  give  his  instructions  in  as  good  Latin  as  possible ; 
although,  as  appears  by  comparing  the  earlier  and  later  editions,* 
he  continued  to  labor  for  the  improvement  of  its  style,  and  to  approach 
nearer  and  nearer  to  his  ideal  of  Ciceronian  Latin.  In  the  preface, 
he  relates  that,  as  a  preparatory  discipline  for  this  work,  he  read  the 
best  Latin  writers  of  the  golden  age,  and,  where  this  would  not  serve, 

•  The  very  first  period  of  the  hook  will  serve  an  au  example.  In  the  edition  of  1734,  it 
reads,  "Cum  ad  libellum  hunc  scribendum  adjiceremus  animum,  facile  prrtvidebamus^furc 
ut  /ioc  conailium  nostrum  in  miillaa  multorum  reprehcnsiones  incurrere! ."  Instead  of  facile 
prizvidebamng,  the  edition  of  1750  has  nun  parun  suipicaljamur. 


JOHANN  AUGUST  ERNESTI.  ggj 

those  of  the  silver  age,  repeatedly  over.  Thus,  he  says,  he  believes 
that  he  has  succeeded  in  not  admitting  any  thing  into  his  book  which 
was  not  heard  in  ancient  Latium.*  Only  from  necessity  has  he  here 
and  there  used  an  unclassical  expression. 

From  this  saying  of  Nihil  veteri  Latio  inauditum,  it  might  natu- 
rally be  concluded  that  the  book  would  contain  nothing  which  had 
not  been  heard  in  ancient  Latium.  And  this  conclusion  would  be, 
for  the  greater  part  of  the  book,  correct.  It  treats,  first,  of  arith- 
metic and  geometry ;  then  come  the  elements  of  philosophy,  in  this 
order:  1st,  metaphysics,  psychology,  ontology,  natural  theology;  2nd, 
dialectics;  3rd,  natural  law,  and  ethics;  4th,  politics;  5th,  physics. 
In  conclusion,  come  the  elements  of  rhetoric.  This  table  of  contents 
reminds  us  of  the  cyclus  of  Melancthon's  text-books;  of  his  dialec- 
tics, rhetoric,  physics,  psychology,  and  ethics.  All  acquainted  with  the 
subject  will  readily  believe  that  Ernesti's  book  would  not  be  adapted 
to  our  present  gymnasiums.  The  mathematical  part  may  appear 
to  us  scanty;  but  when  we  consider  that,  by  the  Prussian  school 
ordinances  of  the  year  1735,  one  year  after  the  appearance  of  the 
"Initia"  no  knowledge  of  mathematics  whatever  was  required  of  those 
•  graduating  from  the  gymnasiums,  we  shall  retract  that  opinion. 

Philosophical  subjects  are  handled  at  length  in  about  four  hundred 
and  fifty  pages.  The  fact  that  Christianity  is  here  completely  ignored, 
while,  nevertheless,  so  many  things  must  come  up  which  have  been 
known  to  the  pupils  by  means  of  their  catechetical  studies,  must  be 
set  down  as  an  entire  error.  If,  according  to  Picus  of  Mirandola, 
philosophy  seeks  truth,  theology  finds  it,  and  religion  possesses  it,  it 
could  not  but  be  strange,  to  such  as  had  possessed  it  from  an  early 
age,  to  be  set  to  searching  for  that  of  which  they  were  already  in 
possession.  It  would  be  quite  otherwise  if  the  manual  should  contain 
a  comparative  description  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  theology  by  the 
side  of  the  Christian,  although  gymnasium  pupils  are  not  old  enough 
even  for  such  a  treatise. 

It  is  quite  mysterious  how  Ernesti  should  have  inserted  in  his 
school-book  such  chapters  as  this:  De  conjugii  felicitate  consequent, 
and  De  euro  subolis.  Of  this  latter  chapter  we  must  say  a  little 
more.  In  it  Ernesti  expresses  views  upon  education,  which  agree  in 
part  with  the  earlier  ones  of  Locke,  and  in  part  with  the  later  ones  of 
Rousseau.  He  discusses  procreation,  and  the  management  of  pregnant 
women;  urges  that  the  mother  should  herself  nurse  her  children,  and 
not  give  them  into  the  charge  of  untrustworthy  nurses;  and  ho 

•  Still,  Ernesti  by  no  means  belonged  to  those  philologists  who  read  Ihe  ancients  only  with 
the  design  of  patching  together  a  Latin  style,  by  picking  scraps  out  of  them.  AJJIO*  that 
kind  of  reading  he  declared  himstlf  most  decidedly,  in  his  letter  to  Stigliu. 


532  JOHANN  AUGUST  ERNESTI. 

refers  to  Gellius,  for  the  like  advice.  Mothers,  he  says  further,  must 
not  give  their  own  children  to  nurses,  but  must  themselves  educate 
them;  and,  if  the?  do  this,  they  will  be  beloved  by  the  children.  If 
parents  command  or  forbid  any  thing,  they  should  give  the  reasons 
for  it;  for  otherwise  they  are  obeyed  unwillingly,  and  would  rather 
be  led  than  driven.  Parents  should  not  require  their  children  to  be 
free  from  faults,  and  should  not  be  alternately  forgiving  and  un- 
reasonably strict.  Instruction  should  be  such,  not  that  the  children 
shall  believe  blindly  in  any  thing,  but  only  in  what  is  given  them  as 
the  foundation  of  their  belief;  and  they  should  make  inquiries  for  the 
reasons  of  things.  Thus  they  will  be  kept  from  credulity,  supersti- 
tion, and  prejudices.  Care  should  also  be  taken,  not  to  fill  their 
memories,  like  those  of  parrots,  with  empty  or  unintelligible  words. 

Ernesti  recommends  care  in  the  choice  of  teachers,  and  in  deter- 
mining upon  the  future  occupation  of  the  children.  They  should 
early  be  taught  a  love  of  true  honor,  the  right  use  of  money,  and 
truthfulness. 

Such  pedagogical  rules  as  these  would  hardly  be  expected  from 
the  strict  philologist  of  the  old  school.  It  is  certain  that  the  profound, 
universally  learned  Gesner,  who  had  pursued  freely  so  many  lines- 
of  investigation,  had  the  greatest  influence  upon  Ernesti  in  this  re- 
spect What  I  have  given  from  the  writings  of  both  these  men,  will 
be  sufficient  to  show  the  reader  what  they  were,  and  that  although  in 
general  philologists  of  conservative  character,  yet  they  were  not  blind 
to  the  faults  of  antiquity,  and  sought  and  followed  new  ways;  and, 
therefore,  that  they  are  entitled  to  a  place  between  the  adherents  of 
the  old  pedagogy  and  the  new.  They  can  be  compared  only  to 
Trotzendprf  and  Sturm  on  the  one  side,  and  to  Locke  and  Rousseau 
on  the  other. 


JOHANN   GEORG  HAMANN. 

[Trantlated  for  the  American  Journal  of  Education,  from  the  German  of  K«rl  von  Raoroet.] 


JOHANN  GEORG  HAMANN  was  born  at  Konigsberg,  August  27, 
1730.  His  father  was  a  respectable  man,  and  "a  much  beloved 
practitioner,  who  preferred  the  family  name  of  an  Altstadt  surgeon, 
to  all  the  titles  of  honor,  then  so  cheap."  *  He  was  born  in  Lusa- 
tia,  and  his  wife,  Hamann's  mother,  in  Lubeck ;  they  had  another 
son,  younger  than  Johann  Georg.  Hamann  relates  that  both  his 
parents  were  "enemies  of  idleness,  and  friends  of  divine  and  human 
order."f  "They  were  not  satisfied,"  he  continues,  "  with  the  mere 
form  of  their  duty  and  the  ceremonial  of  education,  which,  to  the 
shame  of  too  many  parents,  suffices  them  in  caring  for  their  children; 
but  they  had  our  good  for  an  object,  and  did  as  much  for  it  as  their 
circumstances  and  knowledge  permitted.  Our  instructor  had  to  give 
account  to  them  of  our  industry  and  progress;  and  our  home  was  a 
school,  under  the  strict  oversight,  and  with  the  example,  of  our 
parents.  Lying,  mischief,  and  stealing,  were  three  capital  offenses, 
which  were  not  to  be  pardoned.  We  were  rather  educated  at  a  pro- 
fuse expense,  than  parsimoniously.  But  it  is  good  economy  and 
management  in  this  matter  which  is  the  best  policy." 

Hamann  received  his  first  school  instruction  from  a  teacher  who 
tried  to  teach  him  Latin  without  grammar.J  From  a  second  teacher 
he  learned,  as  he  relates,  to  translate  a  Latin  author  into  German, 
without  understanding  either  the  language  or  the  meaning  of  his 
author.  "Thus,"  he  says,  "my  Latin  and  Greek  were  mere  collec- 
tions of  words;  compositors'  work;  conjuring  tricks;  in  which  my 
memory  overworked  itself,  and  by  means  of  which  the  other  mental 
faculties  became  weakened,  proper  and  .healthful  nourishment  being 
wanting."  By  means  of  drilling,  he  made  much  progress  in  arithme 
tic ;  but  such  a  knowledge  of  it  is  useless  to  children  who  "  are  mado 
to  acquire  facility  in  it,  without  observation  or  understanding."  "  It 
is,"  continues  Hamann,  "as  it  is  in  music;  where  not  the  fingers  only 
but  chiefly  the  ear  and  the  hearing,  must  be  taught  and  exercised. 
One  who  has  learned  one  piece,  or  a  hundred,  ever  so  fluently  and 
correct!}*,  without  a  feeling  of  the  harmony,  plays  like  a  dancing 

•  Hamann's  Works,  7,  76,  161.       t  Ib.,  1, 153.        :  Ib  ,  156,  Ac. 


534  JOHANN  GEORG  HAMANN. 

bear  in  comparison  even  with  the  most  miserable  fiddler,  who  knows 
how  to  express  his  own  ideas.'' 

Although  in  this  species  of  study  it  was  Hamann's  memory  which 
was  mostly  put  in  requisition,  he  still  complains  that  it  was  weakened 
by  it.  This  is  an  experience  well  worth  remembering ;  and  warns  us 
against  pushing  the  exercises  of  single  mental  faculties  to  the  point 
of  wearing  out.*  "An  edge  too  sharp  gets  notched." 

Hamann  makes  valuable  pedagogical  observations  upon  his  state- 
ment; for  the  reason  that  education  "is  so  important  a  work;"  and 
because  he  "feels  in  his  heart  a  plain  call  from  God  to  feed  his 
lambs." 

"  An  intelligent  teacher,"  he  says,  "  must  enter  his  school  in  dependence  upon 
God  and  himself,  if  he  is  to  administer  his  office  wisely.  He  must  also  imitate 
God,  as  he  reveals  himself  iu  nature  and  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  in  our  own 
souls,  through  them  both.  Almighty  God,  to  whom  nothing  costs  any  thing,  is  a 
most  economical  and  patient  God.  The  law  of  economy  of  time,  in  accordance 
with  which  he  waits  patiently  for  fruit  to  ripen,  should  be  our  pattern.  It  is  of 
importance,  not  what,  or  how  much,  children  or  men  know ;  but  how  they  know 
it."  "  The  means  used  for  instructing  children  can  not  be  simple  enough.  But 
they  must,  besides  efficiency,  possess  the  qualities  of  manifold  and  fruitful  applica- 
bility and  practicability." 

''  Learning  foreign  languages  should  be  a  help  to  the  understanding  of  the 
mother  tongue;  and, although  it  may  seem  to  be  a  mere  exercise  of  memory, 
they  should  be  made  a  preparation  and  training  of  all  powers  of  the  mind  for 
higher,  more  important,  more  difficult,  and  even  religious  subjects." 

Such  and  other  observations  were  made  by  Hamann,  at  the  age  of  eight  and 
twenty,  upon  the  education  which  he  had  received.  He  remarks,  in  concluding 
them,  "  Complete  accomplishment,  in  the  usual  acceptation  of  the  term,  consists  in 
remoteness  from  nature.  How  unnatural  have  fashions  and  customs  made  us,  and 
how  difficult  would  it  be  for  us  to  return  from  the  present  time  to  the  sim- 
plicity and  innocence  of  ancient  manners?  " 

Hamann  was  matriculated  at  Konigsberg,  in  his  sixteenth  year,  in 
1746.  He  very  soon,  however,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  connected 
the  occupations  of  the  teacher  with  those  of  the  student.  In  1752, 
he  became  tutor  in  the  family  of  a  Baroness  B.,  in  Livonia,  twelve 
miles  from  Riga.  He  describes  the  family. 

Besides  a  boy  nine  years  old,  who  looked  very  shy,  awkward,  and  effeminate, 
there  were  a  younger  sister,  and  an  orphan  girl,  whom  the  baroness  was  bring- 
ing up.  My  beginning  in  my  new  calling  was  difficult  enough.  I  had  to  man- 
age myself,  my  pupils,  and  an  uncouth,  coarse,  and  ignorant  mother.  I  harnessed 
myself  to  the  plough  like  a  spirited  horse  ;  with  great  zeal,  sincere  intentions,  lit- 
tle wisdom,  and  too  much  confidence  in  myself,  and  dependence  upon  human 
weaknesses,  in  consideration  of  the  good  which  I  was  doing  or  was  intending  to 
do.  We  are  naturally  inclined  to  overestimate  our  own  efforts,  to  expect  their 
efficiency  as  an  unavoidable  matter  of  course,  and  to  estimate  the  duties  of  others, 
and  expect  the  performance  of  them,  by  the  standard  of  our  own  opinions  and  pref- 
erences. The  husbandman  can  not,  from  his  careful  husbandry  alone,  promise 
himself  a  hundred  fold  return.  The  land,  the  weather,  the  character  of  the  seed, 
some  small  insect,  all  of  which  are  things  beyond  the  scope  of  his  powers,  have 
their  part  to  piny ;  and,  above  all,  is  the  blessing  of  the  divine  oversight  and  gov- 
ernment. I  expected  that  my  labors  would  be  recognized  by  men  ;  admired  by 
'.hem ;  and  even  that  they  would  redound  to  their  shnme.  Such  are  impure  de- 

*  The  fact  reminds  us  of  the  unlimited  memorizing  of  the  schools  of  Jacotot  and  Ruthardt 


JOI1ANN  GEORO  HAMANN.  535 

sires ;  they  pervert  our  efforts,  and  bring  disgrace  upon  them.  I  wrote  two  let- 
ters to  the  baroness,  upon  the  education  of  her  son ;  which  were  intended  to 
awaken  her  conscience. 

One  of  these  letters  referred  to  Las  been  preserved.  Its  content* 
are  as  follows : — 

As  I  am  no  longer  able  to  say  any  thing  which  makes  an  impression  upon  the 
baron,  I  feel  my  resources  exhausted,  and  am  in  despair  of  doing  him  any  good. 
I  find  myself,  in  teaching  him  Latin,  under  the  daily  necessity  of  repealing  over 
again  what  I  said  on  the  first  day  of  my  instruction.  I  see  before  me  a  human 
body,  which  has  eyes  and  ears,  without  using  them  ;  of  whose  mind  we  may  well 
despair,  since  it  is  always  occupied  with  childish  and  silly  pursuit*,  and  is  thus 
useless  for  the  slightest  serious  occupation.  I  shall  not  blame  your  grace,  if  you 
shall  think  this  statement  calumnious  and  false.  It  has  cost  me  enough  to  find 
out  its  truth  by  hourly  experience  ;  and  there  have  been  occasions  when  I  liave 
lamented  the  future  fate  of  the  baron,  much  more  than  my  own  present  lot.  I 
have  no  desire  that  time  and  sad  experience  shall  prove  the  truth  of  my  expecta- 
tions regarding  him.  I  can  pay  attention  neither  to  arithmetic,  in  which  the 
baron  is  so  little  advanced  that  I  have  had  to  teach  him  to  write  and  name  the 
numerals,  nor  to  French  and  other  subordinate  studies  ;  for  the  greater  the  num- 
ber of  things  which  I  undertake  with  him,  the  more  inattentive  does  he  become. 
One  who  can  not  read  a  language  which  is  pronounced  according  to  the  sounds 
of  its  letters,  is  in  no  situation  to  learn  another  which  is  pronounced  by  rule*, 
like  the  French.  I  therefore  take  upon  myself  the  freedom  of  requesting  of  your 
grace  some  assistance  in  my  work.  It  will  be  necessary  to  apply  some  compulsion 
to  the  baron,  since  he  has  not  the  good  sense,  or  the  natural  inclination,  of  his 
own  free  choice,  to  prefer  what  is  for  his  own  honor  and  happiness.  Conscientious 
parents  bear  in  mind  the  account  which  they  must  one  day  render  of  the  educa- 
tion of  their  children,  to  God  and  to  the  world.  These  young  creatures  have  hu- 
man souls  ;  and  we  are  not  at  liberty  to  change  them  into  dolls,  apes,  parrots,  or 
something  still  worse.  I  have  taken  occasion  to  set  before  your  grace  the  feel- 
ings and  views  of  a  reasonable  and  tender  mother,  for  the  reason  that  I  am  con- 
vinced of  the  profound  interest  which  you  feel  in  the  education  of  your  only  son. 
You  will  not  do  too  much  credit  to  your  tutor,  if  you  consider  him  a  man  who 
loves  his  duty  more  than  he  seeks  to  please. 

"  My  letter  was  not  understood,"  continues  Ilamann  in  his  narra- 
tive, "  and  I  had  poured  oil  upon  the  fire."  lie  gives  a  fuller  account 
of  this  in  the  following  letter  to  his  father. 

"On  the  14th  of  this  month,  on  Friday,  when  the  baroness  fasts, 
I  received,  after  dinner,  the  following  autograph  letter  from  her,  by 
the  footman,  a  quarter  of  an  hour  after  the  young  baron  had  come 
down,  as  pale  as  a  corpse.  I  had  eaten  below. 

HKRH  HAMANN  :* — As  you  have  shown  yourself  altogether  unfit  for  the  in- 
struction of  children  of  condition,  and  as  the  low  letter  does  not  please  me,  in 
which  you  describe  my  son  in  so  vulgar  and  disgraceful  a  manner,  perhaps  you 
could  not  judge  of  him  otherwise  than  by  your  own  pattern.     I  see  in  you  only 
a  statue  huu«  round  with  a  great  many  books,  which  by  no  means  constitutes  i 
good  tutor  •  and,  as  you  have  written  to  me  that  you  have  sold  your  freedom  and 
peace  of  mind  for  a  number  of  years  at  too  dear  a  rate,  I  wdl  neither  have  y 
supposed  skill  nor  your  time  paid  for  in  my  house  :  I  need  you  no  longer  nbo< 
children ;  make  ready  to  journey  hence  on  Monday. 

"  The  young  baron  had  been  sent  for  up  stair?,  just  as  I  rocei 
letter  of  dismission.     The  baroness  was  bathingjj»nd^did  not  know 

"  •  This  note  is.  in  the  German,  extremely  mi8Spellc,rmi.,.unctu..ed,  ».„!  ">>*"  In  eft 
of  words.    These  characteristics  could  not  well  be  accurately  jiven  in  the  Enjl.at 


530  JOHANN  GEORG  IIAMANN. 

why  the  young  baron  did  not  come  down.  I  therefore  sent  word  to 
him  to  corne.  He  came  to  me,  crying,  and  made  excuses  for  himself; 
he  had  repeatedly  asked  the  baroness  to  permit  him  to  come  down, 
but  she  had  forbidden  him  to  see  me  again.  He  fell  upon  my  neck, 
crying,  and  his  affectionate  demeanor  affected  me.  I  made  the  best 
use  possible  of  my  quarter  of  an  hour  with  him ;  and  explained  to 
him  all  the  sincerity  and  tenderness  which  I  had  used  in  teaching 
him.  He  embraced  me  closely,  with  tears.  The  baroness  was  told 
that  her  son  was  with  me.  She  sent  for  him  immediately,  and  forbid 
him  anew  to  see  me.  He  crept  secretly  through  the  garden  to  the 
window,  knocked,  and  wished  me  good  night,  with  a  sorrow  which  was 
evidently  sincere.  On  Saturday  he  wrote  me  two  letters  from  his 
imprisonment,  one  of  which  I  answered.  On  Monday  I  was  about 
departing,  and  sent  my  servant  to  the  baroness  to  request  permission 
to  take  leave.  He  brought  me  back  word  that  she  desired  to  be  ex- 
cused, being  occupied  ;  and  that  she  wished  me  all  manner  of  good. 
I  gave  a  nod  to  the  baron,  who  was  standing  in  one  of  the  rooms 
above ;  he  ran  up  to  me,  and  I  embraced  him.  After  I  had  taken 
my  seat  in  the  carriage,  he  came  to  me  again,  and  again  fell  upon 
my  neck." 

A  few  months  afterward,  Hamann  obtained  a  second  tutorship ;  in 
relation  to  which  he  says :- — 

In  1753,  in  the  most  beautiful  season  of  the  year,  I  went  into  Courland,  to 
General  W.,  whose  wife  was  born  Countess  de  K.,  and  who  had  two  sons.  In 
this  place  I  was  the  sueeessor  of  two  tutors,  who  had  been  employed  together ; 
of  whom  one  was  a  windbag  and  vulgar,  and  the  other  a  shallow-minded  fellow. 
I  found  the  two  boys  to  be  of  a  very  different  character  from  that  of  my  baron. 
They  needed  much  more  discipline,  watching,  and  keenness,  and  much  more  was 
to  be  hoped  from  them  ;  as  the  eldest  had  great  capacity,  although  I  was  never 
able  to  take  as  much  pleasure  in  his  natural  tendencies,  as  in  those  of  my  first 
pupil.  God  granted  me  many  favors  in  this  household,  both  from  parents  and 
children,  and,  indeed,  from  all  in  the  family.  I  presumed  too  much,  also,  upon 
my  position,  and  made  too  great  requisitions  in  return  for  my  services.  I  be- 
came restless,  impatient,  and  ill-tempered,  to  an  extreme  ;  and  had  much  difficul- 
ty in  staying  out  my  year,  at  the  end  of  which  I  went  back  to  Riga,  with  much 
melancholy,  ill-will,  anger,  and  some  disgrace. 

After  a  little  time,  he  undertook  the  same  appointment  again  ;  but 
the  last  sickness  of  his  mother  called  him  back  to  Konigsberg,  in 
1756.*  From  that  city  he  wont  to  Berlin,  Lubeck,  Amsterdam,  and 
finally  to  London,  where  he  remained  from  April  18th,  1757,  to  June 
27th,  1758,  as  correspondent  of  a  mercantile  house  at  Riga.  Here, 
by  means  of  a  foolish  and  dissipated  course  of  life,  he  fell  into  a 
miserable  and  needy  condition,  both  physical  and  mental.  In  these 

*  His  correspondence  with  his  two  pupils  and  their  subsequent  tutor,  G.  E.  Lindner,  are 
of  educational  value.  Ilamanii  himself  was,  however,  afterward  not  altogether  satisfied  with 
Ink  own  letter*. 


JOHANN  OEORO  I1AMANN.  527 

« ircumstances  he  applied  himself  to  the  reading  of  the  Bible,  and 
found  himself  wonderfully  attracted,  enlightened,  encouraged,  and 
even  converted,  by  it.  How  profound  its  influence  was  upon  him  ia 
shown  by  the  deep  feeling  of  the  "Biblical  Observations  of  a  Chris- 
tian? which  ho  wrote  in  London  at  that  time.  From  this  time  for- 
wird,  the  Holy  Scriptures  were,  to  him,  an  immovable  foundation, 
the  unconditional  highest  rule  of  his  thoughts  and  actions,  and  of  his 
whole  life.  <;  God,"  he  said,  "  has  made  me  a  man  fortified  by  the 
Bible."  Toward  the  end  of  his  stay  in  London,  he  wrote  the  "  Re- 
flections upon  the  Course  of  my  Life  ;"  a  confession,  written  in  bit- 
ter earnest,  and  concealing  nothing.* 

In  1758,  Hamann's  brother  was  appointed  a  teacher  in  the  cathe- 
dral school  at  Riga,  Hamann  was  concerned,  and,  as  the  sequel 
showed,  with  good  reason,  about  his  "  indifference."  "  My  brother," 
he  wrote  to  his  father,  "  has  good  reason  to  recognize  his  inefficiency, 
like  Solomon ;  to  see  in  himself  a  child,  who  knows  neither  his  com- 
ing in  nor  his  going  out;  and  to  ask  for  an  obedient  and  understand- 
ing heart,  that  he  may  be  able  to  feed  with  faithfulness,  and  govern 
with  industry,  the  flock  intrusted  to  him."  Subsequently,  he  repeat- 
edly encouraged,  instructed,  warned,  and  reproved  his  brother.  When 
he  was  to  deliver  an  address  at  an  examination,  he  wrote  to  him  as 
follows  :  "  When  it  becomes  your  duty  to  speak  at  the  examin?ition, 
speak  so  that  the  children  can  understand  you;  and  have  more  re- 
gard for  the  impression  which  you  can  make  upon  them,  than  for  the 
approval  of  learned  and  witty  dilettanti.  You  call  your  work  a  yoke. 
It  is  an  excellent  thing  for  a  man  to  bear  the  yoke  in  his  youth.*' 

At  another  time  he  admonished  him  to  perform,  conscientiously, 
the  duties  of  his  office  ;  arid  adds  :  "  You  are  determined  to  be  better 
than  other  people ;  and  will  not  use  the  summer  for  the  purpose  fur 
which  it  was  given  to  men, — to  behold  and  enjoy  God's  friendliness 
to  them.  \Vhat  folly  to  write  that  so  doing  would  be  to  be  more  in- 
quisitive than  God  meant ;  especially  when  you  are  capable  of  under- 
standing and  applying  that  pleasure !  In  this  way,  every  thing  in 
you  remains  dead  and  unfruitful."  Hamann's  admonitions  were, 
however,  little  regarded  by  his  brother. 

He  wrote  to  him  again :  "  You  will  not  make  use  of  what  men  put 
into  your  hand.  Your  scholars  will  always  imitate  you ;  they  will 

*  From  this  work  much  of  the  above  account  i«  taken.  It  reff  mb'rn  Au*ii»tme'»  "Ckm- 
fessiom,"  in  grade  and  in  character  ;  ami  is,  to  a  corre*pondiog  drjree,  fundamentally  dif- 
ferent from  Rousseau's  How  entirely  it  was  misunderstood  by  II. minim  -  mot  intimate 
friends,  is  shown  by  a  letter  from  Hamann  to  J.  O.  Lindner.  Kminmt  later  wnfer*.  who 
have  misjudged  Hamann,  should  consider  what  lie  ta\a  to  Lindner:  '•  My  -Count  if  my 
Life  '  can  not  be  read  hastily  and  superficially.  Herr  B.  must  lire  longer,  and  have  ttifftreot 
experiences,  from  his  previous  ones,  before  he  can  understand  larje  portions  of  iL" 


538  JOIIANN  GEORG  HAMANN. 

never  learn  correctly,  if  you  do  not  teach  them  correctly.  You  are  as 
silent  with  me  about  your  school  matters  as  if  they  were  state  secrets. 
If  you  were  well  aware  of  the  importance  of  your  station,  would  not 
your  pleasure  in  it,  and  ideas  springing  from  it,  show  themselves  in  a 
hundred  different  ways, — in  questions,  remarks,  observations?''  Fur- 
ther on,  he  says :  "  If  it  is  painful  to  you  to  pass  your  time  in  teaching,  go 
to  your  class  a<<  a  scholar,  and  look  upon  your  young  people  as  so 
many  actual  coflaboratores,  who  are  instructing  you ;  go  among  them 
with  a  multitude  of  questions,  and  you  will  feel  such  an  impatience 
of  curiosity  in  the  beginning  of  the  lesson,  and  will  carry  away  home 
with  you  such  a  multitude  of  scholar's  reflections,  as  if  you  were 
comparing  and  examining  the  teachings  of  a  whole  crowd  of  teach- 
ers at  once.  He  who  will  not  learn  from  the  children,  will  be  unin- 
telligent and  mistaken  in  their  conduct  to  them." 

Harnann  had  recommended  to  his  brother  a  Greek  grammar,  by 
Wagner.  His  brother  answered  that  "it  was  otherwise  very  good, 
but  somewhat  too  short,  and  a  mere  skeleton."  To  this  Ilamann  re- 
plies :  "A  skeleton  must  necessarily  be  dry  and  uncomely  to  the  eye, 
being  deprived  of  blood,  sinews,  and  muscles  ;  but  otherwise  it  would 
be  a  carcass.  The  spirit  of  the  teacher  must  clothe  and  inspire  these 
dry  bones.  Such  is  the  office,  in  instruction,  of  the  viva  vox  ;  which 
is  the  daughter  of  living  knowledge,  and  not  a  mere  vox  humana,  an 
organ-pipe.  Profound  views  are  not  easy.  They  must  be  worked 
for  and  created." 

All  Hamann's  admonitions  were,  however,  in  vain ;  in  1760  his 
brother  gave  up  his  place  as  teacher  in  Riga,  and  "from  that  time  to 
1778  lived  at  Konigsberg,  in  empty  leisure  and  even  in  foolishness." 

From  1752  to  1787,  Hamann  lived  almost  entirely  at  Konigsberg. 
During  four  years,  1759-1763,  he  was  occupied  in  waiting  upon  his 
aged  and  sickly  father.  In  1767,  he  received  an  appointment  as  sec- 
retary and  translator  in  the  excise  department;  in  1777,  became  a 
warehouse  inspector;  and,  in  1787,  was  put  on  the  retired  list. 

From  his  marriage  (a  marriage  of  conscience,)  he  had  four  chil- 
dren ;  one  son,  Johann  Michel,  born  in  1769,  and  three  daughters. 
His  children  were  the  occasion  of  a  new  pedagogical  epoch  for  him. 
Clear-minded  and  conscientious,  and  deceived  by  no  foolish  parental 
partialities,  he  was  often  made  unhappy  by  reflecting  upon  the  pros- 
pects of  his  children.  "  What  a  wonderfully  poor  specimen  I  am  of 
a  father,"  he  writes  to  Herder,  "  can  not  be  imagined.  A  real  hen, 
that  has  hatched  ducks'  eggs."  In  1776,  he  writes  quite  discouraged 
about  himself.  "My  three  children  have  cost  their  mother,  although 
she  is  a  pretty  tough  daughter  of  Adam,  and  myself,  much  real  sorrow. 


JOHANN  GEORG  HAMAKN.  £39 

Yesterday  my  eldest  daughter  foil  down  the  whole  flight  of  stain*. 
The  holy  angels  in  heaven  themselves  could  not  take  care  of  chil- 
dren ;  let  alone  educating  them.  God  be  praised,  she  was  not  in- 
jured. With  my  Hans  Michel  every  thing  goes  crab  fashion ;  the 
boy  is  forgetting  his  good  intentions  and  his  good  mannets.  This  i» 
my  greatest  trouble  ;  which  causes  me  anguish  and  gray  hairs ;  that 
I  myself  can  do  nothing  for  his  education,  and  can  devote  so  little 
means  to  it.  I  had,  one  Sunday,  the  horrid  idea  of  packing  him  off, 
neck  and  heels,  to  the  Pontifex  Maximus,  at  Dessau.*  That  heat 
soon  cooled;  but  the  worm  is  still  gnawing  at  my  heart,  in  respect 
to  what  I  shall  do  with  the  boy.  I  have  little  enough  of  family  joys, 
though  they  are  the  only  heaven  upon  earth  ;  but  family  sorrows  are, 
also,  a  real  hell ;  at  least  they  were  so  for  David  and  the  patriarchs. 
The  Spirit  of  God  and  the  Son  of  Man  are  the  only  schoolmasters 
for  such  things." 

Herder  encouraged  his  despairing  friend.  "  With  regard  to  the 
education  of  your  Hans  Michel,"  he  wrote,  "do  not  distress  your- 
self; nothing  will  be  gained  by  doing  so.  Have  yet  a  little  patience. 
I  have  just  come  back  from  seeing  tliePontifex  Maximus,  in  Dessau; 
and  my  own  boy  is  growing  up.  But,  if  God  will,  he  shall  never  see 
him  nor  have  him.  His  whole  establishment  is  a  frightful  thing  to 
me ;  a  hot-house,  or  rather  a  pen  full  of  human  geese.  My  brother- 
in-law,  the  forester,  who  was  here  lately,  was  telling  me  of  a  new 
method  to  raise  oaks  in  ten  years,  as  large  as  now  grow  in  fifty  or  a 
hundred.  By  cutting  oft'  the  tap-root  of  the  young  trees,  it  is  said, 
the  whole  strength  comes  up  above  ground  in  stem  and  fruit.  The  whole 
secret  of  Basedow's  plans,  I  believe,  is  such  a  one;  and,  since  I  know 
him  personally,  I  would  not  give  him  a  calf  to  instruct,  much  less  a 
man.  In  short,  my  dear  fellow,  let  your  passion  pass  off;  and  wait, 
as  a  husbandman  does,  for  the  good  fruits  of  the  earth."f 

But  Hamann's  solicitude  for  his  children  did  not  leave  him.  In 
1782,  six  years  afterward,  he  wrote,  by  way  of  consolation,  to  Heich- 
ardt,  who  had  lost  a  son  : — 

"  What  abundance  of  care,  vexation,  and  solicitude,  do  you  escape  ! 
The  greater  the  love  of  a  father,  the  more  mortal  are  his  cares,  and 
the  more  infernal  his  sorrows.  The  higher  the  endowments  of  our 
children,  the  greater  the  danger  of  their  going  astray  and  being 

*  Oascdow,  who  was,  in  1776,  at  the  culmination  of  his  fame. 

t  This  excellent  letter  of  Herder's  is  worth  comparing  with  the  gr*«l  hope*  which  Kanl 
and  Oberlin  conceived  of  the  Philanlhropimini.  llamann  himstlf  wid  of  it, u  Oawdow'* 
Philanthrnpinum  is  a  most  remarkable  phenomenon.  Hi*  laushable  Programme  lo  Cosmo- 
politans yesterday  caus<d  me  much  interest  anil  much  reflection.  A  revolution  of  mind, 
and  of  our  earth,  or.  at  least,  of  the  smallest  parts  of  it,  seem*  to  b.-  m  fermentation." 


540  JOHANN  GEORO  HAMANN. 

ruined,  in  a  world  which  lies  in  sin ;  and  no  enemy  is  so  dangerous 
as  our  own  tenderness,  which  is  blind  in  more  than  one  sense;  our 
idle  vanity,  in  managing  them  as  if  they  were  creatures  of  our  own ; 
and  our  foolish  assiduity  to  impress  upon  them  I  know  not  what  ideal 
of  our  own  likeness  and  name."* 

Hamann  saw  quite  clearly  where  the  faults  lay  in  his  education  of 
his  son.  His  own  peculiar  and  remarkable  gift  at  learning  languages 
and  at  reading  books,  led  him  astray  into  the  attempt  to  "impress 
upon  his  son  an  ideal  of  his  own  likeness  and  name."  In  1780,  when 
the  boy  was  eleven  years  old,  he  read  Plato's  Phaedon  with  him ; 
two  years  afterward,  the  ^Eneid,  the  Iliad,  the  Pentateuch,  in  the 
original,  and  the  New  Testament,  for  the  sixth  time ;  in  his  four- 
teenth year,  the  boy  learned  English,  French,  and  Polish,  and  read 
Pindar. 

In  1783,  at  the  urgent  entreaty  of  his  friend,  Privy  Councilor  Lind- 
ner, in  Mittau,  Hamann  consented  to  take  charge  of  his  son,  eight- 
een years  old. 

"  His  capacity,  or  want  of  it,  for  languages,"  he  wrote  to  his  fa- 
ther, "  I  have  not  examined,  nor  could  I.  After  some  trials  of  his 
candor  and  discretion,  his  assurance  was  sufficient,  that  he  had,  as 
yet,  made  no  serious  attack  upon  the  learned  languages."  Afterward 
he  says  that  young  Lindner  is  to  study  drawing  and  mathematics, 
along  with  his  own  son.  He  is  to  study,  with  Hamann,  Latin,  Greek, 
if  he  has  opportunity,  French,  English ;  and  four  other  languages, 
when  the  occasion  shall  serve.  After  this  a  retrogression  begins  to 
appear.  Hamann  writes  to  his  father,  "  We  have  this  week  been  es- 
pecially at  work  upon  Latin,  and  next  to  that  with  French ;  in  which 
departments,  the  otherwise  strict  routine  of  his  training  seems  to  have 
been  departed  from.  In  regard  to  style,  as  much  care  will  be  taken 
with  reference  to  the  fundamental  principles  and  the  genius  of  his 
mother  tongue,  as  with  any  of  the  other  languages.  I  am  not  in  a 
condition  to  meddle  with  chrestomathies  or  school  exercises;  for  all 
that  I  know  about  them  is  contained  in  this  one  line,  '  Scribcndi  rec- 
le  sapere  est  et  principium  etfons.' " 

An  uncle  took  the  young  man  to  a  masquerade,  and  he  found 
other  diversions.  Hamann  wrote  to  his  father  that  he  would  not 
take  away  his  son's  freedom,  for  that  with  his  own  children  he  used 
no  compulsion,  unless  necessary.  He  adds :  "  Every  thing  depends 
upon  modifying  the  tendencies  of  their  characters,  by  imbuing  them 
with  fixed  principles ;  not  by  means  of  mere  exterior  formalities." 

*  llamnnn  expresses  himself  in  a  mure  quiet  manner,  in  a  letter  to  Jacobi.  in  1785.  He 
eayg:  "  If  my  children  will  only  prow  up  and  prosper,  I  will  willingly  grow  old  and  die  ; 
and  God  give*  me  a  full  share  of  pleasure." 


JOHANN  GEORG  II  \. MANN  541 

In  the  same  letter  he  says:  "Do  not  judge  of  your  son's  progress 
from  his  own  letters;  and  if  you  have  occasion  to  base  any  conclu- 
sion upon  them,  I  beg  you  to  communicate  it  candidly  to  mo.  A 
good  builder  does  his  underground  work  before  the  slightest  evidence 
of  it  comes  up  into  sight.  The  more  he  hastens  to  make  a  show 
with  the  visible  part  of  his  e<li6ce,  the  less  sufficient  is  the  founda- 
tion of  it." 

"I  know  no  other  mode  of  proceeding,"  he  continues,  "than  that 
which  I  have  used  with  my  own  children,  whose  love  is  dearer  to  me 
than  my  paternal  authority,  and  whose  happiness  is  the  only  object 
which  their  parents  can  have  for  them." 

In  Hamann's  subsequent  letters,  his  hopes  for  the  youth  grow  fainter 
and  fainter.  Latin  is  the  principal  pursuit,  but  he  will  not  decline  and 
conjugate  handsomely.  "  Balls,  concerts,  the  theater,  are  his  element. 
Can  it  be  expected  of  a  young  man  that  he  will  at  once  give  up  the 
subjects  of  his  thoughts  and  wishes,  and  busy  himself  with  their  di- 
rect opposites  ?"  The  uncle  already  mentioned  paid  his  expenses  to 
the  theater,  and  had  "to  be  managed  with  discretion." 

A  younger  sister  of  young  Lindner  had  taken  upon  herself  to 
write  to  him  in  the  style  of  a  governess ;  a  proceeding  which  Ila- 
mann  sharply  reproved.  lie  says:  "To  keep  what  is  good  within, 
and  to  show  out  what  is  bad, — to  appear  worse  than  we  really  are, 
and  to  be  really  better  than  we  appear, — I  hold  to  be  a  duty  and  an 
art."  Lindner  had  expressed  some  feelings  in  regard  to  the  tone  of 
his  son's  letters.  "These  symptoms  of  frivolity,"  answered  Hamann, 
"will  pass  off  of  themselves,  when  their  source  is  improved;  and 
must  rather  be  encouraged  and  brought  out,  than  repressed." 

Thus  stood  the  educational  undertaking  until  Easter;  but,  on  the 
Whitsun-Monday  following,  Ilamann  wrote  to  Lindner:  "Neither 
requests  nor  inducements  shall  induce  me  to  keep  your  son  longer 
than  this  summer."  "He  lacked," he  says," the  Whitsuntide  gift  of 
the  mind,  spontaneous  effort."  In  another  letter,  he  says  of  the 
youth :  "  Desires  after  fashion,  plays,  diversions  of  society,  and  the 
like  occupations,  have  deprived  him  of  all  taste  for  thoroughness  or 
science.  On  one  hand  he  has  no  good  impulses  of  his  own  ;  and,  on 
the  other,  he  has  a  precocious  power  of  observing  and  imitating  ordi- 
nary ways  and  methods  of  getting  along.  The  depth  of  quiet  water 
is  soon  sounded ;  and  I  must  hasten  to  the  end  of  my  experiment," 

He  had  thoughtfully  and  foreseeingly  at  first  promised  the  father 
to  make  an  experiment  ouly.  Why  it  succeeded  so  ill.  the  previous 
paragraphs  have  shown.  But  if  it  be  asked  whether  Ilamann  him- 
self was  not  in  part  to  blame,  it  must  be  confessed  that,  from  this 


542  JOHANN  GEORG  HAMANN. 

young  man,  who  was  deficient  both  in  natural  endowments  and  in 
good  will,  as  from  his  own  son,  he  demanded  far  too  much. 
While  he  was  not  yet  able  to  decline  and  conjugate  in  Latin, 
Hamann  read  with  him  the  epistles  of  Horace,  and  would  have  in- 
structed him  at  the  same  time  in  the  elements  of  French,  English, 
and  Greek  !  We  have  already  observed  upon  the  causes  which  could 
lead  so  clear-minded  a  man  into  such  an  error.  Comenius  says,  that 
a  teacher  either  must  not  be  too  intellectual,  or  he  must  have  learned 
patience.  In  this,  he  was  thinking  of  Cicero's  remark,  that  "In  pro- 
portion as  a  man  is  of  a  quick  and  clear  mind,  just  so  much  the 
more  passionate  and  laborious  will  his  teaching  be;  for  any  one,  who 
sees  that  learned  slowly  which  he  himself  learned  quickly,  is  annoyed 
at  it."  But  Comenius  adds,  that  such  a  teacher  should  consider ;  that 
his  office  is,  not  to  transform  minds,  but  to  inform  them ;  that  nei- 
ther can  he  impart  to  the  scholar,  nor  can  the  latter  learn  by  him- 
self, what  has  not  been  vouchsafed  to  him  from  above.  These  sensible 
remarks  of  Cicero  and  Comenius  seem  entirely  applicable  to  Hamann.* 

We  have  thus  become  acquainted  with  this  distinguished  man  in 
the  most  various  pedagogical  relations ;  as  he  was  brought  up  by  his 
parents  and  teachers,  as  the  tutor  of  a  stranger's  children ;  and,  lastly, 
as  the  instructor  of  his  own  son,  and  of  a  ward.  His  letters  to  his 
brother  have  exhibited  his  views  of  the  vocation  and  duties  of  a  school- 
teacher. 

Records  remain,  also,  of  Hamann's  views  on  the  education  of  his 
daughter.  "  In  this  single  respect,"  (that  of  the  education  of  chil- 
dren,) he  wrote,  "  I  have  too  little  aid  from  my  honored  wife  ;  being 
able  to  expect  from  her  nothing  more  than  good  will."  Thus  the 
very  basis  of  a  girl's  education  was,  of  course,  wanting ;  and,  accord- 
ingly, we  need  not  wonder  that,  in  the  year  1784,  Hamann  placed  his 
eldest  daughter  at  a  boarding-school.  "  If  she  has  the  good  quali- 
ties which  her  instructress  attributes  to  her,"  he  wrote,  "she  shall  not 
become  a  woman  of  society,  but  shall  fulfill  her  duties  as  a  sister  and 
daughter,  so  as  to  become  fit  for  a  good  wife  and  house-mother.  If 
she  has  talents  for  society  and  for  teaching,  her  parents  and  brothers 
and  sisters  have  the  best  right  to  the  enjoyment  of  them."  To  this 
same  oldest  daughter  he  wrote, in  1787  :  "Fear  God,  my  dear  child, 
and  do  not  forget  your  parents  and  brothers  and  sisters;  just  as  I 
carry  you  all  in  my  feelings  and  in  my  heart.  Do  not  read  from 
overcuriosity,  but  moderately.  In  the  best  gardens  there  are  net- 
tles, with  which  one  may  get  stung.  Accustom  yourself,  dear  child, 

•  "  I  have  worked  like  a  horse/'  Hamann  writes,  "  until  Easter,  to  accomplish  my  object 
in  the  Latin, "(with  young  Lindner ;)  and  he  proceeds  to  give  an  excellent  description  of 
Cicero's  "  laborious"  teaching;  which,  at  the  same  time,  shows  signs  of  the  "passionate." 


JOIUNN  GEORG  HAMANN.  54g 

to  read  often  in  good  books,  rather  than  in  those*  of  harmful  amuse- 
ment." In  a  subsequent  letter  he  says :  "  I  am  rejoiced,  from  the  bot- 
tom of  my  soul,  at  your  eagerness  to  labor  in  educating  your  younger 
sister.  Be  helpful  also  to  your  good  old  mother,  and  make"  her  life 
comfortable  by  taking  part  in  her  domestic  employments." 

He  seems,  therefore,  to  have  reached  the  end  which  he  sought  to 
attain,  by  means  of  the  boarding  institution. 

Besides  the  pedagogical  views  above  given,  which  were  the  natural 
outgrowth  of  Hamann's  relations  in  life,  there  occur  in  his  writings 
many  valuable  thoughts  upon  education  and  instruction ;  from  which 
we  here  add  a  few  : — 

1.  God  is  mighty  in  the  weak.     But  those  are  not  weak  who,  instead  of  seeing 
in   themselves  shepherds  of  living  lambs,  think  themselves  Pygma  lions,  great 
sculptors,  whose  loving  hearts,  if  the  gods  will,  can  breathe  the  breath  of  life  into 
their  own  work. 

2.  It  is  true,  I  deny  roundly  that  there  is  as  little  use  in  wrestling  and  battling 
about  in  the  world,  as  in  being  let  entirely  alone. 

3.  A  fund  of  misanthropy,  and  rigid  mental  habits,  can  not  succeed  in  a  teacher, 
especially  a  public  one.     An  enemy  to  men  and  a  friend  to  this  world,  both  are 
enemies  to  God 

4.  The  worth  of  a  human  soul,  whose  loss  or  harm  can  not  be  compensated  by 
gaining  the  whole  world, — how  little  is  the  worth  of  such  a  soul  understood  by 
the  delineator  of  Emile,  blind  as  the  son  of  the  prophets  (2d   Kings,  vi :  15-17.) 
Every  school  is  a  mountain  of  Got!,  like  Dothan,  full  of  horses  ami  chariots  of 
fire,  round  about  Elisha.     Let  us  also  open  our  eyes  and  see,  lest  we  despise  some 
of  these  little  ones,  since  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  their  angels  in 
heaven  do  always  see  the  face  of  the  Father  in  heaven. 

5.  What  ignorance  is  that  of  the  worldly-wise,  who  dare  to  talk  about  educa- 
tion, without  the  very  beginning  of  wisdom,  fear,  and  divine  unction  ! 

To  a  teacher  of  worldly  wisdom,  who  was  about  writing  a  Natural 
Philosophy  for  children,  Hamann  wrote  : — 

6.  You  are,  in  truth,  a  master  in  Israel,  if  you  count  it  a  little  thins:  to  transform 
yourself  into  a  little  child,  in  spite  of  your  learning.     Or  have  you  more  expecta- 
tions from  children,  having  found  your  grown-up  hearers  unable  to  keep  up  with 
you  in  endurance  and  celerity  of  thought  ?     For.  to  the  execution  of  your  scheme, 
a  great  knowledge  of  children  is  requisite ;  which  can  not  be  acquired  either  in 
polite  society  nor  in  academical  life. 

The  blinded  heathen  had  a  reverence  for  children,  and  certainly  a  baptized  phi- 
losopher ought  to  know  that  something  more  is  requisite  in  writing  for  children 
than  the  wit  even  of  a  Fontelle,  and  an  amorous  style  of  composition.  What 
will  petrify  beautiful  minds,  and  inspire  mind  into  beautiful  marble,  is  high  trea- 
son to  the  innocence  of  children. 

To  prepare  for  one's  self-praise  out  of  the  mouths  of  babos  and  sucklings,  to 
participate  in  such  a  desire  and  ambition,  is  no  vulgar  occupation  :  it  must  bo 
commenced,  not  by  robbing  birds  of  many-colored  feathers,  but  with  the  volunta- 
ry putting  off  all  superiority  in  age  or  wisdom,  and  the  self-denial  <>f  all  vanity. 
A  philosophical  book  for  children  must  appear  as  simple,  foolish,  and  insipid.  a»  a 
divine  book  for  men.  Examine  yourself,  whether  you  have  the  heart  U>  be  the 
author  of  a  simple,  foolish,  insipid,  Natural  Philosophy.  If  you  have,  you  arc  a 
philosopher  for  children. 

The  chief  law  of  methods  for  children  is  this  ;  to  let  one's  self  down  to  their 

weakness ;  to  become  their  servant,  where  one  would  naturally  chorwe  to  be  their 

master;  to  follow  them,  where  one  would   naturally  lead  them;  to  learn   their 

language  and  their  mind,  where  one  would  naturally  constrain  them  to  imitate 

17 


544  JOHANN  GEOR6  II  AMAN.V 

his  own.  Tliis  practical  principle,  it  is,  however,  possible  neither  to  understand 
nor  to  act  fully  up  to,  unless  one  has  become  fully  absorbed  in  affection  for  chil- 
dren. 

7.  Without  the  law  of  complete  freedom,  man  would  be  fit  for  no  imitation, 
which  is  the  basis  of  all  education  and  receptivity  ;  for,  of  all  animals,  man  is  the 
greatest  pantomimist. 

8.  How  much  mental  quickening  have  I  enjoyed  in  the  Swiss  mason's  hut  of 
Leonard  and  Gertrude  !     How  skillfully,  in  this  affecting  drama,  is  the  proton  pseu- 
dos  of  the  apostles,  of  the  new  philosophy,  in  respect  to  legislation,  discovered  ! 

In  the  hut  of  Leonard  and  Gertrude,  I  found  indications  of  a  stricter  philo- 
sophieal  and  political  system,  than  in  Raynal's  ten  volumes  of  East  and  West 
Indian  Tales. 

The  author  of  Leonard  and  Gertrude  adapted  his  style  entirely  to  the  tone  of 
national  feeling.  In  spite  of  this  fault,  as  admirers  of  purity  and  lucidity  of  style 
must  find  it,  it  undeniably  contains  passages  of  beauty,  strength,  and  power,  which 
one  can  not  become  tired  of  reading. 

9.  I  think  of  education  as  I  do  of  all  other  human  instrumentalities,  whose  suc- 
cess depends  wholly  upon  a  blessing  from  above ;  I  prefer  a  moderate  use  of  it  to 
a  forced  and  excessive  one.* 

To  Reichardt,  whose  son  was  dead,  Hamann  wrote : — 

10.  The  giver  of  all  pleasure  is  also  the  God  of  all  consolation  ;  and  both  have 
their  source  on  high,  from  this  fatherly  and  motherly  heart.     Man  knows  not,  but 
God  only,  the  best  way  and  the  best  time.     The  best  of  all  educational  institutions 
for  our  whole  race  is  this  dear  death  ;  the  best  Philanthropinum  is  that  spiritual 
world,  full  of  innocent  and  perfect  souls,  that  high  institution  of  real  virtuosos, 
and  of  the  mothers  of  us  all. 

In  a  letter  to  Bucholtz,  who  had  also  lost  a  son,  he  wrote  : — 

The  natural  disproportions  appearing  upon  the  census-lists  may  perhaps  have 
their  deepest  foundation  in  the  political  arithmetic  of  heaven  ;  which  is  obliged  to 
recruit  itself  from  these  innocent  classes.! 

"  Suffer  the  little  children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not,"  said  the 
founder  of  the  covenant  of  baptism,  the  living  God;  therefore  they  all  live  with 
him.  The  dead  boy  lives,  not  only  in  the  feelings  and  hearts  of  those  who  have 
loved  him  and  seen  him,  but  his  life  on  high  will  act  like  a  magnet  on  us,  to  draw 
us  toward  the  place  and  condition  in  which  he  is ;  whither  he  has  gone  as  our  fore- 
runner, perhaps,  to  fulfill  the  duties  of  the  first-born  toward  his  brothers  and  sis- 
ters, as  a  protecting  spirit  alid  good  angel,  better  than  can  be  done  by  flesh  and 
blood.  Which  of  us  knows  for  what  the  Father  of  Spirits  may  destine  his  l'animu- 
la.  vagula,  blandula?'"  And  are  not  his  dispensations  intended  to  cultivate  in 
us  some  heavenly  characteristics  ;  to  wean  us  from  earthly  pleasures,  which  are 
only  transient  food,  and  do  not  endure  until  a  better  life;  and  to  accustom  us  to 
higher  enjoyments  ? 

Having  thus  collected  some  of  Hamann's  scattered  thoughts  upon 
education,  to  facilitate  a  judgment  upon  them  collectively,  I  return  to 
his  usually  uniform  life.  The  society  of  eminent  men,  whom  he  met 
in  Konigsberg,  especially  Kant  and  Hippel,  and  a  correspondence  with 
others, — Herder,  F.  II.  Jacobi,  Moser,  Klopstock,  <fec., — enlivened  and 
seasoned  his  simple  and  quiet  existence. 

*  Hamann's  views  are  of  great  importance,  upon  the  novelties  introduced  into  German  or- 
thography, by  Da  mm,  (1773,)  Klopslock,  and  Campe,  (1778.)  See  his  "  New  Apology  of  the 
Letter  U,"  and  "  Tuo  Milts  added  to  the  latest  German  Literature." 

t  Of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  he  says,  in  a  letter  to  Kraus,  "  Whose  citizens  are  gathered 
more  from  the  young,  than  from  philosophers,  noblemen,  the  powerful,  or  the  men  of  the 
world.  By  meant  of  the  mortality  of  the  young,  it  seems,  also,  thai  ihe  population  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  surpasses  that  of  earthly  realms  ;  and  with  good  reason." 


J01IANN  GEORO  HAMANN.  545 

A  variety  of  causes  brought  him  into  troubled  and  difficult  cir- 
cumstances, until,  in  the  end  of  the  year  1784,  Franz  Bucholtz,  lord 
of  Welbergen,  in  Westphalia,  by  a  very  liberal  donation,  freed  him 
entirelyfrom  all  want,  and  especially  from  all  concern  for  the  future  of 
his  children. 

At  Bucholtz's  invitation,  he  set  out,  June  21st,  1787,  with  his  son, 
for  Westphalia,  tarried  for  a  season  with  F.  II.  Jacobi,  at  Pemplefort, 
and  then  at  Welbergen  and  Munster,  with  Bucholtz.  While  here  he 
received  benefits  from  Prince  Furstenberg  and  Princess  Gallitzin. 
His  letters,  during  the  last  months  of  this  year  and  the  first  of  next, 
repeatedly  allude  to  his  death.  "  He  who  has  brought  me  so  far, 
with  so  many  signs  and  wonders,"  he  writes,  Nov.  14th,  1787,  "will 
also  bring  me  home  to  my  real  country,  with  peace  and  joy,  Kyrie 
Eleison  !  and  will  enable  me  to  look  with  displeasure  upon  every 
heaven  and  elysium  on  the  earth."  And  again,  on  the  24th:  "The 
nearer  the  night  of  my  life  approaches,  the  brighter  becomes  the 
morning  star  in  my  heart ;  not  through  the  letter  of  nature,  but 
through  the  spirit  of  the  scriptures,  to  which  I  owe  thanks  more  than 
to  the  former." 

March  23d,  1788  :  "  The  more  the  outer  man  decays,  the  more  the 
inner  grows.  The  older  and  more  helpless  I  become,  the  more  rest- 
ful, peaceful,  and  happy  I  am.  God  has  given  me  an  evening  of  rest, 
has  unyoked  me  from  the  labor  of  public  employment,  for  which  I 
am  as  little  fit  as  for  intercourse  with  the  world.  Although  it  gives 
me  a  foretaste  of  heaven  upon  earth,  yet  this  hidden  treasure  is  not  a 
reward  for  my  own  services  and  worth,  but  a  grace,  a  gift  from  a 
higher  hand,  which  I  am  bound  to  worship.  It  was  needful  for  me, 
to  purify  and  strengthen  me." 

On  the  21st  of  June,  1788,  he  softly  fell  asleep.  He  was  buried 
in  the  garden  of  the  Princess  Gallitzin.* 

"  It  was  not  the  fullness  and  grace  of  his  learning,  not  power  of 
understanding,  not  the  wealth  of  his  wit,  which  seems  to  me  to  have 
been  the  most  valuable  characteristic  of  this  man,  or  his  most  desir- 
able qualities  for  the  present  day ;  but  his  straightforwardness,  open- 
ness, uprightness,  and  purity ;  his  freedom  from  vanity  and  pretense ; 
contented,  like  the  lily  of  the  valley,  unseen  to  give  out  the  fragrance 
of  his  wisdom,  and  living  entirely  in  the  spirit  of  the  elevated  senti- 
ment which  he  repeated  a  little  before  his  death :  "  It  is  the  truth 
which  makes  us  free,  and  not  the  imitation  of  iff 

•Compare  Jacobi'a  letter  to  Lavater.  F.  II  Jacob!'*  •'Corrtfpoiutiu*,"  I,  433.  Th« 
Princess  Gallitzin  intended  to  have  engraved  on  his  tombstone  the  text,  I  Corinthians,  i: 

t  This  excellent  description  is  by  the  editor  of  Hamnnn's  Work*,  at  the  eod  of  tb«  preface 
to  Part  I.  2  I 


JOHANN  GOTTFRIED  HERDER. 

{Translated  from  the  German  of  Karl  von  Raumer,  for  th»  Journal.] 


JOHANN  GOTTFRIED  VON  HERDER*  was  born,  August  25,  1744,  in 
Mohrungen,  a  small  town  of  East  Prussia,  where  his  father  filled  the 
offices  of  sexton  and  cantor.  He  was  a  conscientious  and  simple  man, 
and  his  wife  a  pious  and  intelligent  woman  ;  and  they  lived,  with  their 
children,f  a  quiet  and  Christian  life,  after  the  good  old-fashioned  way. 

Herder  received  his  school  instruction  from  Grimm,  the  strict  rector 
of  the  public  school  of  Mohrungen  ;  a  man  for  whom  he  always  en- 
tertained a  great  respect;  and  a  pious  minister  confirmed  him. 

In  1760,  Trescho,  the  deacon  of  Mohrungen,  took  Herder,  then 
sixteen  years  old,  into  his  house,  but  did  not  treat  him  in  a  friendly 
manner,  keeping  him  very  much  shut  up.  One  day,  when  Trescho 
had  sent  Herder  to  the  bookseller,  Kanter,  in  Konigsberg,  in  charge 
of  a  manuscript,  the  youth  left  with  it  a  poem  by  himself,  "To  Cy- 
rus," without  his  name.  Kanter  had  the  poem  printed  with  the  other 
manuscript;  this  was  in  1762,  when  Herder  was  seventeen  and  a 
half  years  old. 

The  surgeon  of  a  Russian  regiment,  in  winter-quarters  at  Mohrun- 
gen, became  acquainted  with  Herder,  became  quite  fond  of  him,  and 
took  him  with  him  to  Konigsberg,  to  study  surgery.  But  at  the  first 
dissection  which  he  witnessed,  he  fainted  away.  This  decided  him  to 
give  up  surgery,  and  on  August  9th,  1762,  he  was  matriculated  as  a  the- 
ological student,  after  an  examination  which  he  passed  with  great  credit 

He  now  studied,  under  Kant,  logic,  metaphysics,  ethics,  and  mathe- 
matical and  physical  geography.  At  the  same  time  he  became  ac- 
quainted with  Hamann.  They  first  met  at  the  confessional,  and  af- 
terward read  Shakspeare  together. 

Herder's  pecuniary  condition  was  at  this  time  very  pinching:  but 
it  was  improved  in  1763,  when,  in  his  nineteenth  year,  he  obtained  a 
situation  as  teacher  in  the  Frederic's  College,  which  he  filled  with 
great  conscientiousness.  "  1  have  to  thank  this  teaching,"  he  said  after- 

•This  sketch  is  mostly  from  the  •'RrcoUtetiont  of  thr  L{fe  of  J.  O.  von  I/rrtter."  fcr  hi* 
widow  ;  which  constitute,  in  Colta's  edition  of  Herder's  Works,  the  2lff.  2W,  and  211  part* 
ill  the  division  "  Philosophy  and  History." 

tOf  two  sons  and  three  daughters,  one  Mil  and  one  daughter  died  in  their  third  yew. 


548  JOIIANN  GOTTFRIED  HERDER. 

ward,  "for  the  development  of  many  ideas  and  their  clear  definition. 
Let  any  one,  who  desires  to  work  out  any  study  thoroughly,  teach  it." 

In  1764,  principally  by  Hamann's  influence,  Herder  became  assist- 
ant at  the  Cathedral  School,  in  Riga.  In  a  letter  to  Lindner,  rector 
of  the  school,  Hamann  says  of  the  young  man,  only  twenty  years  of 
age,  that  he  has  "  a  respectable  quantity  of  historical,  philosophical, 
and  aesthetic  knowledge,  and  a  great  desire  to  cultivate  the  most 
promising  field  possible  ;  and  with  a  more  than  moderate  experience 
in  school  management." 

Three  years  afterward,  in  1767,  Herder  received,  in  addition  to  his 
place  in  the  school,  an  appointment  as  preacher.  His  teaching,  in  Riga, 
as  in  Konigsberg,  was  exceedingly  approved  of.  "  His  method  of  in- 
struction," writes  pastor  Bergmann,  one  of  his  pupils,  "  was  so  excel- 
lent, and  his  intercourse  with  his  scholars  so  pleasant,  that  they  attended 
no  lesson  with  more  pleasure  than  those  which  were  given  by  him." 

In  Riga  he  published,  in  1767,  his  first  work  of  importance,  his 
"Fragments  of  German  Literature?  and,  in  1768  and  1769,  his 
"Critical  Forests?  In  the  Fragments,  among  other  things,  are  some 
very  correct  and  profound  views  on  the  undervaluation  of  the  mother 
tongue,  and  the  overvaluation  of  the  Latin,  which  then  gave  tone 
and  color  to  the  schools.  He  also  strives  against  the  prevailing  apish 
imitation  in  Latin  style.  Thought  and  expression,  he  says,  must  go 
together;  it  is  so  in  the  native  language;  and  it  is  only  in  that  that 
a  man  can  write  with  originality.  These  works  drew  upon  him, 
especially  from  Klotz,  who  has  been  immortalized  by  Lessing,  the 
most  violent  attacks  and  insults,  which  annoyed  him  so  much,*  that, 
in  the  year  1769,  he  asked  a  dismission  from  his  place,  and  took  a 
journey  to  France  with  a  friend.  The  purpose  of  this  journey  was 
"  an  acquaintance  with  the  best  institutions  of  education  and  learning 
in  France,  Holland,  England,  and  Germany,  and,  at  his  return  to  Riga, 
the  erection  of  an  educational  institution."! 

On  the  voyage  from  Riga  to  Nantes,  and  in  France,  Herder  kept  a 
very  interesting  diary,J  in  which  all  the  elements  of  his  subsequent 
university  may  be  seen  fermenting  together  with  youthful  wildness. 
"All  his  various  characteristics  were  heaving  together  in  Titanic  hope."§ 

*  Hamaoa  sharply  reproved  Herder  for  his  "  autorial  susceptibility." 

t  Philos.  and  Hist  works,  20, 107. 

3  This  diary  is  in  Cotta's  edition  of  Herder's  Works;  not  entire,  however,  but  "with  the 
omission  of  some  portions  whose  ideas  are  more  fully  presented  in  other  parts  of  his 
works. "(!)  It  is,  however,  given  in  full  in  "•Picture  of  von  Herder's  Life,"  (».  Herder's 
LebentbUd.) 

I  Gervinus.  "Later  Hittory  of  National  Poetic  Literature,"  1,  468,  485.  Gervinus  also  sayi, 
'•Except  Giithe's  "Juvenile  Letters"  we  have  nothing  which  expresses,  so  well  as  this  diary, 
the  Titanomachy  of  this  period,  its  Promethean  attack  upon  heaven." 


JOHANN  GOTTFRIED  HERDER.  rin 

In  this  diary  he  refers  to  a  book  which  he  thought  of  publishing, 
"for  human  and  Christian  training."  "It  would  begin,"  he  says, 
"with  the  knowledge  of  self;  of  the  wise  cultivation  of  body  and 
soul ;  would  explain  the  design  and  indispensableness  of  each  mem- 
ber to  body  and  soul,  and  the  manifoldness  which  exists  among  them  ; 
and  would  then  give  rules  and  directions  for  all  the  development  of 
body  and  soul,  of  which  they  are  capable.  To  this  point,  Rousseau 
is  a  great  teacher.  But  there  follows  a  second  part,  relative  to  so- 
ciety ;  where  Rousseau  is  quite  unable  to  teach."  He  then  goes  on 
to  set  forth  the  contents  of  his  intended  work,  and  mentions  the  vari- 
ous topics  of  Christianity  which  it  was  to  discuss. 

In  the  course  of  the  diary,  he  mentions  his  pedagogical  ideal.  He 
proposes  to  "  change  Rousseau's  human  savage,  Emile,  into  a  national 
Livonian  child."  "O,  ye  Locke  and  Rousseau  1"  he  cries  out,  "and 
Clarke,  and  Francke,  and  Hecker,  and  Ehler,  and  liiisching!  I  desire 
to  rival  you ;  I  will  read  you,  examine  you,  nationalize  you." 

After  this,  Herder  gives  the  complete  plan  of  a  school ;  from  which 
it  appears  how  powerful  an  influence  Rousseau  exercised  upon  him. 
Thus,  he  opposes  the  tyranny  of  the  Latin ;  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
most  strenuously  advocates  real  studies.  "My  method,"  he  says, 
"makes  practical  minds,  because  it  teaches  words ;  or  rather,  inversely, 
it  teaches  things."  "  No  school  is  good,  where  nothing  is  learned  but 
Latin.  I  have  tried  to  drive  it  away,  by  opening  three  completely 
independent  real  classes,  in  which  the  pupils  study  for  humanity,  and 
for  their  whole  life."  "There  will  be  an  everlasting  contest  between 
the  Latin  and  the  real  schools.  The  latter  will  always  teach  too  little 
Latin  for  an  Ernesti,  and  the  former  too  little  knowledge  of  facts  for 
the  rest  of  the  world." 

Grammar,  on  this  plan,  should  be  taught,  not  in  the  Latin,  but  in 
the  native  language. 

"  Grammar,"  he  says  elsewhere,  "  must  be  learned  from  the  lan- 
guage, and  not  the  language  from  the  grammar;  style  from  speak- 
ing, and  not  speaking  from  an  artificially  formed  style." 

"After  the  mother  tongue,"  again,  "  the  French  should  follow,  as  it 
is  the  most  universal  and  indispensable  in  Europe,  and,  according  to 
our  modes  of  thought,  the  most  finished,  and  the  most  complete  in 
beauty  of  style  and  tasteful  expression.  *  *  *  It  is  the  easiest 
and  most  uniform,  by  means  of  which  to  obtain  a  foretaste  of  philo- 
sophical grammar ;  the  most  orderly  for  matters  of  arithmetic,  the 
understanding,  and  argument.  Our  state  of  society,  also,  requires 
that  it  should  come  immediately  after  our  own  language,  before  any 
other,  even  before  Latin.  I  would  even  rather  have  men  of  learning 
know  French  than  Latin." 


550  JOHANN  GOTTFRIED  HERDER. 

These  extracts  show  how  thoroughly  realistic  were  Herder's  views 
at  that  time,  even  in  respect  to  languages.  He  expressed  them  in  a 
condensed  form  as  follows: — "It  should  be  a  principal  aim  to  give 
the  boy  living  ideas  of  every  thing  which  he  sees,  says,  or  enjoys ;  in 
order  to  give  him  a  tangible  place  in  a  world  of  his  own.  *  *  * 
He  will  never  wish  to  have  been  born  in  another  world,  as  his  head 
will  not  have  been  disordered  by  any  other,  and  his  first  horizon  would 
be  his  own."  And  he  suddenly  exclaims,  "  Oh,  if  I  had  myself  ever 
taught  through  such  a  course,  and  still  more,  had  I  myself  studied 
through  it,  and  done  so  in  the  beginning,  and  had  been  educated  in 
that  manner !  But  as  it  is,  nothing  is  left  for  me  but  a  second  edu- 
cation. I  will  study  French,  to  learn  to  appreciate  their  Buftbns  and 
Nollets;  and,  above  all,  to  investigate  art,  and  nature,  and  human  prog- 
ress, and  to  become  fully  acquainted  with  them,  .  .  .  and  to 
learn  to  know  the  real  sources  of  books,  so  that  when  I  possess  them 
I  may  train  myself  according  to  them." 

The  genial  young  man  of  five  and  twenty,  had  all  at  once  become 
aware  of  his  condition  of  half  learning.  Trained  up  among  books, 
the  world  of  books  appeared  to  him  one  of  antitypes,  and  he  was 
resolved  to  seek  the  original  types  answering  to  them, — and  to  seek 
them  in  France !  In  this  state  of  reaction  he  overvalued  what  he 
lacked,  and  much  undervalued  what  he  possessed.  But  however 
strong  was  the  French  influence  upon  Herder  at  this  time,  it  operated 
rather  upon  the  exterior  than  upon  the  center  of  his  mind.  Un- 
touched by  the  shallow  deism  of  France,  he  recommended,  most 
earnestly,  in  his  school  plan,  Luther's  Catechism.  "  This,"  he  says, 
"  must  be  thoroughly  learned  by  heart,  and  be  remembered  ever 
after." 

If  this  French  influence  had  penetrated  Herder  deeply,  his  eyes 
would  not  so  soon  have  been  opened  to  the  French  and  their  language, 
as  the  sequel  of  his  diary  and  his  letters  show  that  they  were.  He 
writes  to  Hamann,  "I  am  yet  at  Nantes,  where  I  live  in  a  small  but 
familiar  circle,  and  am  making  myself  acquainted  with  the  French 
language,  manners,  and  modes  of  thinking.  I  do  not  learn  to  like 
them,  however ;  for  the  nearer  I  see  them,  the  less  I  like  them."  And 
in  a  letter  from  Paris  he  says,  "  France  can  not  completely  satisfy ; 
and  I  am  heartily  weary  of  it." 

Rousseau  himself  must  have  appeared  to  him  in  an  entirely  differ- 
ent light,  after  his  more  complete  acquaintance  with  the  French.* 
"  With  Rousseau,"  he  says,  in  his  diary,  "  one  must  use  every  where 

*  lie  wtyg :  "  One  can  not  understand  any  French  writer  unless  lie  understands  the  French 
nation." 


JOHANN  GOTTFRIED  HERDER.  55  j 

paradoxes  which  corrupt  and  deceive  him;  which  make  old  things 
appear  new  to  him,  little  great,  true  false,  and  false  true.  No  plain 
statement  will  suffice  for  him ;  all  must  be  new,  striking,  wonderful. 
Thus  what  is  beautiful  is  carried  too  far;  truths  are  made  too  uni- 
versal, and  thus  to  cease  being  true.  His  sophistries  must  be  de- 
tected ;  and  we  have  to  force  ourselves  back  into  our  own  world. 
But  who  can  do  this  ?  Can  every  ordinary  reader?  Would  not  the 
labor  be  often  greater  than  the  gain  to  be  made  by  it  ?  And  is  not 
Rousseau  thus  unpractical,  or  harmful,  by  reason  of  this  intellectual 
quality,  in  spite  of  his  greatness  ?"  And  in  another  place  he  says,* 
"Voltaire  is  vain  and  impudent  about  himself,  Rousseau  proud  and 
haughty  ;  but  both  of  them  sought  nothing  so  much  as  to  distinguish 
themselves.  The  former  always  assumed  that  he  had  done  it,  and 
in  controversy  depended  entirely  on  wit ;  the  latter,  upon  intolerable 
and  unheard  of  novelties  and  paradoxes.  However  strongly  Rous- 
seau may  contend  against  the  philosophers,  it  is  still  evident  that  he 
is  not  at  all  concerned  for  the  justness,  goodness,  reason,  or  useful- 
ness of  his  views,  but  for  what  is  vast,  extraordinary,  new,  or  strik- 
ing. Wherever  he  can,  he  is  a  sophist  and  a  mere  advocate ;  and, 
indeed,  here  is  the  reason  that  the  French  have  so  few  philosophers, 
politicists,  or  historians  ;  because  these  three  classes  of  writers  must 
deal  with  the  truth  only.  But  what  is  there  which  would  not  give 
Voltaire  occasion  for  an  attack,  or  Rousseau  for  a  novelty?" 

How  cool  and  correct  is  this  opinion  of  Herder,  in  his  twenty-fifth 
year ;  and  how  soon  had  he  recovered  from  his  earlier  overestima- 
tion  of  Rousseau  !  We  shall  be  still  more  convinced  of  this  when 
we  see  how  efib'^ntly  he  combated  the  evils  of  the  Gallomania,  and 
the  extreme  views  of  the  Philanthropinists. 

Tired  of  France,  he  left  Paris  in  the  beginning  of  1770,  and  went 
into  Holland  to  Eutin,  and  thence,  as  tutor  to  one  of  the  princes  of 
Holstein,  to  Strasburg,  where  he  became  acquainted  with  Giithe,  five 
years  his  junior.  Here  he  was  appointed  a  consistorial  councilor  at 
Biickeburg,  where  he  resided  from  1771  to  1776.  Having,  while 
here,  read  Rousseau's  "Emile"  again,  in  1771,  he  remarks  upon  it: 
"  We  must  not  praise  it,  but  imitate  it."  Still,  he  expresses  himself, 
five  years  later,  in  an  extract,  given  in  our  sketch  of  Hamann,  of  a 
letter  to  the  latter,  entirely  displeased  with  Basedow's  Fhilanthro- 
piuum,  which  was  modeled  entirely  after  Rousseau.  He  afterward 
expressed  deliberate  and  profound  views  of  the  same  kind,  in  .several 

*What  we  have  said  indicates  that  Herder  first  wrote  these  opinion*  of  Rouwrau  in 
France.  He  reached  Nantes.  July  Oth.  1769;  and  in  ihe  following  October  he  wrote  to  Hart. 
knoch,  that  he  had  yet  some  writing  to  do  in  his  diary,  "with  which  I  b*Te,"  he  adtis,  -be«a 
in  arrears  all  the  time  on  shipboard,  and  am  so  still." 


552  JOIIAXN  GOTTFRIED  HERDER. 

addresses  on  educational  subjects,  with  relation  to  the  much  praised 
new  educational  methods  of  the  day;  and  contends  against  the 
"shallow  and  easy  methods  in  usum  Delphinorum  of  the  present 
age."  And  he  says,  "  lie  who  pretends  that  there  is  light,  or  intel- 
ligibility, where  there  is  none,  is  a  juggler,  and  not  a  teacher."  And 
he  contends  against  those  who  advocate  "  a  Leibnitzian  and  New- 
tonian philosophy  for  children,"  and  who  pretend  that  languages  can 
be  learned  "without  memory,  pains,  or  grammar.'' 

In  another  address,  he  remarks  that  "instead  of  the  good  old 
word  '  school,'  a  fashion  has  been  introduced  of  using  uew  and  more 
showy  terms,  such  as  '  Educational  Institution,'  and  '  Philanthropi- 
num ;'  and  that  much  is  said  and  much  praise  is  heard  of  '  genius,' 
'  original  genius,'  which  does  every  thing  for  itself,  and  has  no  need 
of  any  other  instructor;  and  of  wonderful  self-development  by  one's 
own  powers."  "  Such  empty  commendations  of  innate  natural  pow- 
ers "  have  become  in  the  highest  degree  harmful  to  youth  ;  and  "  na- 
ture, so  called,"  has  been  operative  to  the  destruction  of  regulated, 
strict,  and  well-considered  art."  If  the  older  schools  were  correct  in 
principle,  he  says,  "  No  one  who  knows  what  is  a  well-founded  pub- 
lic temple  of  science,  and  what  is  good  education,  would  become  an 
advocate  of  one  of  these  shrines  of  Diana,  with  which  men  do  so 
many  idolatries  under  green  trees,  with  the  fashionable  methods  of 
the  day.  Many  of  these  playthings  have  already  fully  displayed 
their  emptiness." 

It  is  pleasant  to  see  how  the  overflowing  genius  of  the  youth  de- 
veloped into  the  prudence  of  the  man.  This  is  shown  in  respect  to 
the  excessive  praise  of  the  French,  which  we  have  already  mentioned ; 
and  with  which  no  German  reader,  and  no  one  who  understands 
French  and  its  relations  with  other  languages,  especially  Latin,  can 
fail  to  be  displeased. 

This  displeasure  will,  however,  be  fully  appeased  upon  reading,  in 
Herder's  "Letters  for  the  Advancement  of  Humanity?  written  about 
a  quarter  of  a  century  after  the  "School  Plan?*  his  remarkable  at- 
tack upon  the  "  Gallomania,  or  imitation  of  the  French."  In  this  he 
says : — 

"This  has  inflicted  upon  us  a  much  deeper  wound. 

"Since  language  is  the  organ  of  our  mental  faculties,  and  the  chief 
means  of  our  training  and  education,  we  can  not  be  well  taught 

•  The  '-School  Plan  "  appeared  in  1769;  the  "Letters  "  between  1793  and  1797.  Herder'* 
I  it'  r  satisfaction  (1801,)  at  the  spread  and  improvement  of  the  French  language,  by  means  of 
the  French  Academy,  and  at  its  influence  upon  the  other  European  languages,  German  es- 
pecially, seems  to  have  originated  in  his  dislike  to  the  '•  obscure  German  metaphysics,  whieK 
scarcely  understood  Itself,"  and  to  the  "confused  ideas  anil  tangled  periods"  of  its  style 
Uervinus  compares  this  praise  with  (tithe's  compliments  to  Voltaire's  purity  of  style. 


JOHANN  GOTTFRIED  HERDER  553 

otherwise  than  in  our  native  language.  What  is  calk-d  a  French 
education  (a  term  actually  in  use,)  in  Germany,  must  of  necessity 
pervert  and  injure  German  manners.  This  trutli  seems  to  me  as  clear 
as  the  sun  at  noon. 

"  By  whom  and  for  whom  was  French  constructed  ?  By  French- 
men, and  for  them.  It  expresses  ideas  and  relations  which  occur  in 
their  world ;  in  the  course  of  their  life ;  and  expresses  them  as  they 
are  presented  to  the  speakers  by  their  local  circumstances  at  the  mo- 
ment, and  by  their  mental  peculiarities  at  the  moment.  Without 
this  area,  the  words  must  be  half  understood,  or  not  at  all,  ill  applied, 
or,  where  the  subjects  are  wanting,  altogether  inapplicable,  and  thus 
uselessly  learned.  Since  fashion  rules  in  no  language  as  despotically 
as  in  French ;  since  no  other  language  is  so  entirely  a  reflection  of 
variableness,  and  of  a  changeable  succession  of  shades  of  manner*, 
significations,  and  relations ;  since  no  other  language  equals  it  in  ex- 
pressing delicate  gradations  of  meaning,  and  in  plays  upon  a  color- 
piano  of  brilliant  meteors  and  refractions  of  light ;  with  these  quali- 
ties, what  can  it  be  for  the  education  of  Germnns,  in  their  peculiar 
circumstances  ?  Nothing, — or  a  will-o'-the-wisp.  It  leaves  the  mind 
empty  of  ideas,  or  gives  it,  in  place  of  the  truths  and  actualities  of 
our  own  country,  false  expressions,  erroneous  terms,  unnatural  repre- 
sentations, and  affectedness.  Wrenched  out  of  its  proper  place,  such 
results  must  of  necessity  follow,  if  it  were  a  language  of  angels. 
Neither  is  it  going  too  far  to  say  that,  in  those  classes  of  our  own  na- 
tion, where  it  has  been  the  vehicle  of  education,  and  still  more  where 
it  has  constituted  the  whole  of  education,  it  has  distorted  the  under- 
standing, laid  waste  hearts,  and, — worst  of  all, — left  the  ?nind  emptied 
of  such  qualities  as  are  most  essential  to  the  enjoyment  of  plonsure 
in  our  race,  in  our  circumstances,  in  our  calling;  and  are  these  not 
the  sweetest  of  pleasures  ? 

"And  yet,  the  whole  value  of  a  man,  his  usefulness  in  society,  his 
happiness  as  a  man  and  a  citizen,  depend  upon  this ;  that  he  under- 
stand thoroughly  and  clearly,  and  from  his  youth  up,  the  world  in 
which  he  lives,  his  employments  and  relations,  and  their  means  and 
purposes ;  that  on  these  subjects  he  gain  secure  possession  of  idea*, 
sound  in  the  strictest  sense,  and  sincere  and  cheerful  views;  and  that  he 
train  himself  in  them,  unperverted.  immovably,  without  any  unnatural 
or  false  ideal  in  his  mind,  and  without  any  squinting  toward  foreign 
manners  and  relations.  One  who  has  not  attained  to  this,  will  find 
his  ways  of  thinking  distorted,  and  his  heart  uninterested  in  the  situa- 
tion in  which  he  is  placed ;  or,  as  it  might  better  be  reprinted,  his 
heart  will  have  been  stolen  from  him  in  his  youth,  for  his  whole  life, 
by  a  courtezan. 


554  JOIIANN  GOTTFRIED  HERDER. 

"  What  can  be  more  valuable  than  a  real  world  of  real  hearts  and 
minds, — than  a  condition  in  which  we  know  our  own  thoughts  and 
feelings  in  their  truest  form,  and  express  them  to  others  in  the  truest 
and  most  natural  way;  in  which  others  communicate  to  us  in  return 
their  own  thoughts  and  feelings ;  in  short,  where  every  bird  sings  as 
nature  taught  it  to  sing?  If  this  light  is  extinguished,  this  flame 
quenched,  this  primeval  bond  between  souls  broken  or  weakened,  then, 
instead  of  all  this,  nothing  would  be  to  be  heard,  but  mere  memorized, 
foreign,  poverty-stricken  phrases.  What  misery  is  that  of  everlasting 
superficiality  and  falsehood,  and  heart  and  soul  dried  up,  hard  and 
cold !" 

In  1776,  Herder  left  Biickeburg,  having,  by  Gothe's  influence,  been 
appointed  councilor  of  the  high  consistory  at  Weimar,  where,  twenty- 
five  years  later,  he  became  president  of  that  body. 

Next  to  the  duties  of  his  ecclesiastical  office,  the  improvement  of 
the  schools  lay  nearest  his  heart.  In  1783,  he  drew  up  a  new  plan 
for  the  schools,  and  secured  an  increase  of  wages  for  the  teachers.  A 
teachers'  seminary  was  founded,  by  his  influence,  in  1787.  In  the 
lower  schools  he  endeavored  to  introduce  the  best  and  practical  parts 
of  the  Pestalozzian  method  of  instruction.  He  gave  the  clergy  "the 
privilege  of  a  thorough  oversight  of  the  country  schools." 

Herder  refused  to  have  his  plan  for  the  schools  printed ;  "  as,"  he 
said,  "  most  such  undertakings,  if  begun  publicly,  end  miserably.  For, 
in  this  matter,  every  thing  depends  upon  practice,  upon  vigorous 
methods,  and  experiment.  A  faulty  plan  may  be  drawn  up  in  half 
an  hour ;  but  it  becomes  a  fetter  in  which  a  succeeding  century  walks 
lame." 

His  idea  was,  that  "  the  lower  classes  of  real  schools  should  train 
useful  citizens,  and  that  the  upper  ones  should  form  a  scientific  gym- 
nasium for  those  intending  to  study." 

He  offered  to  give  his  assistance  in  establishing  his  scheme  of  or- 
ganization ;  saying,  "  In  my  nineteenth  year  I  began  teaching  in  the 
highest  class  of  an  academical  institution,  and  from  that  time  to  this 
I  have  never  been  free  from  the  responsibilities  of  a  teacher,  or  else 
of  a  school  officer.  Foreign  countries,  even  Catholic  ones,  have  con- 
sulted me  in  relation  to  their  school  organizations ;  and,  without  de- 
parting from  the  greatest  modesty,  I  believe  myself  entitled  to  assert 
that  I  understand  the  subject." 

Herder  manifested,  in  every  way,  knowledge  of  schools,  and  skill 
in  their  management.  In  particular,  he  possessed,  when  of  mature 
years,  both  the  greatest  respect  for  established  institutions  of  value, 
and  the  readiest  recognition  of  valuable  novelties.  He  was  consistent 


JOIIANN  GOTTFRIED  HERDER.  33- 

in  upholding  the  former,  and  in  opposing  raw  and  presumptuous  re- 
formers ;  but  his  conservatism  did  not  make  him  blind  to  such  im- 
provements of  value  as  now  and  then  came  up. 

In  a  man  of  Herder's  poetical  and  simple  character,  these  sound 
and  moderate  views  on  education  are  truly  wonderful.  Tlu-y  are 
clearly  expressed,  among  other  places,  in  his  plan  for  the  teacher*' 
seminary  above  mentioned.  In  this  he  says,  "  It  is  the  single  purpose 
of  a  teachers'  seminary,  to  furnish  to  such  young  persons  as  devote 
themselves  to  educational  pursuits,  by  instruction  and  proper  practice, 
in  whatever  is  necessary  or  truly  useful  for  their  future  vocation,  with- 
out ostentation,  or  any  of  the  pedagogical  fantasies  of  the  day ;  for 
the  greatest  skill  as  a  teacher  is  to  be  acquired  only  by  method  and 
practice." 

Herder  was  also  interested  in  favor  of  a  theological  seminary.  In 
respect  to  it,  he  considered  that  "  the  first  seeds  of  such  institutions 
must  be  sowed  in  silence ;  for  that,  as  old  records  show,  what  is  be- 
gun with  a  great  noise,  commonly  comes  to  an  end  very  quietly." 
The  same  wise  humility  appears  again  here;  which  knows  that  the 
blessing  comes  from  above,  but  that  presumption  is  fatal  to  grace. 

In  his  opinion  respecting  a  theological  seminary,  he  says  :  "  What 
the  clinic  does  for  physicians,  and  the  formularium  practicum  for 
jurists,  must  be  done  for  theologians  by  a  seminary  for  those  intend- 
ing to  be  clergymen ;  an  institution,  for  the  establishment  of  which 
our  universities  seem,  under  present  circumstances,  to  be,  for  many 
reasons,  unfit.  Learned  and  experienced  clergymen  only  are  the 
proper  men  to  do  it.'' 

He  advised  young  clergymen,  as  Luther  had  done,  to  endeavor  to 
obtain  practice  in  teaching,  especially  public  teaching.  "  I  consider 
it,"  he  said,  "as  a  piece  of  good  fortune,  that  in  my  youth  I  was  un- 
der the  necessity  of  teaching.  I  know  that  what  I  learned  by  it  I 
could  with  difficulty  have  obtained,  if  at  all,  even  by  eternal  reading 
and  hearing.  Ministers  who  have  been  good  school  teachers,  if  they 
have  not  remained  in  the  business  too  long,  are  very  soon  distinguish- 
able for  orderliness,  science,  and  real  practical  knowledge." 

He  wrote  also  a  very  instructive  "Plan  for  the  employment  of  three 
academical  years,  for  a  youny  theologian.""  In  thu»,  he  advised  such 
a  young  man  not  to  enter  the  university  too  early ;  and  recommends 
him  to  study  geography  and  natural  history.  "  The  knowledge  of 
our  place  of  abode,"  he  says,  "of  its  creatures  and  formation,  is  indis- 
pensable to  him  whom  God  intends  to  preach."  He  advises  students 
to  practice  taking  notes  during  their  studies;  as  being  a  means  of 
"better  distinguishing  and  digesting  their  thoughts."  He  warns 


556  JOHANN  GOTTFRIED  HERDER. 

them  against  being  hypercritical  in  reading  the  Bible.  "The  New 
Testament,"  he  says,  "should  be  read  in  a  religious,  simple,  and  plain 
meaning,  as  the  Apostles  wrote  it,  and  the  first  Christians  read  it.'' 

"The  students  ought  not  to  pursue  refinements  too  far  in  their 
studies ;  should  read  rather  good  books  than  bad  ones ;  and  should 
not  attempt  to  explain  every  thing,  to  the  last  iota ;  but  should  rest 
contented  with  the  general  internal  consistency,  purity,  power,  and 
beauty  of  the  word  of  God  in  itself." 

This  plan  of  study  for  a  young  theologian  is  annexed  to  the  "Let- 
ters to  Theophron?  which  are  addressed  to  a  young  man  who  has 
completed  his  academical  studies  in  theology.  The  author  praises 
Theophron's  affection  for  his  teachers,  and  his  freedom  from  foolish  pride 
and  silly  arrogance.  He,  however,  proceeds  to  find  fault  with  him, 
"because  his  mode  of  reading  the  Bible  is  perverted  and  profane; 
because  he  can  not  drop  the  critical  spirit;  and  the  word  of  God  be- 
comes, under  his  critical  process,  like  a  squeezed  lemon."  And  he 
adds :  "  Obtain  for  yourself  a  heart  inclined  to  overcome  all  obliqui- 
ties of  judgment,  to  level  hill  and  valley,  and  again  to  attain  to  that 
right-mindedness  which  was  a  happiness  of  your  youth,  and  without 
which  we  can  never  be  happy." 

Herder's  "Report  upon  the  education  of  young  clergymen  at  the 
university"*  is  of  great  value  in  relation  to  theological  studies.  The 
occasion  which  called  out  this  report  was  a  most  lamentable  one. 
Numbers  of  young  theologians,  at  the  close  of  their  academical  term, 
were  found  utterly  unfit  for  the  ministry.  The  question  was  asked, 
whether  it  was  not  going  to  be  necessary  to  educate  those  preparing 
for  the  ministry,  in  schools  set  apart  for  them.  Herder  opposed  this 
plan,  and,  together  with  a  full  exposition  of  the  existing  evil,  advised 
how  it  could  be  remedied,  without  laying  aside  the  received  course  of 
study. 

He  begins  by  seeking  the  source  of  the  difficulty,  not  in  the  de- 
partment of  theology,  but  in  that  of  philosophy;  which  is  especially 
to  blame  for  perverting  the  minds  of  the  students  beforehand,  and 
thus  unfitting  them  for  their  subsequent  theological  studies.  This  is 
the  worse,  as  "  the  young  people  come  too  young  and  immature  to 
the  university;"  immature  in  understanding,  judgment,  and  charac- 
ter, and  thus  given  over  to  every  intellectual  and  moral  temptation. 
Herder's  principal  remedy  is,  to  lengthen  the  school  course  one  year, 
and  to  establish  a  "select  class"  in  each  gymnasium,  "in  which  the 
youths  may  learn  to  conduct  themselves  as  academical  students." 

'  Drawn  up  from  the  only  two,  unfortunately,  which  remain,  of  the  reports  on  similar  sub- 
jects, which  the  author  wrote  during  the  last  six  years  of  hid  life. 


JOHANN  GOTTFRIED  HERDER.  557 

"In  this  way  the  prolongation  of  their  stay  in  the  school  would  not 
become  a  hardship  to  them,  and  their  entrance  into  the  university 
will  not  turn  their  heads."  On  this  plan,  academical  lectures  would 
be  avoided  on  subjects  which  can  be  thoroughly  learned  only  in 
schools ;  as  these  would  be  attended  to  in  this  select  class. 

In  conclusion,  we  will  glance  at  the  excellent  addresses  which  Her- 
der delivered  while  Ephorua  of  the  Weimar  Gymnasium,  mostly  at 
examinations. 

In  two  of  these,  he  advocates  strict  order  and  discipline  in  schools, 
though  the  period  was  one  of  the  greatest  laxity  of  morals.  If  such 
discipline  is  wanting,  if  the  teacher  is  not  entirely  master  in  his  class, 
and  possessed  of  entire  control  of  his  scholars,  his  occupation  be- 
comes an  infernal  torture,  such  as  that  of  Sisyphus  and  the  Danaides. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  teacher  should  not  forget  the  rule,  Maxi- 
ma reverentia  puero  debetur.  In  a  third  address,  he  discusses  methods 
of  study ;  and  adds,  that  in  some  departments  (e.  g.,  in  natural  histo- 
ry,) these  methods  have  been  improved  as  the  studies  have  advancff . 
He  then  proceeds  to  oppose  the  feeble  and  enfeebling  newly-discov- 
ered methods  for  easing  study. 

One  address  is  upon  written  school  exercises.  Among  others,  he 
earnestly  recommends  translations  from  the  classics,  as  accurate  as 
possible  without  unpleasant  closeness;  and  assiduous  reading,  in 
which  the  pupil  must  be  assisted  by  the  teacher.  "  Very  eminent 
men,"  he  says,  "have  educated  themselves  without  a  teacher,  but  it 
would  be  unfortunate  &>r  any  one  to  undertake  to  gain  all  his  acquire- 
ments without  a  teacher;  and  the  consequence  would  often  be  that 
he  would  be  distinguished  only  for  mental  deformity."  **A  good 
school  is  a  community  of  bees,  who  fly  about  and  gather  honey ;  an 
indolent  one,  a  collection  of  beasts  of  burden,  who  go  just  where  they 
are  driven,  and  do  not,  all  their  lives,  take  possession  even  of  what  is 
laid  upon  them." 

In  the  address  on  schools  as  physical  gymnasia,  he  discusses  the 
development  of  innate  faculties  by  practice.  As  included  in  this,  he 
mentions  exercises  in  bodily  accomplishments  and  susceptibilities. 
All  such  exercises,  he  says,  must  be  steadily  followed,  and  inter- 
changed with  each  other;  and  a  noble  emulation,  the  ugood  Kris" 
of  Hesiod,  must  preside  over  them.  In  regard  to  such  exercises,  the 
schools  are  far  better  situated  than  the  universities,  which  undervalue 
all  exercise. 

Two  addresses  consider  what  place  the  fine  arts  should  occupy  in 
the  schools.  "  Woe  to  a  time,"  says  llerder,  "  which  calls  that  beau- 
tiful which  is  easy  ;  and  that  agreeable  which  is  attained  with  facility." 


g58  JOHANN  GOTTFRIED  HERDER. 

The  ancients  knew  nothing  of  the  "fine"  arts,  as  opposed  to  the  pro- 
found or  the  useful. 

The  Latin  terms  "literce  kumaniores"  "studia  humanitatis"  happily 
expressed  the  correct  idea  of  the  fine  arts.  To  the  ancients  the  terra 
"beautiful"  was  "an  actual  part  of  a  clear,  accurate,  intelligible,  ex- 
pressive proposition ;  not  a  mere  verbal  finery."  "All  sciences  lose 
their  best  part  when  the  beautiful, — that  is,  that  quality  by  which 
they  develop  humanity, — is  taken  away  from  them ;  and  that  this  is  a 
quality  which  each  of  them,  after  its  kind,  can  have  and  should  have, 
that  no  science  should  be  barbarian  or  inhuman,  that  even  the  most 
abstract  pursuits  have  their  attraction,  their  beauty," — these  are  prop- 
ositions which  follow  of  themselves. 

"On  the  use  of  schools."  This  is  directed  against  pseudo-philan- 
thropic reformers  who  contemn  all  tradition,  which,  meanwhile,  is 
handed  down  to  us  principally  by  means  of  the  schools.  "The  whole 
human  race  is  certainly  one  school,  continued  on  through  all  centuries ; 
and  a  new-born  child,  suddenly  removed  from  this  school,  broken  out 
from  this  chain  of  instruction,  and  set  upon  a  desert  island,  would  be, 
with  all  his  natural  faculties,  a  miserable  beast,  even  ten  times  more 
miserable  than  the  beasts." 

"  The  spirit  of  our  age  tends  more  to  destroy  than  to  build.  To 
fell  a  tree  costs  only  a  few  strokes ;  but  to  make  it  grow  up,  requires 
years,  or  centuries." 

Herder  then  turns  to  ignorant  teachers.  "  It  is  an  established  fact, 
that  an  ignorant  or  visionary  man  can  teach  nothing  correctly  ;  that  one 
who  desires  to  teach,  must  himself  have  learned ;  that  is,  must  have 
acquired  clear  and  correct  ideas,  and  a  lucid,  easy,  and  practicable 
method.  This  is  the  reason  why  all  half-learned  men  are  so  strenuous 
against  true  modes  of  instruction.  I  believe  we  should  all  agree  that 
the  arguments  of  such  persons  would  be  very  suspicious.  *  *  * 
The  older  we  grow,  or  at  least  the  more  mature  our  judgment  becomes, 
the  better  does  he  see  that  no  measures  should  be  kept  with  such 
geniuses,  with  their  peculiar  enthusiasms,  with  their  eloquence  upon 
subjects  of  which  they  are  ignorant,  with  their  activity  in  occupa- 
tions which  they  do  not  understand;  and,  for  my  part,  I  experience 
a  horror  when  I  hear,  read,  or  see  the  preaching,  or  orations,  or  op- 
erations of  these  geniuses.  What  we  learn  it  is,  that  we  understand."* 

Every  thing  which  Herder  says  here  seems  perfectly  clear  of  itself. 
And  yet  Jacotot,  whose  system  has,  at  a  later  date,  gained  so  much 
reputation,  says  that  his  "  universal  instruction  appeals  to  no  one  who 
does  not  feel  himself  competent  to  teach  his  son  what  he  does  not 

•In  his  obituary  address  upon  Ileinze,  the  late  rector  at  Weimar,  Herder  praised  him  &» 
"a  master  who  would  not  teach  at  all  what  he  only  half  understood." 


JOHANN  GOTTFRIED  HERDER.  -     ,, 

himself  understand.  *  *  *  He  appeals  to  his  own  experience; 
since  he  taught  Dutch  and  Russian  without  understanding  them,  and 
music,  of  which  he  never  knew  any  thing."* 

"  School,"  says  Herder  further,  "  is  a  place  in  which  we  learn  a 
science,  a  language,  an  art,  or  a  trade,  thoroughly  and  by  rules ;  where 
we  practice  those  rules,  and  make  ourselves  familiar  with  them; 
where  our  faults  are  explained  to  us  from  their  bottom,  and  remedied 
in  the  easiest  way  possible.  *  *  *  Thus  it  appears  of  itself  that 
a  teacher  must  understand  the  subject  which  he  teaches ;  and  that 
accordingly  I  can  learu  it  from  him,  and  can  do  so  much  more  easily 
than  from  myself,  who  know  nothing  of  it."  "  It  is  certainly  a  rec- 
ommendation of  a  man  to  say  'he  is  educated  ;'  but  a  rips-raps,  who 
has  no  training  in  any  school,  lacks  steadiness  and  precision  in  his  work." 

The  same  address  contains  striking  remarks  upon  the  heuristic  or 
inventive  method,  which  had  been  pushed  to  the  extremes!  caricature, 
especially  by  Jacotot.  Herder  ridicules  the  undertaking  to  find  out, 
for  one's  self,  sciences,  rules,  arts,  which  the  mind  is  to  bring  out  for 
us, — or  which  the  wind  is  to  blow  to  us."  It  is  more  than  we  are 
able  to  do,  to  learn  the  necessary  studies  in  the  slowest  manner. 

"0/i  the  introduction  of  improvements  in  schools,  1786."  In  this  ad- 
dress he  complains  that  the  public  take  little  interest  in  the  schools,  and 
regard  them  so  little.  He  opposes  the  idea  that,  even  in  the  gymnasium, 
reference  should  be  had  to  the  future  social  destiny  of  the  scholar;  and 
contends  that  a  general  mental  development  should  rather  be  sought. 

"  On  the  preference  of  public  or  private  schools,  1 790."  Herder  make* 
no  defense  of  the  "pure  good  Latin  schools."  In  practice,  he  was  in- 
strumental in  removing  the  objection  that  the  scholars  were  ranked  every 
where  by  their  standing  in  Latin,  and  that  other  studies  were  pursued 
merely  as  subordinate ;  for  he  was  prominent  in  the  introduction  of  the 
new  arrangement,  according  to  which  the  pupils  received  a  name  and 
rank  from  their  proficiency  in  Latin,  but  were  set  higher  or  lower  in  each 
other  section,  according  to  their  proficiency  in  that.  Thus  the  scholars 
of  a  particular  Latin  class  might  have  different  places  at  different  lessons. 

Although,  in  some  of  his  addresses,  Herder  appears  as  a  firm  parti- 
san of  established  good  measures,  and  as  decidedly  conservative,  still, 
in  that  last  quoted,  he  recommends,  with  equal  earnestness,  an  innova- 
tion, that  is  the  uniting  of  the  class  system  and  the  classification  by 
studies.  Latin,  as  anciently  established,  is,  it  is  true,  to  hold  the  first 
rank  in  the  schools ;  but  other  studies  are  made  to  assume  a  rank  and 
importance  of  their  own  ;  and  are  to  appear  to  the  scholars,  no  longer 
as  unimportant  adjuncts  to  the  Latin,  but  as  independent  pursuits,  re- 
quiring earnest  study. 

Jacotot's  "Univenal  Inttrtictim,"  uplained  by  Dr  Hoffman,  p.  22. 


5GO  JOHANN  GOTTFRIED  HERDER. 

In  several  other  addresses,  as  in  his  youth,  Herder  is  an  advocate 
of  realism  in  the  schools;  of  an  enlightened  realism  however,  not  of 
one  which  can  only  stimulate  pride.  In  an  address,  in  1*798,  "On  the 
progress  of  a  school  in  the  course  of  time"  he  says  that  lie  would  not 
comply  with  the  demands  of  the  times  in  what  is  extravagant,  but  so 
far  as  they  are  true  and  useful.  He  had  learned,  to  full  conviction, 
that  the  times  very  correctly  required  of  scholars,  training  in  under- 
standing, speaking  and  writing  their  native  language,  in  natural 
science,  mathematics,  and  geography.  His  address  "On  the  agreeable- 
ness,  usefulness,  and  necessity  of  Geography"  is  full  of  love  of  the 
study.  He  says  that  "  he  pursued  it  with  the  extremest  pleasure  in 
the  best  years  of  his  life,  and  taught  it  to  others  with  as  much  pleas- 
ure." He  considers  geography,  in  connection  with  natural  history,  as 
the  basis  of  general  history.  The  fresh  enthusiasm  which  charac- 
terizes this  address  is  the  same  which  appears  in  his  "Ideas  upon  the 
History  of  Humanity"  the  first  part  of  which  was  published  in 
1784,  the  year  of  the  delivery  of  this  address. 

In  a  second  address,  "On  true  progress  in  schools"  he  expresses 
himself  strongly  against  "old,  empty,  dry  customs."  "Every  teach- 
er," he  says,  "  must  have  his  own  customs,  must  himself  have  fash- 
ioned them,  and  that  intelligently,  or  he  will  accomplish  nothing." 
This  is  most  strongly  opposed  to  the  antiquated  custom  which  pre- 
scribed that  men  must  move  only  in  the  footsteps  of  their  predecessors. 

The  address  "On  the  genius  of  a  school"  is  very  able,  and  very 
characteristic  of  Herder.  This  genius  is,  in  his  view,  "a  personification 
of  the  purity  and  nobility  of  human  nature  ;"  a  personification  of  hu- 
manity. A  comparison  is  very  interesting,  of  this  address  with  an- 
other, entitled  "Schools  as  the  laboratories  of  God's  spirit,  the  Holy 
Ghost."  What  are  the  relations  between  the  "genius  of  a  school," 
and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  its  operations  ? 

I  shall  concluded  here,  referring  the  reader  to  Herder's  works.     Itx 
jvas  not  my  design  to  give  an  exhaustive  account  of  him,  but  only 
such  an  one  as  might  instruct  the  teachers  of  our  times ;  who,  in  their 
overestimate  of  the  present  day,  may  easily  undervalue  the  profound, 
truthful,  and  fruitful  views  of  preceding  great  men. 

We  have  sketched  Herder's  life  until  he  came  to  Weimar,  in  1776. 
We  have  seen  how  deeply  he  was  interested  in  schools,  seminaries, 
and  the  education  of  ministers  and  teachers ;  and  how  he  labored  for 
them,, in  thought  and  in  action.  In  this  course  of  active  exertion  he 
persevered  steadily  and  hopefully,  although  it  often  appeared  as  if  his 
labor  was  vain,  until  his  death,  which  took  place  December  18th, 
1803,  at  the  age  of  fifty-nine  years  four  months. 


FRIEDRICH  AUGUST  WOLF. 

[Translated  for  the  American  Journal  of  Education,  from  the  German  of  Karl  TOO  Banner.] 


FRIEDRICH  AUGUST  WOLF  was  born  in  1759,  at  Hainrode, 
a  village  not  far  from  Nordhausen;  where  his  father  was  school- 
master and  organist.  Before  the  boy  could  well  speak  or  walk,  his 
father  tried  to  teach  him  Latin  and  German.  At  two  years  old,  long 
before  he  could  read  or  write,  he  knew  many  Latin  words.  From  his 
mother,  he  inherited  a  pleasant  expression,  and  a  love  of  music. 

In  1765,  his  father  removed  to  Nordhausen.  His  son,  at  the  age 
of  six,  entered  the  third  class  of  the  gymnasium  there,  and,  in  his 
eleventh  year,  was  placed  in  the  first.  Fabricius  was  rector  at  6rst, 
and  was  followed  by  Hake,  a  very  able  man,  who  had  much  influence 
upon  Wolf,  but,  unfortunately,  died  after  a  rectorate  of  only  nine 
months,  in  1771.  Under  his  successor,  Alberti,  the  gymnasium 
declined.  Wolf,  at  fifteen,  detected  this  man's  ignorance  in  a  lesson ; 
and,  at  a  public  examination,  showed  that  he  had  dictated  difficult 
questions  and  answers  to  the  scholars,  in  order  to  a  good  appearance 
before  the  spectators.  After  this,  Wolf  attended  the  gymnasium  but 
little,  but  studied  the  classics  by  himself  with  great  zeal;  being 
bountifully  furnished  with  books  by  two  preachers  and  a  physician 
in  Nordhausen,  and  especially  by  Collaborator  Leopold  in  Ilefeld. 
He  also  learned,  under  music-director  Frankenstein,  as  much  of  Eng- 
lish, French,  Italian,  and  Spanish,  as  his  instructor  knew  himself. 

'In  his  sixteenth  year,  his  father  placed  him  with  Schroeter,  the 
well-known  organist  at  Nordhausen.  Although  the  young  man  had 
studied  the  organ  and  clavier  with  eagerness,  he  had  no  wish  to 
devote  himself  entirely  to  music.  For  this  reason,  Schroeter  tormented 
him  with  mathematical  demonstrations.  "  I  never  liked  these,"  he 
said,  "  for  I  observed  that  the  better  mathematician  a  man  was,  so 
much  the  more  unfit  was  he  for  the  best  of  other  studies." 

In  1777,  he  entered  the  University  of  Gottingen,  where,  contrary 
to  all  usage,  he  matriculated  as  student  iu  philology.  Heyne  re- 
marked as  much  to  him,  to  which  he  answered,  "There  are,  at  most, 
four  or  six  good  professorships  of  philology  in  the  German  universi- 
ties ;  and  one  of  these  I  propose  to  obtain."  He  was  not  close  in 
attendance  on  the  lectures;  but  most  zealously  pursued  his  own 


.•  j 


562  FRIEDRICH  AUGUST  WOLF. 

studies,  with  the  help  of  the  library.  He  did  not  even  enter  Heyne's 
philological  seminary ;  but  read  lectures,  himself,  to  sixteen  hearers, 
on  Xenophon  and  Demosthenes. 

On  Heyne's  recommendation,  he  was,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  ap- 
pointed, in  1779,  collaborator  in  the  Paedagogium  at  Ilefeld;  and, 
two  years  afterward,  was  unanimously  chosen  rector  at  Osterode, 
after  having  read  a  brilliant  probationary  dissertation  on  an  ode  of 
Horace,  and  two  chapters  of  Thucydides.* 

In  1779,  Fredric  II.  of  Prussia,  by  a  cabinet  order  to  his  minis- 
ter, Zedlitz,  gave  an  impulse  to  the  study  of  the  Greek  and  Roman 
classics,  which  occasioned  the  publication  of  new  editions  of  them. 
Wolf  was  thus  induced  to  publish,  in  1782,  Plato's  "Symposium;" 
and  the  reputation  of  this  book  was  the  occasion  of  the  invitationf 
which  he  received  to  fill  Trapp's  place,  at  Halle,  whither  he  went,  in 
1783. 

Wolf's  appointment  specifies  that  he  shall  "  act  as  professor  of 
philosophy,  and  in  particular  of  pedagogy,  according  to  his  official 
duty;  shall  yearly  deliver  an  instructive  free  course  of  public  lectures 
upon  the  art  of  education ;  in  regard  to  the  pedagogical  instruc- 
tion within  the  Teachers'  Seminary,  he  must  spend  as  much  time 
as  possible  in  the  practical  direction  of  it;  and,  to  this  end,  must 
often  instruct  in  the  boarding-school,  in  the  presence  of  the  seminary 
pupils ;  and  must  himself  have  the  oversight  of  the  boarding-school." 

Trapp  seems  to  have  received  nearly  the  same  instructions  from  the 
minister ;  but  there  was  as  much  difference  between  his  conceited 
operations  under  them  and  the  remarkable  efficiency  of  Wolf's,  that 
there  was  between  his  superficiality  and  the  thorough  learning  and 
genius  of  Wolf. 

Not,  however,  that  Wolf  found  affairs  to  his  mind  at  his  entrance 

*  While  at  Osterode  lie  married,  and  had  one  son  and  three  daughters.  The  son  died 
early,  and  he  was  divorced  in  1902. 

t  The  Prussian  minister,  von  Zedlitz,  was  an  enthusiastic  believer  in  Basedow's  pedagogical 
views  and  undertakings.  Tin.-  fact  was  the  reason  of  his  inviting  Trapp,  the  teacher  at  the 
Philanthropinum  at  Dessau,  to  Halle  ;  and  of  his  establishing  there  a  professorship  of  peda- 
gogy, expressly  for  him.  The  new  professor  was  (at  the  same  time,)  placed  in  charge  of  an 
educational  institution,  in  which  boys  were  taught,  and  teachers  were  trained  also. 

Trapp  was  a  thorough  follower  of  Basedow,  as  his  "Attempt  at  a  System  of  Pedagogy  " 
shows.  This  book  contains  a  conceited,  shallow,  and  narrow  course  of  reasoning  upon 
religion,  philosophy,  and  learning ;  an  exallaiion  of  what  is  vulgar,  and  a  vulgar  contempt  for 
•what  is  noble.  For  example, "  the  learning  of  foreign  languages  is  one  of  the  greatest  evils  which 
allliri  the  school;,  <  spi  ri;illy  in  Germany;  and  which  hinder  the  progress  of  men  to  perfection 
and  happiness."  ••  It  is  inquired,  how  many  languages,  and  what,  should  the  teacher  learn  ? 
Would  lo  God  that  he  was  expected  to  learn  none  but  his  own  !  If  education  were  placed 
upon  the  best  possible  footing,  both  Latin  and  French  would  be  banished  from  Germany." 

In  1783,  Trapp  resigned  his  appointment,  to  take  charge  of  an  educational  institution  at 
Hamburg ;  and  the  official  successor  of  this  ignorant  opponent  of  classical  studies,  was  the 
greatest  philologist  of  his  age,  F.  A.  Wolf. 


FRIEDRICH  AUGUST  WOLF.  .,,    ; 

upon  the  professorship  at  Halle.  The  reverse  was  the  case.  So  low 
a  spirit  prevailed  among  the  students,  that  they  desired  nothing  more 
than  to  be  trained  for  the  course  of  life  which  they  intended  to  pur- 
sue. They  usually  reduced  the  required  three  years  of  the  academical 
course  to  two ;  so  that  they  had  time  only  for  the  most  indispensable 
collegiate  studies.*  Thus  it  occurred  that  Wolf  found  no  encourage- 
ment at  all  for  his  philological  lectures.  lie  was  quite  discouraged 
from  lecturing  on  logic  and  metaphysics,  when  encouraging  letters 
reached  him  from  Biester  and  Zedlitz.  The  latter  said  that  Wolf 
must  "help  to  remove  the  one  reproach  under  which  Halle  had  labored ; 
that  no  philologists  had  been  trained  there."  And,  he  continued, 
"  The  public  will  soon  do  me  the  justice  to  confess  that  I,  also,  have 
done  what  I  could  to  this  end,  since  I  have  employed  for  the  pur- 
pose a  man  of  knowledge,  learning,  taste,  and  zeal ;  and,  as  far  as 
was  in  my  power,  have  rewarded  him.  This  confession  to  my  honor, 
I  am  certain  you  will  wring  from  the  public." 

A  liking  for  liberal  studies  gradually  grew  up  among  the  student*. 
The  philological  seminary,  established  by  Wolf's  means,  in  1787, 
was  chiefly  instrumental  to  this  end.  Up  to  this  time,  teachers  had 
usually  been  chosen  from  among  the  theological  students.  Wolf  en- 
deavored, on  the  contrary,  to  build  up  a  class  of  teachers  distinct  from 
the  preachers ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  oppose  the  contempt  for 
classical  studies  which  had  been  promoted  by  the  philanthropists ;  in 
his  own  words,  "  to  raise  up  again  the  steadily  failing  taste  for  thor- 
ough classical  learning."  The  seminarists  not  only  received  theoreti- 
cal training,  but  had  the  opportunity  for  practice  in  teaching.  The 
boarding-school  was,  throughout,  organized  like  that  at  GotUogen. 

Wolf's  address  to  the  seminarists,  at  the  opening  of  his  philological 
seminary,  is  worthy  of  attention.  He  says  that  he  has  always  labored 
for  the  good  of  the  pupils,  without  any  ulterior  views.  u  If,"  he  con- 
tinued, "  I  had  had  the  usual  collateral  views,  I  should  invariably  have 
directed  mv  instructions  rather  to  the  ears  than  to  the  understanding. 
I  am,  however,  conscious  that  I  have  never  aimed  to  attract  a  multi- 
tude of  hearers,  but  only  to  dispense  thorough  knowledge ;  that  is,  to 
have  hearers,  though  few,  well-trained  and  desirous  of  learning. 
This  makes  my  pleasure  the  greater,  to  see  that  a  love  of  classical 
learning  is  actually  increasing  in  our  university.  Four  years  ago,  I 
should  have  been  much  perplexed  to  find  twelve  members  of  such  an 
institution  as  this ;  while  I  have  now  had  the  true  pleasure  of  being 

*  Life  of  Wolf,  by  Korte.  1,  122.  Wolf  repealed!/  detcribe*  rtudenu  of  Ihi*  kind  For 
instance.  "  Such  are  fortunate  if  they  find  •  teacher  who  will  chew  every  lhin«  for  tb»m  ;  " 
and.  in  another  place,  "  Be  convinced  that  no  one  ever  taujul  uaefully,  who  had  Dot  before 
band  learned  well  at  school." 


564  FRIEDRICH  AUGUST  WOLF. 

able  to  select  the  present  large  number  of  industrious  members  from 
a  still  greater  one  of  candidates." 

Wolf  might  well  say  that  he  was  free  from  "  the  usual  collateral 
views."  A  man  who  would  give  up  the  rector's  salary  of  seven  hun- 
dred thalers,  at  Osterode,  and  decline  the  invitation  to  Gera,  where 
one  thousand  thalers  was  promised  him,  and  would  accept,  instead, 
the  professorship  at  Halle,  with  its  income  of  three  hundred  thalers, 
must,  truly,  have  been  governed  by  some  nobler  motive  than  that 
of  gaining  money.  He  sought  honorable  success,  as  a  teacher;  and 
was  no  fool  with  tinkling  bells,  to  direct  his  instructions  rather  to  the 
ears  than  to  the  minds  of  his  hearers.  He  had  too  much  capacity, 
genius,  and  learning,  to  be  capable  of  such  arts ;  a  wealthy  man  does 
not  practice  counterfeiting. 

With  every  year,  his  success,  and  the  number  of  his  hearers,  in- 
creased. Among  these,  the  writer  of  this  account  had  the  good  for- 
tune to  be  one.  At  the  first  of  Wolf's  lectures,  which  he  attended 
in  1798,  the  room  was  crowded ;  and  the  same  was  the  case,  in  1803 
and  1804,  with  all  the  lectures  which  he  attended. 

If  Wolf,  at  his  entrance  upon  his  professorship  at  Halle,  was  forced 
to  make  bitter  complaints  of  the  vulgar  mercenariness  of  the  stu- 
dents, which  looked  no  further  than  to  the  procurement  of  means  to 
earn  their  bread,  his  subsequent  view  of  his  numerous  audience,  of 
whom  but  a  small  part  were  philologistst,  was  sufficient  to  convince 
him  that  he  had  conquered  in  the  contest  with  this  ignoble  feeling, 
and  that  a  noble  aspiration  after  truly  universal  acquirements  was 
awakened  among  the  students.  How  well  he  understood  how  to 
stimulate  this  zeal,  those  who  never  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  his 
pupils  can  learn,  from  the  many  academical  programmes  which  he 
has  collected  in  his  miscellaneous  works.  In  the  first,  he  starts  from 
Seneca's  proposition,  "  He  who  is  every  where  is  nowhere,"  and  utters 
a  warning  against  studying,  superficially,  too  many  subjects,  without 
becoming  thoroughly  acquainted  with  any  of  them.  In  the  second, 
he  discusses  the  contrast  between  the  ancient  Greek  method  of  in- 
structing by  dialogue,  and  the  present  one  of  lecturing  from  the  chair. 
In  order  that  the  students  might,  to  some  extent,  enjoy  the  advant- 
ages of  the  ancient  method,  examinations  and  disputations  were 
established.  "  Do  not  be  afraid  of  these  names,"  he  adds ;  "  these 
exercises  will  be  of  great  service  to  you,  not  only  by  developing  your 
facility  in  language,  but  your  opinions.  In  a  third,  Wolf  graphically 
portrays  a  good  teacher.  Above  all  things,  he  must  teach  what  is 
true,  and  do  it  thoroughly.  There  must,  however,  be  a  second  quali- 
fication. "You  will  perhaps,  my  fellow  laborers,"  he  continues,  "  think 


FR1EDRICH  AUGUST  WOLF. 

.  i,  > 

what  this  is.  I  have  not  so  low  an  opinion  of  your  intelligence  as  to 
believe  that  you  will  imagine  that  it  is  sweet  words,  action,  or  lively 
gesticulation.  Such  meretricious  attractions  are  for  the  theater,  not 
for  the  place  of  instruction ;  for  speeches  intended  to  excite  the  pas- 
sions of  the  multitude,  not  for  a  learned  discourse  intended  to  teach 
youths  wisdom.  Some  action  is,  nevertheless,  appropriate  even  to 
such  a  discourse ;  but  moderate  and  uniform.  *  *  *  This  second 
requisite  is  not  so  much  an  outward  means  of  adding  to  the  excellence 
of  the  discourse,  as  something  bound  closely  up  with  the  instruction 
itself.  I  mean  a  mode  of  teaching  appropriate  to  each  subject, 
which  shall  display  it  in  an  order  which  shall  bring  all  its  parts  dis- 
tinctly out ;  shall  put  each  in  the  right  place;  and  in  intelligible,  pure, 
clear,  appropriate,  and,  where  proper,  witty  language ;  such  as  belongs 
to  educated  men."*  Every  discourse  should  also  be  suited  to  the  in- 
tellectual capacities  of  its  hearers  ;  and,  as  some  of  these  are  strong, 
and  some  are  weak,  the  teacher  may,  perhaps,  adopt  a  mean,  in  style, 
as  for  a  class  between  these  two.  Having  said  so  much  of  the  requi- 
sites of  teachers,  he  proceeds  to  consider  what  should  be  demanded 
of  the  hearers.  "  Of  you,  fellow-laborers,"  he  says,  "  on  the  other 
hand,  it  will  be  required  that  you  bring  to  your  new  instruction 
(moral)  ears  which  have  been  well-trained  in  school  to  the  apprehen- 
sion of  that  medium  style  of  instruction,  which  is,  however,  such  as 
is  appropriate  to  the  university."  In  a  fourth  programme,  Wolf  de- 
fends the  custom  of  lecturing  from  the  chair;  which  must  be  an  art; 
and  must  vary  much  with  the  qualities  of  its  subjects  and  hearers. 
The  more  learned  the  professor,  the  more  valuable  will  be  his  teach- 
ing ;  and  the  more  will  educated  hearers  give  consideration  to  what 
he  says,  and  the  manner  in  which  he  says  it.  The  most  learned  men 
have  proceeded  from  the  schools  of  those  who  merely  read  from 
manuscript  sheets;  while  others,  in  spite  of  their  beautiful  delivery, 
have  been  but  little  esteemed  among  intelligent  and  learned  people. 

I  would  gladly  give  fuller  accounts  of  these  programmes;  but  these 
extracts  will  exemplify  the  free,  clear,  and  vivid  style  in  which  Wolf 
addressed  the  students.  Some  of  his  academical  writings  discutt 
false  readings,  which  have  occasioned  teachers  useless  exertions.  He 
usually  cites  earlier  explanations ;  shows  them  to  be  distorted  and 
faulty ;  and  then,  in  some  remarkably  simple  way,  loosens  the  knot. 
Even  to  read  these  philological  programmes  enables  one  to  imagine 
Wolf's  oral  interpretation  of  the  classics  must  have  enchained  his 
audience. 

*  lie  says,  in  another  programme,  "  The  language  of  lecture*  atiouM  be  (*niiliar. 
is  subjects  vary,  but  nowhere  like  a  book." 

No.  16.— [You  VI.,  No.  1.—]  15. 


566  FRIEDRICH  AUGUST  WOLF. 

Although,  during  the  first  ten  years  of  his  labors  at  Halle,  his 
efforts,  both  oral  and  written,  had  been  confined  within  a  narrow 
sphere,  he  began  about  the  year  1795  to  have  a  European  reputation. 
In  this  year  appeared  his  "Prolegomena  to  Homer  ;  "  a  small  work, 
but  which  gained  a  reputation  unprecedented  in  philology,  although 
the  greatest  minds  were  at  variance  even  with  themselves  as  to  its 
conclusions.  These  were,  that  the  Iliad  and  Odyssey  are  not  by  the 
same  author,  but  that  each  of  them  consists  of  various  separate  rhap- 
sodies, by  different  rhapsodists ;  and  that  these  were  put  in  connec- 
tion with  each  other  by  the  diaskeausts  of  the  time  of  the  Pisistratidae, 
and  by  -later  critics. 

There  was  no  disagreement  in  the  opinion  that  Wolf  had  pursued 
his  undertaking  with  the  greatest  acuteness,  and  with  eminent  learn- 
ing, whatever  differences  may  have  existed  as  to  his  conclusions. 
Wilhelm  von  Humboldt,  G.  Hermann,  the  two  Schlegels,  and  other 
celebrated  men,  supported  him.  Ruhnken  wrote  to  him,  "I  have  read 
your  Prolegomena  more  than  once,  enchained  both  by  the  wealth  of 
your  distinguished  learning  and  by  the  acuteness  of  your  historical 
criticism.  In  regard  to  your  argument  against  the  antiquity  of  writ- 
ing, it  is  with  me  as  it  was  with  him  who  read  Plato's  Phaedon. 
While  I  am  reading  the  book,  I  agree  with  you ;  but  when  I  lay  the 
book  down,  the  whole  demonstration  escapes  with  it."  And  Bois- 
sonade  pronounced  a  similar  opinion. 

Voss  was  opposed  to  Wolf's  views,  as  was  Schiller,  very  strongly. 
Wieland  said,  also  arguing  against  him,  "  The  Wolfian  method  of 
criticism  is  very  flattering  to  us  poor  backward  votaries  of  epic  poetry ; 
for,  according  to  it,  the  ancient  singer  loses,  all  at  once,  his  divine 
splendor,  and  becomes  as  one  of  us."  A  naive  simplicity,  which 
reverses  the  sentiment  of  John  the  Baptist,  and  makes  it  read  "  I 
must  increase,  and  he  must  decrease." 

Gothe's  earlier  views  seem  to  have  agreed  entirely  with  Wieland's, 
but  to  arise  from  a  nobler  motive.  I  refer  to  the  well  known  verses : 

"First,  to  the  health  of  the  man  who  at  last  has  relieved  us  of  Homer, 
Roldly,  and  thus  he  summons  us  to  a  higher  career. 
For  who  will  contend  with  the  gods,  or  who  with  one  of  them  even  ? 
But  to  be  one,  though  the  last,  of  the  Homeridse,  is  grand." 

Gothe  afterward,  however,  wrote,  referring  to  his  earlier  opinion, 
that  he  was  "  more  than  ever  convinced  of  the  unity  and  indivisibility 
of  the  Iliad." 

Such  an  excitement  was  stirred  up  among  great  intellects  by  the 
Prolegomena.  They  have  also  brought  up  some  very  important 
questions. 


FR1EDRICH  AUGUST  VVOLP.  537 

With  this  work  began  a  democratic  strife  against  the  aristocracy  of 
the  intellectual  world.  Homeridae  or  Homer,  is  a  question  often  dU- 
cussed,  in  the  course  of  it,  in  reference  to  the  greatest  works  of  antiq- 
uity. 

Herder's  "  Voices  of  the  Nations,"  and  "  Vitics  of  Poetry?  had 
testified,  as  Gothe  remarks,  "  that  poetry  is  a  gift  to  the  world  and  to 
nations,  and  not  the  private  inheritance  of  a  few  refined  and  educated 
men." 

And  Wolf  says  "  Every  poetical  age  consists  of  one  generation  and 
one  man.  Each  such  age  is  but  one  mind,  one  soul.  And  they  dif- 
fer only  by  the  difference  of  their  circumstances." 

Who  will  not  rejoice  that  poetry,  instead  of  being  the  prerogative 
of  a  few  highly-gifted  men,  while  all  others  are  deprived  of  it,  is  a 
gift  to  the  people  ?  And  above  the  multitude  of  the  poets  stand 
Sophocles,  Dante,  Shakspeare,  Camoens  (Cervantes?)  and  Gothe, 
like  lofty  palms  and  cedars  above  the  underbrush.  But  does  not 
Homer  rank  with  them  ?  Or  are  the  Homeridae  princes  among  the 
poets  of  the  nations  ? 

A  second  respect  in  which  Prolegomena  constitute  an  epoch  is,  the 
boldness  with  which  Wolf  attacked  the  belief  of  a  thousand  yean, 
that  one  man,  Homer,  wrote  the  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey ;  with  which 
he  termed  this  belief  an  error,  in  spite  of  Plato  and  Aristotle.  By 
this  he  inaugurated  a  style  of  criticism,  which  no  longer  recognized 
authority,  but  took  pleasure  in  boldly  summoning  all  before  its  bar, 
even  the  holiest.  Especially  did  Wolf  exert  this  influence  upon  bib- 
lical criticism.*  "  Holy  or  profane  writers,"  he  says,  "  are  all  one  to 
me.  Secondary  considerations  do  not  make  me  timid,  and  I  am  not 
inclined  to  affect  timidity.  The  demonstration,  which  will  not  be 
long  delayed,  that  the  Pentateuch  is  made  up  of  dissimilar  portions 
belonging  to  different  ages,  and  dates  back  not  further  than  to  a  period 
a  little  after  Solomon — such  a  demonstration  I  should  put  forth  without 
any  horror." 

Yet  Wolf  complimented  himself  as  "having  preserved  himself 
equally  free  from  credulity  and  doubt  ;f  and  combated  the  error  that 
the  higher  criticism  could  only  destroy. 

•Korte's  •1JLi/e,"  1.319;  and  same,  1.  28;  where  K3rte  sty*  that,  eren  while  a  scholar.  Wolf 
had  arrived  at  Ihe  remarkable  conclusion  that,  through  the  ignorance  of  lit*  teachers,  h«  had 
learned  every  thing  falsely  and  pervertedly.  "  He  had  even  begun  to  distrust  hi*  fciher. 
In  short,  he  thought  it  not  impossible  thai,  «o  far  as  lii»torical  truth  was  concerned.  •  set  o< 
idle  tales  had  been  made  up  and  told  Ihe  scholar* "  His  weak  rector,  who**  ifnnraoc*  and 
falsehood  he  had  discovered,  caused  him  these  doubts :  which  were  a  remarkable  (ircmonif too 
of  the  skepticism  and  criticism  of  his  later  yearm. 

t  Korte,  2,  223  ;  where  it  is  stated  that  the  aged  WieUnd  also  rejoiced  ai  the  ProlcfoMM, 
for  the  reason  that  the  turn  of  the  Bible  would  "come  after  (hat  of  tui*  idoL" 


568  FRIEDRICH  AUGUST  WOLF. 

In  Wolfs  lecture-room  stood  only  one  bust,  that  of  Lessing;  and, 
among  his  colleagues,  his  connection  was  closest  with  Semler.  We 
can  readily  see  what  drew  him  to  these  two  men;  and  directly 
he  promoted  the  objects  which  the  former  had  led  in  seeking. 

Wolf's  attacks  upon  authorities  which  it  had  been  supposed  could 
not  even  be  attempted,  naturally  had  a  great  influence  upon  his  hear- 
ers. Although  mature  age  easily  inclines  to  take  part  for  what  is 
established,  and  is  displeased  at  any  thing  unusual  and  new,  and 
which  is  strongly  opposed  to  what  is  ancient;  yet  the  young  are,  on 
the  other  hand,  delighted  to  shake  off  all  obligation  and  authority, 
and  to  set  themselves  up  above  their  predecessors.  There  was,  how- 
ever, one  thing  which  damped  the  sometimes  excessive  vigor  of  Wolf's 
scholars.  The  strange  attacks  which  he  made,  without  any  notice, 
were  not  made  merely  for  pleasure ;  this  would  have  stimulated  youth- 
ful minds  to  similar  attacks ;  but  they  were  the  results  of  the  great 
and  comprehensive  labors  of  a  man  of  genius.  Thus,  in  this  respect, 
Wolf  awed  his  pupils,  and  made  them  modest ;  and  yet  he  strength- 
ened them  to  persevering  activity,  thorough  searches  for  truth,  and 
emphatic  contempt  for  pretension. 

It  is  well  known  what  distinguished  scholars  came  from  Wolf's  tui- 
tion. The  ablest  of  them  have  repeatedly  acknowledged  their  obli- 
gations to  him.  Bockh,  for  instance,  dedicated  his  first  work  to  him, 
and  expressed  to  him  heartfelt  thanks.  Wolf,  he  says,  introduced 
him  to  a  new  scientific  life;  and  was  to  him,  in  advice  and  admoni- 
tion, a  second  father.  Bekker  has  expressed  the  same  heartfelt  grati- 
tude to  Wolf,  as  lias  Heindorf,  among  his  earlier  pupils ;  and  this 
feeling  was  entertained,  not  only  by  such  distinguished  philologists  as 
came  from  his  school,  but  by  all  the  great  number  who  had  listened 
to  him  with  a  lively  interest,  and  whom  he  had  assisted  by  friendly 
advice,  giving  them  access  to  books,  or  otherwise. 

His  efforts  were,  however,  by  no  means  restricted  to  the  universities, 
but  extended  also  to  the  gymnasia.  He  had,  indeed,  taught  in  two 
of  them.  While  rector  at  Osterode,  he  seems  to  have  accomplished, 
in  his  short  official  career  of  two  years,  an  incredible  amount  of  good 
in  the  revival  of  the  institution.  The  service,  however,  was  far  more 
extensive  and  important,  which  he  did  by  educating  in  his  seminary 
a  great  number  of  excellent  gymnasium  teachers.  It  was  for  these  that 
he  delivered  the  lectures  on  pedagogy,  which  have  already  been  men- 
tioned, which  were  especially  enjoined  upon  him,  and  which  were  af- 
terward printed.  Director  Fohlisch,  of  Wertheim,  a  worthy  pupil 
of  Wolf,  first  published  them,  and  Korte  afterward  issued  them 
again;  adding  many  reports,  letters,  and  fragments  left  by  Wolf,  of  a 


FR1EDRICII  AUGUST  WOI.F.  £Q0 

pedagogical  character.*  Before  giving  extracts  of  these  books,  I  must 
remark  that  many  of  Wolf's  opinions  appear  to  contradict  eaich  other, 
although  upon  a  close  examination  this  variance  disappear*.  Espe- 
cially must  care  be  taken,  in  reading  him,  to  observe  whether  he  h 
speaking  of  his  own  ideal,  of  a  philologist  for  example,  or  whether 
he  is  only  referring,  with  a  sort  of  despairing  resignation,  to  what  is 
possible,  or  is  actually  accomplished,  under  existing  circumstances. 
These  ideals  are  found,  as  is  natural,  more  frequently  in  his  earlier 
writings ;  and  the  resignation  in  the  later  ones.  I  proceed  to  give 
an  example.  "  Although,"  says  Wolf,  in  a  letter,  "  I  so  willingly 
conceived  the  hope  that  the  study  of  the  ancient  languages  could  be 
begun  with  the  Greek,  and  I  thus  had  entertained  a  dream  of  a  lofty 
elevation  of  the  German  national  education,  yet  I  have  long  ago 
awaked  out  of  it,  so  far  as  regards  our  public  schools.  The  whole 
tendency  of  our  modern  popular  education  works  against  it"  Still 
more  striking  is  what  he  says  in  an  educational  report  of  the  yenr 
1811  :  "All  those  might  be  excluded  from  the  study  of  Greek,  and 
still  more  from  that  of  Hebrew,  in  whom  is  stirred  up  no  especial 
pleasure  in.  studying  languages.f  Learning  Greek  should  be  made 
a  reward  for  distinguished  industry  in  other  studies,  Latin  particularly, 
rather  than  a  matter  of  constraint  or  wearisome  recommend- 
ations." 

A  second  instance  of  apparent  contradiction,  is  found  in  Wolf's 
views  on  writing  and  speaking  Latin ;  to  which  we  shall  hereafter 
refer,  in  discussing  instruction  in  Latin. 

The  educational  report  of  1811,  above  mentioned,  is  an  extended 
revision  of  one  which  Wolfe  had  previously,  in  1803,  presented  to 
the  philosophical  faculty  of  Halle.  Its  subject  is,  "Fixation  of  Limit* 
between  Schools,  Universities,  and  Institutions  for  Practical  Intlnic- 
tion"  Respecting  the  last  named,  Wolf  remarks  that  men  of  bnsi- 
ness  must  be  trained  in  business;  but,  he  adds, ever}'  means  should  b« 
used  to  prevent  "  any  one  from  entering  into  practical  occupations 
without  a  thorough  knowledge  of  those  subjects,  upon  an  application 
of  which  such  occupations  depend  ;  since  the  contrary  would  causo 
the  introduction  of  a  mere  routine,  wholly  unintelligent,  and,  although 
perhaps  useful  in  some  cases,  on  the  whole  entirely  uncertain." 

And  again  :  "Education  must  begin  to  be  scientific  in  the  univers- 
ities; in  the  schools  it  must  be  preparatory,  elementary,  and  for 
general  training."  "  Yet,  in  modern  times,  scientific  instruction  ha 

•  F.  A.  Wolf's  "ConsiVio  Scholaitica,  upon  «lncalion.  whoob,  »ixl  oni»er»ili* 
ecteil  from  his  literary  remains,  by  W.  Kiirle.    Qtiecllinbnrf  *  L*ip*if.     B«ck*r.     15J3 
t  Wolf  here  exempts  tho»e  intending  to  *u«!y  theology. 


670  FRIEDRICH  AUGUST  WOLF. 

been  introduced  into  the  schools,  to  the  no  small  injury  of  youth. 
*  *  *  The  daily  increasing  superficiality  and  multitude  of  studies 
in  the  schools  should  be  opposed  by  all  possible  means.  In  schools, 
set  lessons  in  Greek  and  Roman  literature,  the  theory  of  the  fine  arts, 
and  the  like,  are  altogether  superfluous  and  harmful.  *  *  *  It 
would  be  much  better  for  the  scholar  to  know  nothing  at  all  of  such 
subjects,  than  to  suppose  himself  master  of  them,  and  to  be  capable  of 
deceiving  even  intelligent  people  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  by  means 
of  possessing  a  few  insignificant,  unseasonable  preliminary  ideas. 
Whatever  pertains  to  the  memory  and  the  imagination,  is  the  province 
of  the  school ;  while  the  university  deals  with  what  concerns  the 
higher  intellectual  powers.  The  pupil  should  bring  to  the  university 
only  knowledge,  and  practiced  skill  in  study.  And  since  the  transi 
tion  to  the  scientific  methods  of  study,  proper  to  the  university,  can 
not  be  made  at  one  leap,  the  higher  classes  of  the  schools  should 
gradually  assimilate  to  it;  without,  however,  anticipating  it,  either  in 
subject-matter  or  form." 

What  a  clear  view  is  this  of  the  constitution  and  relations  of  the 
school  and  the  university !  how  lucid  the  insight  into  the  natural 
course  of  education  for  the  young !  how  wise  is  Wolf's  advice,  and 
how  well  calculated  to  cure  the  evils  which,  since  he  wrote,  have  so  fear- 
fully increased !  It  is  not  only  the  scholars,  however,  who  desire  to 
anticipate  the  university,  and  play  the  student,  in  the  gymnasium ; 
but  there  are  as  many  teachers  who  would  much  rather  deliver  to 
their  pupils  brilliant  lectures  from  the  chair,  sometimes  upon  subjects 
wholly  without  the  province  of  the  school,  than  moderately  and  un- 
derstandingly  to  train  them  in  the  indispensable  knowledge  and  skill 
in  study,  for  which  the  scholar's  capacity  is  suited.  This  is  the  orig- 
inating cause  of  a  certain  decrepit  indifference  and  insusceptibility  in 
many  students.  Unseasonable  luxuries  destroy  the  sound  appetite 
which  a  healthy  stomach  feels  at  meal-time. 

Wolf  formed  very  just  opinions  on  all  school-plans,  even  his  own, 
in  respect  to  practicability  and  detail.  To  a  rector,  to  whom  he  sent 
some  plans,  he  wrote  :  "I  hope  that  you  and  your  young  assistants 
will  understand  these  plans — which  are  not  sent  as  patterns — in  the 
spirit  in  which  I  drew  them  up ;  and  make  all  the  use  of  them  which 
you  can  and  will.  For  in  every  other  occupation,  and  in  the  school  as 
well,  every  thing  depends  on  those  two  auxiliary  verbs.  Without  them, 
complaints  are  useless ;  and  it  is  a  most  unworthy  destruction  of  sta- 
tionery, to  undertake  to  operate  among  your  subordinates  with  paper 
stimulants  and  ordinances." 

Wolf's  opinions  were  valuable,  moreover,  not  only  within  the  sphere 


FRIEDRICII  AUGUST  WOLP  K»I 

o  t 1 

of  his  own  profession,  but  on  many  subjects  which  would  hare  been 
supposed  far  out  of  his  line.  But  could  any  subject  be  reckoned  out 
of  the  sphere  of  so  great  a  genius,  so  classically  learned,  and  so 
experienced  ? 

We  may  properly  quote  such  portions  of  his  "Coruilia  "  &<i  display 
his  clear  views  and  judicious  tact,  in  opposing  some  pedagogical 
absurdities.  "  Children  do  nothing  well,  but  what  they  do  willingly. 
Hence  it  follows,  that  all  their  studies  should  be  so  managed  as  to 
be  pursued  willingly.  And  it  is  still  better  to  contrive  that  they  shall 
willingly  do  whatever  they  must  do." 

"Poetry  promotes  good  education  more  than  any  thing  else ;  and,  in 
respect  to  it,  no  distinction  in  the  rank  of  the  scholars  must  be  ob- 
served. Up  to  the  seventh  or  eighth  year,  poetry  should  be  the  chief 
occupation.  For  during  this  period  its  influence  is  most  valuable, 
and  likewise  the  higher  beauties  of  prose  arc  not  felt.  The  same  is 
true  of  a  whole  nation  ;  the  transition  to  prose  is  very  difficult" 

(Study  of  language.)  "  The  feelings  must  go  first;  and,  when  they 
are  excited,  ideas  follow.  And  this  feeling  must,  in  the  end,  be  con- 
stituted a  rule."  "  Up  to  the  fourteenth  year,  forms  miwt  be  kept 
quite  out  of  sight.  The  reasoning  faculties  should  at  first  not  be  put 
into  requisition  at  all ;  reasoning  weakens  the  memory."  "  Exam- 
ples should  always  go  with — even  before — principles  and  rules.  The 
ooy  must  first  learn  to  feel  what  is  witty  or  acute,  and  to  imitate  it; 
and,  at  a  later  period  only  (scarcely  while  in  school,)  what  is  the  real 
essence  of  such  things." 

"  In  pedagogy,  scientific  study  should  be  distinguished  from  artis- 
tic; that  is,  the  distinction  should  be  maintained  between  the  teacher 
and  the  artist." 

"  The  ancients  reasoned  less,  and  did  more.  Therefore  it  is  that 
they  were  more  acute,  and  had  less  need  of  a  text-book  in  their  hands." 

"  Only  an  extraordinary  love  for  the  employment,  for  the  young, 
and  a  desire  based  upon  a  true  and  profound  religious  feeling,  to  labor 
for  the  next  generation,  can  make  endurable  the  inexpressible  labori- 
ousness  of  the  teacher's  vocation.  The  teacher  ought  not  to  reckon 
upon  payment,  scarcely  upon  appreciation." 

(From  "General  Instructions  to  a  Learned  Educator  in  Ger- 
many?) "  Have  some  love  for  all  the  studies  which  you  pursue,  and 
for  the  youths  intrusted  to  your  care ;  but,  if  the  two  objects  come 
into  competition,  love  the  latter  most"  "  Always  be  well ;  and  un- 
derstand how  to  go  hungry  patiently,  when  necessary."  "  Require 
no  respect  from  men,  and  no  gratitude ;  and  do  not  value  the  appro- 
bation of  those  who  misjudge  you." 


572  FRtEDRICH  AUGUST  WOLP. 

"  It  is  better  often  to  repeat  expressions  once  well-chosen,  and  to 
impress  them  thoroughly  upon  the  memory,  than  to  select  others  at 
random ;  which  often  causes  the  precise  point  in  question  to  be  lost 
sight  of.  Only,  the  questions  used  in  the  repetition  of  what  is  already 
learned,  must  be  varied  many  ways.''* 

u  Every  scientifically  capable  man  is  naturally  fitted  for  some  one 
particular  science,  in  pursuing  which,  he  insensibly  considers  the 
others  along  with  it ;  but  as  a  strict  examination  passes  upon  each  of 
them,  many  students  distress  themselves,  merely  for  the  examina- 
tion, with  matters  useless  to  them,  and  thereby  waste  much  time, 
which  they  could  better  employ  in  their  own  pursuit." 

Wolf  repeatedly  expresses  himself  against  the  foolishness  usual 
at  examinations,  and  in  formal  opinions  and  testimonies  of  all  kinds. 
"These  opinions,"  he  says,  "are  commonly  nothing  but  a  specious 
wishy-washy  of  modish  expressions ;  mere  exercises  in  style,  by  the 
teachers,  in  which  the  poor  men  torment  themselves  to  say  the  same 
thing  a  hundred  different  ways  every  year  and  every  day."  Wolf 
declares  that  he,  himself,  never  made  the  acquirements  demanded  of 
graduates  before  they  can  receive  the  mark  "absolutely  skilled  ;"  and 
he  does  not  believe  he  could  find  a  full  dozen  of  such  "absolutely 
skilled"  men  in  Berlin.  And,  notwithstanding  these  requirements 
from  the  scholars,  he  complains  that,  "  every  five  years,  young  people 
come  to  the  university  with  less  training,  although  it  may  be  rich 
with  various  disorderly  knowledge — in  a  kind  of  splendid  misery." 

He  speaks  again,  with  earnestness,  against  unmeasured  praise  or 
blame  at  the  graduating  school-examinations.  "  The  well-prepared,'' 
he  says,  "will  grow  lazy,  too  see  their  superiority  so  proclaimed;  and 
the  ill-prepared  receive  a  frightful  brand.  Many  a  one  has  taken 
more  pains  for  his  " immnturus"  than  another  for  his  certificate  of 
maturity ;  while  his  natural  endowments  receive  no  acknowledgment ; 
which  gives  young  people  false  ideas  of  human  worth." 

I  must,  though  unwillingly,  stop  here,  and  refer  the  reader  to  the 
"Consilia  Scholastica"  itself. 

I  shall  add  a  few  remarks  upon  the  later  years  of  Wolf's  life. 
Unfortunately,  they  contain  h'ttle  that  is  pleasant.  The  unhappy 
battle  of  Jena  was  the  fatal  crisis  of  his  life.  On  the  l-7th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1806,  the  French  took  Halle.  Napoleon,  enraged  with  the 
university,  dissolved  it.  Giithe  wrote  to  Wolf  an  encouraging  letter, 
and  advised  him  to  substitute  written  teaching  for  oral ;  to  write  books. 

In  the  next  year,  1807,  he  went  to  Berlin,  and  did  not  return  to 
Halle,  even  when  the  university  was  re-established  there.  Thus 

•  Compare  Luther'i  preface  to  the  smaller  catechism. 


FRIEDRICII  AUGUST  WOLF  .«.« 

ended  the  period  of  his  distinguished  academical  efficiency.  In  Ber- 
lin, he  met  with  much  kindness.  His  old  friend,  Wilbelra  von 
Humboldt,  especially,  in  his  influential  place  as  minister,  made  every 
effort  to  place  Wolf  in  circumstances  where  he  could  exercise  his 
brilliant  gifts.  But  it  was  as  if  his  life  was  forever  thrown  out  of  it* 
course.  A  restless  and  discontented  impulse  had  taken  possession 
of  him ;  no  employment  suited  him.  He  insulted,  in  various  ways, 
the  friends  who  had  always  valued  him  so  highly ;  and  even  his  most 
grateful  scholars;  and  thus  arose  most  unpleasant  collisions,  and 
literary  feuds.  Although  he  published  many  things  of  value,  yet 
most  of  them  were  the  results  of  his  previous  labors  ;*  although,'  to 
this  statement,  his  excellent  translation  of  the  "Clouds"  of  Aristo- 
phanes is  an  exception. 

The  strongest  part  of  Wolf's  existence  and  efficiency,  his  great 
talent  for  teaching,  was  paralyzed.  In  Berlin,  perhaps  by  his  own 
fault,  he  found  few  hearers;  which  deeply  mortified  him,  by  the 
comparison  with  the  successful  and  enthusiastic  efforts  of  his  earlier 
years.  He  described  himself  as  "  never  desiring  to  be  an  author,  but 
only  to  teach ; "  "  who  had  long  been  accustomed  to  the  charm  of 
watching  the  visible  growth  of  his  thoughts  before  attentive  hearers ; 
and  in  the  quiet  reaction  upon  himself,  which  daily  and  hourly  sup 
plies  to  his  mind  an  intellectual  stimulus  which  the  seat  before  the 
empty  walls,  and  the  senseless  paper,  as  easily  quench." 

From  Berlin,  Wolf  made  various  journeys.  In  1810,  he  visited 
once  more  the  residences  of  his  youth — Hainrode,  Nordhausen,  and 
Gottingen.  On  his  sixty-fifth  birthday,  in  1823,  he  began  an  auto- 
biography. It  commences  with  these  words :  "  Here,  great  Ik-ing 
who  rulest  the  world,  and  controlest  the  fate  even  of  the  most  insig- 
nificant, I  turn  to  thee,  with  sincere  thanks  for  the  many  unmistak- 
able tokens  of  thy  grace,  by  which  my  life  has  been  made  happy, 
honorable,  and  useful.  Oh,  how  unworthy  do  I  feel  myself  of  thy 
goodness!"  And,  further  on,  "I  feel  my  mental  powers  still  vivid 
enough,  but  my  body  will  no  longer  keep  up  with  them.  I  am  so 
weary  of  living." 

On  the  14th  of  April,  1824,  already  sick,  he  set  out  on  his  last 
journey.  He  went,  by  Strasburg  and  Lyons,  in  the  heat  of  Juno 
and  July,  without  allowing  himself  any  rest,  to  Marseilles,  where  he 
arrived,  exceedingly  weary,  on  the  10th  of  July,  and  died  on  the 
8th  of  August. 

•  Including  his  "  View  of  the  Science  of  Antiquity."  in  the  firrt  volume  of  the  "Mtanm 
of  the  Sciences  nf  Antiquity,"  which  he  published  in  1-W  and  13W,  tofttber  wilh  B'Htmann. 
This  was  made  up  from  his  previously  often-repealed  lecture*  on  the  uEoejrc!op«lit,  ind 
Methodology  of  the  Studies  of  the  Ancient*." 


PESTALOZZI  AND  THE  SCHOOLS  OF  GERMANY. 

FROM    THE    GERMAN    OF    DR.    DIKITCRWEO. 


EVERY  one  considers  it  a  matter  of  course  that  all  our  children  go  to 
school  until  they  grow  up  to  be  youths  and  maidens.  The  observance 
of  this  custom  begins  at  the  sixth  year.  But  the  parents  have  long  be- 
fore spoken  of  the  school  to  the  child ;  he  looks  eagerly  forward  to  the 
day  of  entrance ;  and  when  it  takes  place,  he  is  absorbed  in  his  school 
and  his  teacher  for  the  next  six  or  eight  years  or  more.  We  always 
think  of  children  and  schools  or  children  and  books  together.  To  be  a 
child  and  to  learn,  have  become  almost  synonymous  terms.  To  find 
children  in  school,  or  passing  along  the  streets  with  the  apparatus  which 
they  use  there,  makes  no  one  wonder.  It  is  only  the  reverse,  which  at- 
tracts attention.  The  school  fills  a  very  important  part  in  the  life  of  the 
young.  In  fact  school  life  is  almost  the  whole  life  of  childhood  and 
youth ;  we  can  hardly  conceive  of  them  without  it.  Without  school, 
without  education,  what  would  parents  do  with  their  children?  With- 
out them,  where  would  they  secure  the  young  the  necessary  preparation 
for  actual  life  ? 

With  our  present  organization  of  society,  schools  arc  indispensable 
institutions.  Many  others  may  perish  in  the  course  of  time  ;  many  have 
already  perished ;  but  schools  abide,  and  increase.  Where  they  do  not 
exist,  we  expect  barbarity  and  ignorance ;  where  they  flourish,  civiliza- 
tion and  knowledge. 

No  apology  is  necessary  for  sending  our  children  to  school.  At  school 
they  learn.  There  they  acquire  mental  activity  and  knowledge ;  the 
manifold  varieties  of  things ;  to  gain  the  knowledge  of  things  in  heaven 
above  and  in  the  earth  beneath,  and  under  the  earth  ;  of  stones,  and 
plants,  and  animals,  and  men ;  of  past,  present,  and  future. 

[The  remainder  of  the  discourse  treats  of  three  points : — 

1.  What  were  the  schools  before  Pestalozzi? 

2.  What  did  they  become  by  his  means,  and  since ;  that  is,  what  are 
they  now  ? 

3.  What  was  Pestalozzi's  life  and  labors  ?] 

I.    TUB  OLD  SCHOOLS. 

Our  present  system  of  common  or  public  schools — that  U  schooli 
which  are  open  to  all  children  under  certain  regulations — date  from  the 
discovery  of  printing  in  I486,  when  books  began  to  be  furnished  so 
cheaply  that  the  poor  could  buy  them.  Especially  after  Martin  Luther 
had  translated  the  Bible  into  German,  and  the  desire  to  possess  and  un- 
derstand that  invaluable  book  became  universal,  did  there  also  become 
universal  the  desire  to  know  how  to  read.  Men  sought  to  learn,  not  only 
for  the  sake  of  reading  the  Scriptures,  but  also  to  be  able  to  read  and 


576  PESTALOZZI  AND  THE  POPULAR  SCHOOL. 

sing  the  psalms,  and  to  learn  the  catechism.  For  this  purpose  schools 
for  children  were  established,  which  were  essentially  reading  schools. 
Reading  was  the  first  and  principal  study  ;  next  came  singing,  and  then 
memorizing  texts,  songs,  and  the  catechism.  At  first  the  ministers  f 
taught;  but  afterward  the  duty  was  turned  over  to  the  inferior  church 
officers,  the  choristers  and  sextons.  Their  duties  as  choristers  and  sex- 
tons were  paramount,  and  as  schoolmasters  only  secondary.  The  chil- 
dren paid  a  small  monthly  fee ;  no  more  being  thought  necessary,  since 
the  schoolmaster  derived  a  salary  from  the  church. 

Nobody  either  made  or  knew  how  to  make  great  pretensions  to  educa- 
tional skill.  If  the  teacher  communicated  to  his  scholars  the  acquire- 
ments above  mentioned,  and  kept  them  in  order,  he  gave  satisfaction ; 
and  no  one  thought  any  thing  about  separate  institutions  for  school  chil- 
dren. There  were  no  school  books  distinctively  so  called  ;  the  children  — 
learned  their  lessons  in  the  Bible  or  the  Psalter,  and  read  either  in  the  Old 
or  the  New  Testament. 

Each  child  read  by  himself;  the  simultaneous  method  was  not  known. 
One  after  another  stepped  up  to  the  table  where  the  master  sat  He 
pointed  out  one  letter  at  a  time,  and  named  it ;  the  child  named  it  after 
him  ;  he  drilled  him  in  recognizing  and  remembering  each.  Then  they 
took  letter  by  letter  of  the  words,  and  by  getting  acquainted  with  them 
in  this  way,  the  child  gradually  learned  to  read.  This  was  a  difficult 
method  for  him  ;  a  very  difficult  one.  Years  usually  passed  before  any 
facility  had  been  acquired ;  many  did  not  learn  in  four  years.  It  was 
imitative  and  purely  mechanical  labor  on  both  sides.  To  understand 
what  was  read  was  seldom  thought  of.  The  syllables  were  pronounced 
with  equal  force,  and  the  reading  was  without  grace  or  expression. 

Where  it  was  possible,  but  unnaturally  and  mechanically,  learning  by 
heart  was  practiced.  The  children  drawled  out  texts  of  Scripture, 
psalms,  and  the  contents  of  the  catechism  from  the  beginning  to  end ; 
short  questions  and  long  answers  alike,  all  in  the  same  monotonous  man- 
ner. Anybody  with  delicate  ears  who  heard  the  sound  once,  would  re- 
member it  all  his  life  long.  There  are  people  yet  living,  who  were  taught 
in  that  unintelligent  way,  who  can  corroborate  these  statements.  Of  the 
actual  contents  of  the  words  whose  sounds  they  had  thus  barely  commit- 
ted to  memory  by  little  and  little,  the  children  knew  absolutely  almost 
nothing.  They  learned  superficially  and  understood  superficially.  Noth — 
ing  really  passed  into  their  minds ;  at  least  nothing  during  their  school  _ 
years. 

The  instruction  in  singing  was  no  better.     The  master  sang  to  them  "* 
the  psalm-tunes  over  and  over,  until  they  could  sing  them,  or  rather 
screech  them,  after  him. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  instruction  in  our  schools  during  the  six- 
teenth, seventeenth,  and  two-thirds  of  the  eighteenth  centuries  ;  confined 
to  one  or  two  studies,  and  those  taught  in  the  most  imperfect  and  mechan- 
ical way. 

It  was  natural  that  youth  endowed,  when  healthy,  with  an  ever  increas- 


PESTAI.OZZI  AND  THE  POPULAR  SCHOOL. 

ing  capacity  for  pleasure  in  living,  should  feel  the  utmost  reluctance  at 
attending  school.  To  be  employed  daily,  for  three  or  four  hour*,  or 
more,  in  this  mechanical  toil,  was  no  light  task  ;  and  it  therefore  became 
necessary  to  force  the  children  to  sit  still,  and  study  their  lesson*.  Dur- 
ing all  that  time,  especially  in  the  seventeenth  century,  during  the  (earful 
thirty  years'  war,  and  subsequently,  as  the  age  was  sunk  in  barbarism,  the 
children  of  course  entered  the  schools  ignorant  and  untrained.  "  As  the 
old  ones  sung,  so  twittered  the  young."  Stern  severity  and  cruel 
punishments  were  the  order  of  the  day ;  and  by  them  the  children  were  kept 
in  order.  Parents  governed  children  too  young  to  attend,  by  threat*  of 
the  schoolmaster  and  the  school ;  and  when  they  went,  it  was  with  fear 
and  trembling.  The  rod,  the  cane,  the  raw-hide,  were  necessary  appara- 
tus in  each  school.  The  punishments  of  the  teacher  exceeded  those  of  a 
prison.  Kneeling  on  peas,  sitting  in  the  shame-bench,  standing  in  the 
pillory,  wearing  an  ass-cap,  standing  before  the  school  door  in  the  open 
street  with  a  label  on  the  back  or  breast,  and  other  similar  devices,  were 
the  remedies  which  the  rude  men  of  the  age  devised.  To  name  a  single 
example  of  a  boy  whom  all  have  heard  of,  of  high  gifts,  and  of  reputable 
family, — Dr.  Martin  Luther  reckoned  up  fifteen  or  sixteen  times  that  he- 
was  whipped  upon  the  back  in  one  forenoon.  The  learning  and  the  train- 
ing corresponds ;  the  one  was  strictly  a  mechanical  process ;  the  other, 
only  bodily  punishment  What  wonder  that  from  such  schools  there 
came  forth  a  rude  generation  ;  that  men  and  women  looked  back  all  their 
lives  to  the  school  as  to  a  dungeon,  and  to  the  teacher  as  a  taskmaster, 
and  jailer ;  that  the  schoolmaster  was  of  a  small  repute ;  that  under- 
strappers were  selected  for  school  duty  and  school  discipline  ;  that  dark, 
cold  kennels  were  used  for  school-rooms;  that  the  schoolmaster's  place 
especially  in  the  country,  was  assigned  him  amongst  the  servants  and 
the  like. 

This  could  not  last ;  it  has  not,  thank  God !  When  and  by  what 
efforts  of  admirable  men  the  change  took  place,  I  shall  relate  a  little  on. 
Let  us  now  look  at  the  present 

II.     THE  MODERN  SCHOOLS. 

What  are  our  schools  in  this  present  fifth  decade  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  and  what  are  they  from  year  to  year  growing  to  t>e  ?     Upon  this 
subject  I  can  of  course  only  give  my  readers  a  fresher  and  livelier  im- 
pression of  matters  which  they  already  understand.     I  begin  with  the 
exterior— not  only  every  town,  but  every  village  of  our  lather-land  has  at 
present  its  own  school-houses.     They  are  usually  so  noticeable  for  archi- 
tecture, airiness  and  dimensions,  as  to  be  recognized  at  the  first  glanc 
The  districts  often  compete  amicably  with  each  other  in  their  appcarai 
and  make  great  sacrifices  for  superiority. 

In  the  school-house  resides  the  teacher  ;  a  man  who  is  ofte 
of  the  ridicule  of  the  young,  but  who,  if  really  a  ^A^r,  dcscrre*  and 
possesses  the  respect  of  the  old.     Many  of  course  fail  to  obtain  an  ade 
quate  reward,  especially  for  their  highest  aspirations,  in  thc.r 


578  PESTALOZZI  AND  THE  POPULAR  SCHOOL. 

calling ;  but  their  internal  sources  of  satisfaction  increase  from  day  to 
day,  in  the  power  of  lifting  them  above  the  depressing  and  wearing 
cares  of  their  office.  The  conviction  is  daily  gaining  ground,  that  "  what 
men  do  to  the  teacher,  they  are  doing  to  their  own  children."  The  teach- 
er is  an  educated  man.  He  is  trained  in  seminaries  established  and  main- 
tained for  the  purpose  by  the  state.  The  time  is  past  when  teaching  was 
practiced  along  with  some  handicraft ;  now  undivided  strength  is  devoted 
to  it  How  deeply  teachers  are  themselves  impressed  with  the  import- 
ance, and  engaged  in  the  work,  of  steadily  and  continually  improving 
themselves,  is  shown  in  the  zeal  with  which  they  organize  and  maintain 
reading  societies  and  associations  for  improvement 

Let  us  now  consider  the  interior  condition  of  the  school,  and  observe 
its  instruction : — 

The  children  arc  kept  quiet  far  otherwise  than  by  blows.  Each  sits  in 
his  own  place,  busy  at  his  lessons.  Nowhere  in  the  light,  roomy  and 
cleanly  school  rooms  or  halls  is  there  any  interruption,  or  any  thing 
that  could  interrupt  the  attention  of  the  young  students.  The  walls  are 
adorned  with  all  manner  of  apparatus. 

Far  otherwise .  than  by  blows  is  the  intercourse  between  teacher  and 
children  characterized.  He  greets  them  with  a  friendly  word,  and  they 
him  by  rising  up.  He  opens  school  with  a  prayer,  and  a  hymn  follows, 
sung  well  and  sweetly.  Now  begins  the  business  of  instruction.  All  are 
earnest  in  it ;  every  one  has  his  work  to  do.  There  is  no  longer  more 
than  a  slight  trace  of  the  plan  of  single  instruction.  All  learn  together 
every  thing  that  is  taught  Formerly  the  only  thing  taught  to  all  was  to 
read,  and  that  by  rote  ;  for  writing  and  arithmetic  were  required  an  ex- 
tra payment ;  now,  their  work  is  regulated  by  a  carefully  considered  plan 
of  study,  prepared  by  the  teacher  and  superintending  authorities  of  the 
school,  which  includes  all  subjects  essential  to  the  attainments  of  all ;  all 
the  elements,  that  is  of  a  general  education. 

At  the  head  of  all  instruction  is  that  concerning  God's  providence  and 
man's  destiny  ;  in  religion  and  virtue.  To  instruct  the  children  in  these 
great  truths,  to  lay  the  secure  foundation  of  fixed  religious  habits,  is  the 
highest  aim  of  the  teacher.  Maxims,  songs,  &c.,  chosen  with  wise  fore- 
sight, are  ineradicably  planted  in  his  memory  ,and  become  a  rich  treasure 
to  the  scholar  in  after  life.  The  singing  as  a  part  of  the  religious  exer- 
cises. In  solo,  duct,  or  chorus,  the  scholars  sing  to  the  edification  of  all 
who  take  pleasure  in  well  doing.  They  also  learn  secular  songs,  suitable 
in  words  and  melody,  and  promotive  of  social  good  feeling. 

The  second  chief  subject  of  school  instruction  is  reading.  One  who 
can  not  read  easily,  loses  the  principal  means  of  acquiring  knowledge 
during  his  future  life.  And  how  is  it  taught  ?  The  frightful  old-fashioned 
drawl  is  done  away  with  even  to  its  last  vestiges.  Children  now  read, 
after  two  years'  regular  school  attendance,  not  only  fluently,  but  with 
just  tone  and  accent,  in  such  wise  as  to  show  that  they  understand  and 
fjel  what  they  read.  Is  not  that  alone  an  immeasurable  advance? 

Formerly,  the  children  studied  each  by  himself,  and  where  they  barely 


PESTALOZZI  AND  THE  POPULA*  SCHOOL.  579 

learned  to  write  by  continual  repetition  of  the  letters  and  long  practice, 
they  now  acquire  facility  in  noting  down  and  drawing  up  in  the  form  of 
a  composition,  whatever  they  think  or  know.  From  the  beginning,  they 
are  invariably  trained  to  recite  distinctly  and  correctly,  speaking  with 
proper  tone,  and  as  nearly  as  possible  all  together.  This  exercise  has  com- 
pletely proved  for  the  first  time,  how  important  it  is  that  the  teacher 
should  understand  and  observe  the  rules  of  syntax  and  correct  speaking. 
In  this  point,  our  present  school  instruction  is  an  entirely  new  art  The 
old-fashioned  teacher^  themselves  could  scarely  read ;  now.  the  scholar* 
learn  it 

It  is  needless  to  detail  all  that  remains ;  the  entire  revolution  in  teach* 
ing  arithmetic,  where,  for  unintelligent  rule-work,  has  been  substituted 
the  means  of  developing  the  intellect,  inasmuch  that  the  scholars  can  not 
only  reckon  easily  both  mentally  and  in  writing,  but  can  also  understand, 
judge,  and  form  conclusions.  It  is  needless  to  detail  the  instruction  in 
the  miscellaneous  departments  of  geography,  history,  natural  history, 
popular  astronomy,  physics,  &c.,  which  is  intended  for  every  man  who 
pretends,  even  to  the  beginning  of  an  education,  and  by  means  of  which 
only  is  man  enabled  to  comprehend  the  wonder  of  existence,  and  to  grow 
up  intelligently  into  an  active  life  amongst  its  marvelous  machinery. 

No ;  it  is  needless  to  speak  of  those  things  and  of  many  more  ;  but  it 
would  be  wrong  not  to  devote  a  few  words  to  the  means  by  which  the 
teacher  of  the  present  day  maintains  discipline  ;  that  is,  seeks  to  train  his 
scholars  to  obedience,  good  order,  good  conduct  and  deportment,  and  to 
all  other  good  qualities.  In  truth,  no  one  who  should  overlook  our  im- 
mense improvement  in  this  department  can  be  said  to  know  the  proposed 
aim  of  our  good  schools  and  skillful  educators  and  teachers ;  or  ever  to 
understand  our  schools  at  all.  The  well-disposed  scholar  is  received  and 
managed  by  love.  But  if  the  teacher  finds  himself  forced  to  punish  an 
ungovcrned,  disobedient,  or  lazy  scholar,  he  at  one  puts  a  period  to  the 
indulgence  of  his  base  or  wicked  practices.  It  pains  him,  but  his  sense 
of  duty  prevails  over  his  pain,  and  he  punishes  him  as  a  man  acquainted 
with  human  nature  and  as  a  friend,  first  admonishing  him  with  words. 
Fear  is  not  the  sceptre  with  which  he  governs ;  that  would  train  not  men, 
but  slaves.  It  is  only  when  admonition,  stimulation,  and  example  have 
failed,  and  when  duty  absolutely  demands  it,  that  he  makis  use  of  harsher 
means.  It  is  above  all  his  endeavor  to  treat  his  children  like  a  conscien- 
tious father.  Their  success  is  his  pride  and  happiness ;  in  it  he  finds  the 
blessing  of  his  difficult  calling.  He  daily  beseeches  God  for  it,  and  looks 
with  a  thankful  heart  to  him,  the  giver  of  all  good,  upon  whoso  blessing 
every  thing  depends,  and  without  whom  the  watchman  of  the  house 
watches  in  vain,  if  under  the  divine  protection  any  thing  has  prospered 
under  his  hands. 

Instead  of  a  dark  and  dreary  dungeon,  the  school  has  become  an  insti- 
tution for  training  men.  Where  the  children  formerly  only  remained 
unwillingly,  they  now  like  best  to  go.  Consider,  now,  what  the  conse- 
quences of  this  change  of  training  must  be  on  the  hearts  and  lives  of  the 


680  PESTALOZJfl  AND  THE  POPULAR  SCHOOL. 

children.  How  many  millions  of  tears  less  must  flow  every  year  down 
childrens'  cheeks !  In  Germany  alone,  more  than  five  millions  of  chil- 
dren are  attending  school  at  the  same  time.  Is  the  inspiration  of  such  a 
number  to  future  goodness  a  fantastic  vision  ?  Must  not  every  depart- 
ment of  school  management  assume  great  importance  ?  It  is  with  joy  and 
pride  that  I  say  it ;  I  myself  am  a  teacher.  Nowhere,  in  general,  do 
children  spend  happier  hours,  than  in  school ;  at  morning,  and  at  noon, 
they  can  not  wait  for  the  time  of  departing  for  school ;  they  willingly  lose 
their  breakfast,  rather  than  to  be  late.  How  was  it  formerly  ?  How  often 
did  fathers  or  mothers  drag  their  screaming  children  to  the  school? 
And  what  awaited  them  there  ?  God  bless  the  men  who  have  been  and 
still  are  laboring,  to  the  end  that  the  pleasant  season  of  youth,  which  will 
never  return,  the  happy  time  of  innocent  childhood,  may  not  be  troubled 
with  the  dark  barbaric  sterness  of  pedantic  school-tyrants ;  but  that  the 
school  may  be  a  place  where  the  children  may  learn  all  that  is  good  and 
praiseworthy,  in  milder  and  more  earnest  ways ;  a  place  in  which  earnest 
and  thoughtful  men,  friends  of  children,  and  loving  the  teacher's  profes- 
sion, may  feel  and  admit  that  they  have  passed  the  happiest  hours  of  their 
lives.  From  schools  so  conducted,  a  blessing  must  go  forth  over  the 
earth.  Indeed,  the  ancients  knew  this.  Thousands  of  years  ago.  it  was 
high  praise  to  say  "He  has  built  us  a  school;"  and  not  less  to  say, 
"He  has  prepared  praise  for  himself  in  the  mouths  of  children." 

The  school  has  become  an  institution  for  training  men  and  women  ;  the 
old  "school-masters"  have  become  teachers.  Pupils  are  now  educated 
from  the  very  foundations  of  their  being,  and  by  intelligible  means.  The 
scholar  is  not  a  machine,  an  automaton,  a  log ;  and  accordingly  the  system 
of  learning  unintelligently  by  rote  has  come  to  be  reckoned  a  slavish  and 
degrading  drudgery.  The  laws  of  human  training  and  development  are 
no  longer  arbitrarily  announced,  but  are  investigated,  and  when  discovered, 
arc  faithfully  followed.  These  laws  lie  within  human  nature  itself.  Beasts 
may  be  drilled  at  pleasure  into  external  observances ;  but  human  beings 
must  be  educated  and  developed  with  reason  and  to  reason,  according  to 
the  laws  impressed  by  God  upon  human  nature.  Of  these  laws,  the 
schoolmaster  handcraftsmen  of  former  centuries  knew  nothing.  Now, 
every  thoughtful  teacher  adjusts  his  course  of  education  and  all  his  ef- 
forts whatever,  as  nearly  as  possible  to  nature*  The  consequences  of  this 
magnificent  endeavor,  in  pedagogic  science  and  art  are  plain  before  our 
eyes  in  our  school-rooms.  Instead  of  the  former  damp  and  gloomy  pris- 
ons, we  have  light,  healthy,  clean  and  pleasant  rooms;  instead  of  dry 
and  mechanical  drilling  in  reading  and  other  studies,  effective  and  skill- 
ful education  in  the  elements  of  all  the  knowledge  and  attainments  re- 
quired by  man ;  instead  of  the  ancient  stick -government  and  bastinado 
system,  a  mild,  earnest,  paternal  and  reasonable  method  of  discipline ; 
loving  instruction  from  well  written  books ;  teachers  zealously  discharg- 
ing their  duties;  in  short,  we  in  Germany,  by  full  consciousness  that 
something  better  is  always  attainable,  by  laboring  forward  always  to  bet- 
ter methods,  and  by  actual  attainment,  that  the  best  educated  nations  on 


PESTAI.OZ7I  AND  TI1E  POPULAR  SCHOOL,  ggl 

earth,  the  French  and  English,  are  behind  us  in  respect  to  educational 
matters,  we  may  justifiably  take  pride  in  knowing  that  men  from  all  th« 
civilized  nations  in  the  world,  even  from  beyond  the  ocean,  travel  hither 
to  observe  the  German  common  schools,  to  understand  the  German 
teachers,  and  to  transplant  into  their  own  countries  the  benefits  of  which 
we  are  already  possessed. 

The  young  reader  who  has  followed  me  thus  far  will  naturally  inquire, 
how  all  this  happened ;  in  what  manner  this  better  school  system  came 
into  being.  And  among  the  names  of  those  noble  men  to  whose  thoughts 
and  deeds  we  owe  so  invaluable  a  creation,  all  historians  will  record  with 
high  honor  that  of  Pestalozzi. 

III.     INFLUENCE  OF  PESTALO/ZI'S  LIFE  AND  LABORS  ox  THE  SCHOOLS 
OF  EUROPE. 

[We  omit  much  of  the  details  of  Pcstalozzi's  career  as  they  will  be 
found  in  Raumer's  Life  already  refered  to. — Barnard's  Journal  of  Educa- 
tion, VOL.  Ill,  p.  401.] 

As  Pestalozzi  grew  up,  he  studied  to  become  a  minister,  but  Anally 
decided  to  study  law.  In  this  profession  he  found  no  pleasure,  although 
he  completed  his  studies  in  it ;  his  attention  being  involuntarily  drawn 
aside  to  the  unhappy  condition  of  society  around  him.  In  the  high 
places  of  his  native  city,  prodigality,  luxury,  and  contempt  of  the  lower 
classes,  were  rife ;  while  the  poor  in  the  other  hand,  regarded  their  supe- 
riors with  hatred,  but  were  prostrate  in  misery,  want,  ignorance,  and  im- 
morality. The  contemplation  of  these  immeasurable  evils  of  the  age  tilled 
Pestalozzi's  heart  with  grief  and  pain,  and  these  feelings  directed  his 
thoughts  to  a  search  for  sonic  remedy.  The  result  of  a  year's  reflection 
upon  the  means  of  assisting  his  unfortunate  fellow-men  was,  that  it  could 
only  be  done  by  training ;  by  a  better  education  of  youth,  especially  of  the 
children  of  the  poor  and  the  lower  classes  generally.  Like  a  flash  the  idea 
came  into  his  mind,  "I  will  be  a  schoolmaster;"  a  teacher  and  educator 
of  poor  children.  He  consulted  within  himself  upon  this  changed  de- 
sign ;  and  seem  to  hear  a  voice  replying,  "you  shall ;"  and  again,  "you 
can."  So  he  answered,  "  I  will"  How  well  he  fulfilled  the  promise ! 
He  now  became  the  schoolmaster  of  a  world. 

Intention,  Power,  and  Resolve  ;  wherever  these  three  operate  together. 
there  result  not  only  promising  words,  but  efficient  actors. 

He  was  filled  with  a  sublime  conception,  which  remained  with  him  un- 
til after  his  eightieth  year.  His  ideal  was,  the  ennobling  of  mankind  by 
education  and  culture.  To  this  he  devoted  his  whole  life.  He  could 
pursue  nothing  else;  he  neglected  every  thing  else;  he  thought  of  him- 
self last  of  all.  Ordinary  men  called  him  a  fanatic,  and  cast  nicknames 
at  him  and  his  enterprise. 

He  continued  his  sj>ccial  affection  and  love  for  the  children  of  the  poor. 
He  was  very  early  convinced  that  their  education  could  not  be  8uecttft> 
fully  conducted  within  the  close-shut,  artificially  organized  public  orphan- 
houses.  He  considered  that  they  could  only  develop  properly,  in  body 


582  PESTALOZZI  AND  THE  POPULAR  SCHOOL. 

and  mind  alike,  in  the  country ;  that  they  ought  at  an  early  age  to  com- 
mence at  some  country  occupation ;  especially  at  some  useful  and  practi- 
cal kind  of  labor ;  and  that  by  that  means  their  minds  would  develop  in 
a  simple  and  natural  manner. 

[Here  follows  a  sketch  of  his  labors  at  Neuhof.] 

Every  child  who  was  capable  of  it  was  set  at  some  out  door  work,  and 
suitable  labor  was  also  provided  in  the  house ;  during  which  last  time  he 
instructed  them.  He  was  surprised  to  see  how  little  use  they  made  of 
their  faculties ;  how  blind  and  deaf  they  seemed  to  the  most  striking 
phenomena,  and  how  incorrectly  they  spoke.  Accordingly  he  concluded 
even  then  that  the  development  of  the  faculties,  learning  to  see  and  hear 
aright,  and  speak  correctly,  were  worth  more  than  facility  in  reading  and 
writing.  The  enterprise  was  too  large  for  means,  and  too  complicated  for 
his  practical  ability. 

[The  experiment  failed,  but  out  of  his  painful  experience  and  observa- 
tion he  wrote  "Leonard  and  Gertrude,"  which  was  published  by  Decker 
of  Berlin,  in  1781.] 

Amongst  the  nobles,  princes,  citizens,  and  philanthropists,  both  of  Ger- 
many and  Switzerland,  there  had  been  since  1770  a  growing  desire  for 
social  improvements.  The  conviction  was  all  the  time  spreading,  that 
there  was  a  necessity  for  bestowing  a  better  education  upon  the  lower 
classes ;  of  opposing  the  spread  of  superstition,  and  of  diffusing  more 
light  and  knowledge.  In  educational  directions,  Basedow  and  the  Canon 
von  Rochow  had  already  distinguished  themselves ;  and  thousands  had 
enlisted  in  aiding  their  enterprises.  A  book  like  Leonard  and  Gertrude, 
full  of  nature  and  truth,  must  necessarily  be  received  with  enthusiasm. 
The  author,  hitherto  unappreciated  even  in  his  own  neighborhood,  imme- 
diately came  into  repute  and  honor.  Encouraged  by  this  success,  he 
made  in  1782  a  tour  through  Germany,  in  search  of  model  schools,  study- 
ing the  experience  and  operations  of  others,  and  gaining  an  acquaintance 
with  the  first  men  in  Germany ;  Klopstock,  Wieland,  Goethe,  Herder, 
Jacobi,  &c.  On  his  return  he  delighted  the  world  with  other  useful  writ- 
ings. But  still  he  did  not  succeed  in  finding  any  place  where  he  could 
pursue  undisturbed  the  object  of  his  life. 

Meanwhile — for  we  must  hasten — the  French  Revolution  broke  out, 
and  proceeded  onward  to  the  most  horrible  excesses.  Switzerland  was 
attacked,  and  in  1798  was  invaded  and  overrun.  The  usual  consequences 
of  war,  impoverishment,  demoralization  and  barbarism  did  not  fail  to  fol- 
low. Such  news  made  the  patriotic  heart  of  Pestalozzi  beat  higher.  At 
the  information  that  troops  of  destitute  children  were  wandering  help- 
lessly about,  particularly  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Catholic  town  of  Stanz, 
he  proceeded  thither,  obtained  from  the  authorities  the  gift  of  an  empty 
house,  and  gathered  into  it  eighty  mendicant  children.  He  says  in  rela- 
tion to  this  occurrence,  "The  unfortunate  and  ruined  condition  of  Stanz, 
and  the  relations  into  which  I  came  with  a  great  crowd  of  entirely  desti- 
tute, partly  wild,  but  powerful  children  of  nature  and  of  the  mountains, 
gave  me  an  excellent  basis  of  operations,  and  though  in  the  midst  of 


PE3TAI.OZZI  AND  THE  POPULAR  SCHOOL.  ;,  -  ; 

manifold  hindrances,  an  opportunity  for  a  decisive  experiment  upon  the 
scope  and  grade  of  the  faculties  which  exist  universally  in  children,  as  a 
base  for  education  ;  and  likewise  to  determine  whether  and  to  what  ex- 
tent the  requisites  are  possible  and  practicable,  which  the  necessities  of 
the  case  demand.*,  for  the  education  of  the  common  people."  He  became 
their  father,  educator  and  teacher.  Day  and  night  he  was  with  them, 
the  earliest  in  the  morning,  and  the  last  at  night ;  he  ate,  slept  and  played 
with  them.  In  a  single  month,  they  had  learned  as  much  of  the  profit 
and  pleasure  of  his  instructions,  that  often  in  the  evening  when  he  re- 
quested them  to  go  to  bed,  they  begged  that  he  would  stay  a  little  long- 
er and  teach  them.  Content  and  happiness,  the  blessing  of  God,  rested 
upon  the  house.  When  in  1799  the  village  of  Altdorf  was  burnt,  Pesta- 
lozzi  asked  his  children,  "How  is  it?  Can  we  receive  about  twenty  of 
these  houseless  children  amongst  us  ?  If  we  do  we  must  divide  our  food 
with  them."  "Yes,  yes,"  they  all  cried  out,  shouting  for  joy. 

But  this  pleasure  lasted  not  long.  In  that  same  year  the  French  en- 
tered the  neighborhood,  took  possession  of  the  building  for  a  hospital, 
and  Father  Pcstalozzi  was  forced  to  disperse  his  children.  His  health 
was  broken  down  with  care,  sorrow  and  over-exertion ;  and  he  was 
obliged  once  more  to  seek  the  means  of  support  He  therefore  went  to 
Burgdorf,  and  established  himself  near  the  town  as  an  assistant  teacher 
without  wages.  His  new  modes  of  instruction  displeased  the  country 
people.  He  did  not  let  the  children  study  the  Heidelberg  Catechism 
enough ;  and  his  instruction  in  thinking  and  speaking  seemed  to  them 
entirely  superfluous.  But  after  eight  months,  the  superintending  author- 
ity, presenting  themselves  at  the  school,  were  much  astonished  at  what 
he  had  accomplished.  Unfortunately,  his  strength  was  exhausted  in  his 
oral  labors ;  at  the  end  of  a  year  he  had  to  resign  his  situation  for  the 
sake  of  his  health. 

During  all  his  experiments  thus  far,  his  purpose  of  founding  a  self- 
supporting  educational  institution  remained  unaltered.  He  ceased  opera- 
tions at  Burgdorf  in  1801 ;  was  afterward  established  at  Miinchen-Buch- 
see  in  Berne,  near  Hofwyl,  where  Fellcnberg  was  laboring,  and  finally  at 
Yverdun  (Iferten,)  where  he  entirely  broke  down  in  1825.  The  last  estab- 
lishment was  named  the  Pestalozzian  Institute ;  and  as  such  it  became 
famous  in  all  Europe,  and  even  beyond  the  ocean,  in  America,  &c. 
Neither  before  nor  since  has  any  similar  institution  ever  attained  to  so 
great  fame. 

V     The  work  done  in  that  institution  became  the  foundation  of  the  com- 
'  mon  schools  of  Germany ;  and  changed  the  ancient  mechanical  schools 
into  institutions  for  real  human  training. 

The  fundamental  maxims  upon  which  the  instruction  there  proceeded, 
were  as  follows : 

The  basis  of  education  is  not  to  be  constructed,  but  to  be  sought ;  it 
exists  in  the  nature  of  man. 

The  nature  of  man  contains  an  inborn  and  active  instinct  of  develop- 
D  ent ;  is  an  organized  nature ;  and  man  is  an  organized  being. 


584  PESTALOZZI  AND  THE  POPULAR  SCHOOL. 

True  education  will  find  that  its  chief  hindrances  arc,  passive  obstruc- 
tions in  the  way  of  development ;  its  work  is  more  negative  than  positive. 

Its  positive  work  consists  in  stimulation  ;  the  science  of  education  is  a 
theory  of  stimulation,  or  the  right  application  of  the  best  motives. 

The  development  of  man  commences  with  natural  perceptions  through 
the  senses ;  its  highest  attainment  is,  intellectually,  the  exercise  of  rea- 
son ;  practically,  independence. 

The  means  of  independence  and  self-maintenance  is,  spontaneous  ac- 
tivity. 

Practical  capacity  depends  much  more  upon  the  possession  of  intellect- 
ual and  corporeal  power,  than  upon  the  amount  of  knowledge.  The 
chief  aim  of  all  education,  (instruction  included,)  is  therefore  the  develop- 
ment of  these  powers. 

The  religious  character  depends  much  less  upon  learning  the  Scriptures 
and  the  catechism,  than  upon  the  intercourse  of  the  child  with  a  God- 
fearing mother  and  an  energetic  father.  Religious  education,  like  all 
other,  must  begin  with  the  birth  of  the  child ;  and  it  is  principally  in  the 
hands  of  the  mother. 

The  chief  departments  for  the  development  of  power,  are  form,  number  and 
speech.  The  idea  of  elementary  training  is,  the  notion  of  laying,  within 
the  nature  of  the  child,  by  means  of  domestic  education,  (the  influence  of 
father,  mother,  brothers  and  sisters,)  the  foundations  of  faith,  love,  of  the 
powers  of  seeing,  speaking  and  reflecting,  and  by  the  use  of  all  the 
means  of  education,  according  to  the  laws  and  methods  of  develop- 
ment included  within  nature  itself. 

Such  is  the  actual  substance  of  Pestalozzi's  principles  of  education. 
The  consequences  follow  of  themselves.  They  are  these  : 

The  family  circle  is  the  best  place  for  education ;  the  mother's  book  the 
best  school-book. 

All  instruction  must  be  based  upon  training  the  intuitive  faculty.  The 
first  instruction  is  altogether  instruction  in  seeing:  the  first  instruction  on 
any  subject  must  be  the  same,  in  order  to  fruitful,  active  and  real 
comprehension  of  it  The  opposite  of  this  is  the  empty  and  vain  mode 
of  mere  verbal  instruction.  First  the  thing  itself  should  be  taught,  and 
afterward,  as  far  as  possible,  the  form,  the  representation,  and  the  name. 

The  first  portion  of  instruction  consists  in  naming  things  and  causing 
the  names  to  be  repeated,  in  describing  them  and  causing  them  to  bo 
described.  After  this,  it  should  be  the  teacher's  prime  object  to  develop 
spontaneous  activity,  and  for  that  purpose  to  use  the  fore-mentioned  pro 
gressive  and  inventive  method  of  teaching. 

Nothing  should  be  learnt  by  rote  without  being  understood  ;  the  prac- 
tice of  learning  by  rote  should  be  confined  to  mere  matters  of  form.  In 
the  method  of  oral  communication  with  the  scholars  is  to  be  found  an 
adequate  measure  for  estimating  the  clearness  and  activity  of  the  scholar's 
power  of  seeing,  and  his  knowledge. 

The  chief  inducements  to  the  right  and  the  good  are  not  foar  and  pun- 
ishment, but  kindness  and  love. 


PE8TALOZZI  AND  THE  POPULAR  SCHOOL 

These  conclusions  flow  naturally  from  Pestalozzi's  fundamental  prind- 
pies.  If  I  were  to  give  a  brief  statement  of  his  method  for  intdiertoal 
training,  I  should  call  it  "  Education  to  spontaneous  activity,  by  means 
of  knowledge  acquired  by  the  perceptions." 

This  system  has  changed  the  whole  condition  of  schools.  It  has  not, 
it  is  true,  yet  penetrated  all  the  schools,  or  all  the  teachers ;  but  this  is 
not  the  fault  of  the  founder.  To  change  a  system  established  for  centu- 
ries, is  the  work  of  centuries ;  not  of  a  year,  nor  ten  yean*.  In  the 
development  of  a  nation,  and  in  like  manner  of  a  school  system,  there  are 
epochs,  stationary  periods,  crises  and  reactions. 

While  the  best  men  in  Prussia,  after  1808,  were  laboring  to  effect  a 
a  regeneration  of  their  unfortunate  country,  King  Frederic  William  the 
Third*  summoned  C.  A.  Zeller  the  pupil  of  Pestalozzi,  to  Kiinigsberg,  with 
the  commission  of  awakening  the  intellectual  faculties  of  the  people,  as 
the  only  dependence  for  the  rescue  of  the  country.  The  great  Fichte 
had  already  drawn  attention  to  Pestalozzi,  in  his  lectures  and  publications 
at  Berlin.  Afterward,  the  eminent  minister,  Von  Altenstein,  sent  Rome 
young  men  to  Yverdun  to  be  trained.f  By  these  means,  and  bv  means 
of  the  numerous  publications  of  Pestalozzi  and  his  followers,  with  some 

*  Ramsauer  writes  as  follows  of  the  visit  of  Frederic  William  HI.  to  Pestalozzi : 

"  When  the  king  of  Prussia  came  to  Neufchatel  in  1814,  Pestalozzi  was  very  ill.  Nrverthe. 
lesp.  he  insisted  that  I  should  carry  him  to  the  km*,  that  be  might  thank  him  tor  hit  zral  hi 
the  cause  of  common  schools,  and  fur  having  sent  *o  many  pupils  to  Yverdun.  On  the  wsjr 
he  fainted  several  times,  and  I  was  obliged  to  take  him  from  the  vehicle  snd  carry  him  into  a 
house.  I  urged  him  to  return,  but  he  replied,  '  No  ;  say  nothing  about  it.  I  most  M 
the  king,  if  I  die  after  it :  if  by  means  of  my  visit  to  him,  a  single  Pruw.an  child  obtains  • 
better  education,  I  shall  be  well  repaid.'  " 
The  benefits  which  this  noble  man  wished  for  one  child,  have  been  secured  already  to  millions. 

t  Extract  from  a  letter  which  the  Baron  Von  Altenstein  wrote  to  Pectab>zzi,  dated  tlth 
Sept  ,  1803.  at  Kiinigsberg: 

"The  king's  majesty,  with  a  view  to  the  efficient  improvement  of  lite  national  »y«tfm  of 
education,  which  always  lies  so  near  his  heart,  has  lately  entrusted  me,  as  directing  minister, 
with  the  oversight  of  the  schools  and  educational  system  in  the  proper  Prussian  province*  of 
his  dominions. 

Being  fully  convinced  of  the  great  value  of  the  system  of  instruction  discovered,  and  so 
skillfully  carried  into  practice  by  yourself,  and  expecting  from  it  the  mo*t  favorable  influenes 
upon  the  culture  of  the  people,  I  am  desirous  of  making  its  introduction  into  the  elementary 
schools  the  basis  of  a  thorough  educational  reform  in  those  provinces.  Among  the  mrawrrs 
which  I  contemplate  for  this  purpose,  one  of  the  principal  is.  forthwith  to  send  to  you  two 
suitable  young  men.  that  they  may  drink  in  the  spirit  of  your  entire  system  of  education  and 
instruction,  at  the  purest  tource.  I  desire  them  not  only  to  Irarn  some  one  department  of  it. 
but  to  master  all  of  them,  in  their  various  connections  and  deepest  unity,  under  ikt  guidanc* 
of  yourself,  the  eminent  founder  of  the  lystem,  and  with  your  efficient  sssulanee.  I  dssM 
them  by  (his  intercourse  with  you,  not  only  to  acquire  the  spirit  of  your  system,  but  to  bccosBs) 
trained  into  a  complete  fitness  for  the  teacher's  vocation  :  to  acquire  the  same  conviction  of  its 
holiness,  and  the  same  ardent  impulses  to  pursue  it,  which  have  induced  you  to  devoit  to  K 
your  whole  life. 

In  order  to  the  best  mode  of  procedure,  I  desire  in  the  meanwhile  to  hear  from  ynwisjf 
what  class  of  young  men  you  consider  fittest  to  learn  your  method  ;  what  age,  natural  dispo- 
sition, and  previous  mental  training  would  suit  you  best,  in  order  that  the  Individuals  nlHHd 
may  meet  your  withes  in  every  respect." 

In  1-09,  the  minister  of  public  instruction  writes  as  follows  to  the  teachers  who  bad  be*sj 
sent  to  Yverdun  :  ''The  section  of  public  instruction  brgs  you  to  believe,  and  to  asrorc  Mr 
Pestalozzi,  that  the  cause  is  the  interest  of  the  government,  and  of  kit  majnty.  ttv  kinf.  prr- 
tonally,  who  are  convinced  that  liberation  from  extraordinary  calamities  u  Irurtles*.  and  only 
o  be  effected  by  a  thorough  improvement  of  the  people's  education." 


686  PESTALOZZI  AND  THE  POPULAR  SCHOOL. 

help  from  the  pressure  of  circumstances,  the  Prussian,  or  rather  the 
Prussian-Pestalozzian  school-system,  was  established.  For  he  is  entitled 
to  at  least  half  the  fame  of  the  German  common  schools.  Whatever  of 
excellence  or  eminence  they  have,  they  really  o\ve  to  no  one  but  him. 
Wherever  his  principles  have  been  deviated  from,  there  has  followed  a 
decline.  Whatever  of  progress  yet  remains  visible  is  a  development  of 
his  principles.  Whatever  in  our  system  is  based  on  human  nature, 
is  taken  from  him.  His  experiments  have  secured  their  world-wide  fame 
to  the  German  schools.  From  France,  England,  Italy,  Spain,  Russia, 
Poland,  Norway,  Sweden,  Holland,  Denmark,  America,  whoever  desires 
to  study  the  best  schools,  resorts  to  Germany.  Whatever  fame  they 
have,  they  owe  to  Pestalozzi.  Wise  people  have  made  use  of  his 
creations  for  organizing  improved  institutions  for  training  teachers.  But 
the  first  impulse  was  given  to  the  movement  by  the  noble  Swiss.  As  the 
waters  flow  from  that  land  in  every  direction,  in  like  manner  have 
fruitful  principles  of  instruction  been  diffused  from  it  into  every  country 
where  improvement  can  be  detected. 

The  men  and  women  by  whom  especially  the  method  and  spirit  of 
Pestalozzi  were  diffused  in  Germany  are  ;  Frederick  William  III  and  his 
consort  Louise  ;*  state-councilors  Nicolovius  and  Suvern ;  the  philoso- 
pher Fichte,  by  his  immortal  addresses  to  the  German  nation  ;  high  school- 
councilor  Zeller  in  Konigsberg ;  the  Prussian  teachers  trained  at  Yver- 
dun ;  namely,  Kawerau,  Dreist,  Henning,  Braun,  Steger  Marsch,  the  two 
Bernhards,  Hanel,  Titze,  Rungc,  Baltrusch,  Patzig,  Preuss,  Kratz,  and 
Rendschmidt;  royal  and  school  councilor  Von  Turk  in  Potsdam,  semin- 
ary-director Gruner  in  Idstein ;  professor  Ladomus  in  Carlsruhe ;  the 
prelate  Dcnzel  in  Esslingen ;  seminary -director  Stern  in  Carlsruhe ;  prin- 
cipal Plamann,  in  Berlin ;  seminary-director  Harnisch  in  Breslau ;  Karo- 
line  Rudolphi  in  Heidelberg ;  Betty  Gleim  in  Bremen  and  Elberfeld ; 
Ramsauer,  royal  tutor  in  Oldenberg ;  professor  Schacht  in  Mentz  ;  sem- 
inary inspector  Kruger  in  Bunzlau ;  seminary-director  Hientzsch  in  Pots- 
dam ;  principal  Scholz  in  Breslau,  Dr.  Tillich  in  Dessau ;  director  Bloch- 
rnann  in  Dresden ;  principal  Ackermann  in  Frankfort  on  the  Mayne ; 
principal  de  Laspe  in  Wiesbaden ;  seminary -inspector  Wagner  in  Briihl ; 
seminary-director  Braun  in  Neuwied ;  seminary-preceptor  Muhl  in  Tri- 
er ;  seminary-director  Graffmann  in  Stettin ;  catechist  Kroger  in  Ham- 
burg; inspector  Collmann  in  Cassel ;  and  others.  By  means  of  these 
men  the  Pcstalozzian  common  schools  were  set  in  operation  throughout 
all  Germany ;  and  in  Prussia,  the  Prussian-Pestalozzian  system.  As 
during  Pestalozzi's  life  Yverdun  was  a  place  of  pilgrimage  for  teachers, 
so  afterward,  from  Europe,  America  and  elsewhere,  men  came  to  observe 
the  German  and  Prussian  common  schools.  May  this  reputation  never 
decrease ;  may  it  ever  grow  greater  and  greater !  Much  yet  remains  to 
be  done. 

*  Queen  Louise,  who  superintended  the  education  of  her  own  children,  visited  frequently 
the  schools  conducted  on  the  plans  and  methods  of  Peslalo/.zi,  spending  hours  in  each  visit, 
md  aided  in  many  ways  those  who  labored  to  regenerate  the  popular  schools  of  Prussia. 


BOOKS  FOR  THE  TEACHERS'  LIBRARY. 


THE  following  works,  issued  separately,  and  under  the  general  title  of  PAPERS 
FOR  TEACHERS  AND  PARENTS,  and  devoted  to  a  practical  exposition  of  Methods 
of  Teaching  and  School  Management  in  different  countries,  are  compiled,  from 
"  The  American  Journal  of  Education,"  edited  by  HENRY  BARNARD,  LL.  D. 
I.  AMERICAN  CONTRIBUTIONS  TO  THE  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRACTICE  op  EDU- 
CATION.    By  Professor  William  Russell,  Rev.  Dr.  Hill,  Rev.  Dr.  liunt- 
irigton,  Gideon  F.  Thayer,  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Burgess,  and  others.     One 
Volume,  404  pages,  Octavo,  bound  in  cloth,  $2.00. 

II.  OBJECT-TEACHING  AND  ORAL  LESSONS  ox  SOCIAL  SCIENCE  AND  COM- 
MON THINGS,  WITH  VARIOUS  ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  THE  PRINCIPLES  AND 
PRACTICE  OF  PRIMARY  EDUCATION,  AS  ADOPTED  IN  THE  MODEL  AND 
TRAINING  SCHOOLS  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN.  One  Volume,  434  pages, 
Octavo,  bound  in  cloth,  $2.00  ;  in  goat,  $2.50. 

III.  GERMAN  EXPERIENCE  IN  THE  ORGANIZATION,  INSTRUCTION,  AND  DISCI- 

PLINE OF  PUBLIC  OR  COMMON  SCHOOLS;  WITH  TREATISES  ON  PEDA- 
GOGY, DIDACTICS,  AND  METHODOLOGY,  by  Professor  Raumer,  Dr. 
Diesterweg,  Dr.  Hentschel,  Dr.  Abbenrode,  Dr.  Dinter,  and  other?, 
One  Volume,  482  pages,  Octavo,  bound  in  cloth,  $2.50. 

IV.  EDUCATIONAL  APHORISMS  AND  SUGGESTIONS  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  WITH 

AN  INDEX.     One  Volume,  200  pages,  Octavo,  bound  in  cloth,  $1.50. 
V.  ENGLISH  PEDAGOGY;  or  Treatises  and  Thoughts  on  Education,  the  School, 
and  the  Teacher.     By  Roger  Ascham,  Lord  Bacon,  Sir  Henry  Wotton, 
John  Milton,  Samuel  Hartlib,  Sir  William  Petty,  John  Locke,  Thomas 
Fuller,  William  Shenstone,  Thomas  Gray,  William  Cowper,  George 
Crabbe,  Herbert  Spencer,  and  others.     One  Volume,  480  pages,  $2.50. 
VI.  PESTALOZZI  AND  PESTALOZZIANISM,  with  Sketches  of  the  Educational 
Views  of  other  Swiss  Educators.     One  Volume,  480  pages,  Octavo, 
bound  in  cloth,  $2.50 ;  (in  goat,  with  Portrait,  $3.00.) 

VII.  GERMAN  EDUCATIONAL  REFORMERS— Stnrm,  Luther,  Melancthon,  Ratich. 
Comenius,  Basedow,  Francke,  Herder,  and  others.  One  Volume,  586 
pages,  Octavo,  $3.00. 

VIII.  FRENCH  SCHOOLS  AND  PEDAGOGY  ;  the  Organization  and  Instruction  of 
Public  Schools,  both  for  General  and  Special  Education;  and  the  Peda- 
gogical Views  of  Abbe  de  Lasalle,  Fenelon,  Montaigne,  Rousseau, 
Cousin,  Guizot,  AVilm,  Marcel,  and  others.  One  Volume,  576  pages, 
Octavo,  bound  in  cloth,  $3.00. 

IX.  SCHOOLS  AND  EDUCATION  IN  NORTHERN  EUROPE,  viz.,  Holland.  Belgium, 
J^anover,  Denmark,  Norway,  Sweden,  and  Russia.     One  Volume,  41G 
pages,  Octavo,  bound  in  cloth,  $2.00. 
X.  SCHOOLS  AND  EDUCATION  IN  GREECE  AND  ITALY;    both   Ancient  and 

Modern.     One  Volume,  416  pages,  Octavo,  bound  in  cloth,  $2.00. 
XI.  SECONDARY  EDUCATION;  or  Subjects  and  Methods  of  Instruction  in  Gym- 
nasia, Lycees,  Grammar  Schools,  Academies,  and  High  Schools  for  Boys, 
with  Account,  &c.,  of  the  Home  and  School  Training  of  Girls,  in  dif- 
ferent countries.     One  Volume,  540  pages,  Octavo,  $3.00. 
XII.  SUPERIOR  EDUCATION— AN  HISTORICAL  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNIVER- 
SITY, WITH  AN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSI- 
TIES IN  DIFFERENT  COUNTRIES.    One  Volume,  520  pages,  $3.00. 
XIII.  NORMAL  SCHOOLS,  AND  OTHER  INSTITUTIONS,  AGENCIES  AND  MEANS  FOR 
THE  PROFESSIONAL  TRAINING  AND   IMPROVEMENT  OF  TEACHERS  ix 
DIFFERENT  COUNTRIES,  with  a  List  of  the  best  works  on  the  History, 
Biography,  Principles  and  Methods  of  Education  in  the  French,  Ger- 
man and  English  Languages.     One  Volume.  608  pagt-s,  $3.00. 
TERMS.— Any  one  of  the  Volumes  will  be  sold  separately  at  the  price  affixed. 
Orders  will  be  received  for  the  series,  bound  in  cloth,  as  far  as  published,  viz^  I, 
II.,  III..  IV.,  V.,  VI.,  VII.,  at  $1.75  per  volume,  payable  on  delivery. 
JUNE  1,  1863. 


BARNARD'S  SCHOOL  ARCHITECTURE, 


SCHOOL    ARCHITECTURE;    OR,    CONTRIBUTIONS   TO   THE    IMPROVEMENT   OF   SCHOOL* 
HOUSES   IN    THE    UNITED   STATES. 

BY  HENRY  BARNARD,  LL.J). 

464  PAOKS,  OCTAVO.     PRICK,  $2.00. 

Illustrated  witk  over  300   Wood  Cut*. 

THE  above  standard  work  for  architects,  school-officers,  and  teachers,  has 
wrought  a  revolution  in  the  department  of  which  it  treats.  Since  its  first  publi- 
cation in  1838,  more  than  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  copies  of  the 
original  Essay  on  the  Principles  of  School  Architecture,  with  a  portion  of  the 
Illustrations,  have  been  printed  in  various  forms.  It  has  been  furnished,  at  the 
expense  of  James  S.  Wadsworth,  of  Geneseo,  to  every  town  in  the  State  of  New 
York,  and  by  Legislative  appropriations,  to  the  several  towns  in  the  State  of  Massa- 
chusetts, Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  Vermont,  and  New  Hampshire,  and  the 
Province  of  Upper  Canada ;  and  to  every  District  and  Library  in  the  State  of  Ohio, 
and  to  every  Town  Library  in  the  State  of  Indiana.  An  edition  of  five  thousand 
copies  of  an  abridgment  of  the  work  has  been  circulated  among  the  promoters  of 
schools  in  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland.  Edifices  for  Academies,  Female  Sem- 
inaries, and  Common  Schools  have  been  erected  and  furnished  after  the  directions 
and  plans  set  forth  in  this  volume,  in  every  one  of  the  United  States,  and  in  several 
countries  on  the  Continent  of  Europe.  The  schools  of  many  districts,  villages, 
and  cities,  have  been  re-organized  on  the  principles  of  Gradation — or  of  Primary, 
Secondary,  and  High  Schools  advocated  by  the  Author  in  these  pages. 

The  volume  will  be  found  on  examination  to  contain  : 

1.  An  exposition,  from  official  documents,  of  common  errors  in  the  location, 
construction,  and  furniture  of  School-houses  as  they  have  been  heretofore  almost 
universally  built,  even  in  states  where  the  subject  of  education  has  received  the 
most  attention. 

2.  A  discussion  of  the  purposes  to  be  answered,  and  the  principles  to  be  observed, 
in  structures  of  this  kind. 

3.  Descriptions  of  a  variety  of  plans,  adapted  to  schools  of  every  grade,  from 
the  Infant  School  to  the  Normal  School,  in  a  variety  of  styles,  having  a  Gothic, 
Elizabethan,  or  classic  character,  and  on  a  large  or  small  scale  of  expense  ;  either 
recommended  by  experienced  educators,  or  followed  in  buildings  recently  erected 
in  this  country  or  in  Europe. 

4.  Numerous  illustrations  of  the  most  approved  modes  of  constructing  and 
arranging  seats  and  desks,  and  of  all  recent  improvements  in  apparatus  for  warm- 
ing and  ventilating  school-rooms  and  public  halls  generally. 

5.  A  catalogue  of  maps,  globes,  and  other  means  of  visible  illustration,  with 
which  each  grade  of  school  should  be  furnished,  with  the  price,  and  place  where 
the  several  articles  can  be  purchased. 

6.  A  list  of  books,  with  an  index  or  table  of  contents  to  the  most  important 
volumes  on  education,  schools,  school  systems,  and  methods  of  teaching,  suitable 
for  school  libraries,  with  reference  to  catalogues  from  which  village  libraries,  may 
be  selected. 

7.  Rules  and  regulations  for  the  care  and  preservation  of  School-houses,  grounds, 
and  furniture. 

8.  Examples  of  exercises  suitable  to  the  dedication  of  School-houses  to  th« 
•acred  purposes  of  education. 

9.  A  variety  of  hints  respecting  the  classification  of  schools. 

On  receipt  of  its  price  ($2,00),  we  will  forward  a  copy  of  the  Volume,  hand 
•oinely  bound  to  any  part  of  the  United  States,  free  of  pottage. 


H.  COWPERTHWAIT  &  CO ,  PHILADELPHIA. 

BARNARD'S  EDUCATION  IN  EUROPE 

MAT10NAL    EDUCATION    IN    EUROPE;     BKINO    AN    ACCOUNT    OF   THE     OHO  AN  RATIO!* 

ADMINISTRATION,  INSTRUCTION,  AND  DISCIPLINE  Of  0CHOOLI  Of  DIFFERENT 

GRADES  AND  KINDS  IN  THE  PRINCIPAI.  tTATEi 

BY  HENRY  BARNARD,  LL.D. 

•  ECOHD  EDITION.      PRIOB   93.00. 

H.  COWPERTUWAIT  <fc  Co.,  have  purchased  the  balance  of  the  Edi- 
tion of  this  large  and  valuable  work. 

It  forms  an  Octavo  Volume  of  900  pages,  in  small  type,  and 
embraces  not  only  the  results  of  Mr.  Barnard's  observations  in  schools 
of  different  grades,  and  study  of  official  documents  during  two  visits 
to  Europe,  but  the  substance  of  the  elaborate  and  valuable  reports  of 
Professor  Calvin  E.  Stowe,  D.  D.,  to  the  Legislature  of  Ohio,  in  1837; 
of  President  Alexander  Dallas  Bache,  L.L.  D.,  to  the  Trustees  of  the 
Girard  College  of  Orphans  in  Philadelphia,  in  1839;  of  Honorable 
Horace  Mann,  LL.  D.,  to  the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Education  in 
1846 ;  and  of  Joseph  Kay,  Esq.,  of  the  University  of  Oxford,  in  1850, 
on  the  subjects  treated  of. 

Of  this  work  the  "Westminster  Review,  for  October,  in  1 854,  says . 

44  With  a  view  to  draw  such  general  conclusions  as  might  be  available  for 
the  improvement  of  educational  plans  in  his  own  country,  he  has  collected 
and  arranged  more  valuable  information  and  statistics  than  can  be  found 
in  any  one  volume  in  the  English  language.  Under  the  most  varied  cir- 
cumstances of  government,  society,  and  religion,  has  the  great  philan- 
thropic experiment  of  popular  education  been  tried ;  and  in  each  ca-«e  we 
may  be  sure  that  some  valuable  principle  has  been  recognized,  and  tome 
important  inductions  drawn  from  facts  forced  upon  the  national  attention. 
But  although  we  have  had  some  careful  reports  on  the  state  of  education  in 
France,  Prussia,  and  more  recently  in  our  own  country,  this  is  the  first 
volume,  we  believe,  which  groups  under  one  view  the  varied  experiences 
of  nearly  all  civilized  countries. 

Hon.  John  D.  Philbrick,  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools  in 
Connecticut,  says : 

"  We  shall  not  here  enlarge  upon  its  merits,  but  only  advise  every 
teacher,  professional  man,  school  officer,  literary  man,  and  in  fine,  every 
one  who  wishes  to  be  posted  up  on  the  great  subject  of  popular  education, 
to  lose  no  time  in  securing  the  possession  of  this  volume. 

Similar  testimony  has  been  borne  by  many  of  the  best  Educational 
Periodicals,  School  Officers,  and  Teachers  in  the  country. 

It  is  indispensable  to  legislators  framing  systems  of  Public  In- 
struction ;  to  Officers  and  Teachers,  called  upon  to  organize,  admin- 
ister or  teach  Primary,  Classical,  Normal,  or  Reformatory  Schools; 
and  to  every  Educational  and  School  Library. 

On  receipt  of  its  price  ($3.00),  we  will  forward  a  copy  of  th« 
volume,  handsomely  bound,  by  mail,  to  any  part  of  the  United 
States,/r«  o/postagt.  II.  COWPERTUWAIT  <k  CO., 


BARNARD'S  EDUCATIONAL  BIOGRAPHY. 

EDUCATIOXAI,  BIOGRAPHY  ;  or  Memoirs  of  Teachers,  Educators,  and  Pro 
motors  and  Benefactors  of  Education,  Literature,  and  Science.  By  Henry 
Barnard,  LL.D.  PAUT  I.  Teachers  and  Educators,  Vol.  I.,  United 
States.  NEW  YORK:  F.  C.  Brownell. 

PKICE,  $3.50,  in  half  Turkish  Morocco. 


4  COXTENTS  OF  VOLUME  I. 

PACK. 

INTRODUCTION— Educational  Biography, 11 

K/KKIKI.  CiiErvKR,  and  the  Early  Free  Schools  of  New  England 13 

SAMUEL  JOHNSON, 43 

CALEB  BINGHAM, 53 

TIMOTHY  DWIOHT, 78 

THOMAS   H.  GALLAITDET, ....  With  Portrait, 97 

DENISON  OLMSTED, With  Portrait 119 

MRS.  EMMA  WILLARD .With  Portrait, 125 

SAMUEL  READ  HALL 169 

JAMES  G.  CARTER, With  Portrait 182 

WARREN  COLBURN With  Portrait, ....  195 

GiDEt,*  F.  THAYER With  Portrait 218 

WILLIAM  RUSSELL, With  Portrait 227 

H ARVKY  P.  PEET With  Portrait, 232 

WILLIAM   A.  ALCOTT, With  Portrait 249 

WILLIAM  C.  WOODBRIDGE,.  .  With  Portrait, 268 

WALTER  R.  JOHNSON With  Portrait, 281 

WILBUR  FISK, With  Portrait, 297 

JOHN    KlNOSBt'RY, With  Portrait, 311 

LOWELL   MASON With  Portrait, 326 

GEORGE  B.  EMERSON, With  Portrait, 333 

CALVIN  E.   STOWE,  With  Portrait 344 

SAMUEL  LEWIS, With  Portrait 351 

HORACE  MANN With  Portrait, 3C5 

CYRUS  PEIRCE With  Portrait 405 

NICHOLAS   TILLING n AST With  Portrait. 439 

FRANCIS  DWIOHT With  Portrait 457 

DAVID  PERKINS  PA«« With  Portrait, 465 

WILLIAM  F.  PHELPS,... With  Portrait. 473 

JOHN  8.  HART, , With  Portrait, 481 

FREDERICK  A.  P.  BARNARD...  With  Portrait, 497 

We  are  glad  to  see  that  Dr.  Barnard  has  consented  to  let  his  publishers  bring 
together  into  one  volume,  the  memoirs  of  eminent  American  Teachers  and 
Educators  which  have  appeared  in  the  first  series  of  the  American  Journal  of 
Education.  Richly  bound,  and  illustrated  with  over  twenty  Portraits,  from  en- 
gravings on  steel  or  copper  by  our  best  artists,  it  is  the  most  creditable  tribute 
which  has  j-et  been  paid  in  English  Literature  to  the  scholastic  profession.  It 
forms  a  splendid  and  appropriate  gift-book  to  Teachers,  and  Promoters  of  Kdu- 
cational  Improvement. —  Connecticut  Common  School  Journal,  for  February,  1S59. 

This  elegant  and  useful  contribution  to  educational  literature  will,  we  trust, 
receive  a  cordial  welcome  from  teachers.  Nothing  ever  issued  from  the  press 
could  be  a  more  appropriate  ornament  for  the  teacher's  library  or  center- 
table. — Massachusetts  Teacher,  for  February,  1859. 


MILITARY   EM-CATION. 

\TiUT.\ar  KDCCATIOX;  An  account  of  Institutions  for  Military  Education  in 
France,  Prussia,  Austria,  Russia,  Sardinia,  Sweden,  Switzerland,  England,  and 
the  United  States.  In  a  Series  of  Pa|M.>ra  prepared  for  the  "American  Journal 
of  Education."  Edited  by  HEXKV  HAKX.VRD,  LL.  D.  Philadelphia:  J.  B.  Lip- 
pincott&Co.  1862.  PAIIT  OXK,  FRANCE  and  PKUIMIA.  400  page*.  Price  $'.'.50. 

CONTENTS. 

INTRODUCTION,     ....................       3 

MILITARY  SCHOOLS  AND  MILITARY  EDCCATIOX,   ..........      * 

I.  FRANCE. 

OUTLINE  or  MILITARY  SYSTEM,  .................  9 

System  of  Military  Instruction,      ...............  10 

I.  Polytechnic  School  at  Paris,  ...............  11 

1.  Subject  and  Methods  of  Instruction  prescribed  for  AdmUsion,  .  15 

2.  Modifications  of  Scientific  Course  in  Lyciu  and  other  Preparatory 

Schools  in  reference  to,    ..............  49 

3.  History,  Management,  Studies,  Examinations,  .......  W 

4.  Public  Sen-ices,  Legal  and  Military,  provided  for  by,    ....  83 

5.  Programmes  of  Lectures  and  Courses  of  Instruction,    ....  91 
II.  The  Artillery  and  Engineer  School  of  Application  at  Mctz,  ....  183 

III.  The  Regimental  Schools  of  Practice  for  Artillery  and  Engineer*,  .    .  221 

IV.  The  Infantry  and  Cavalry  School  at  St.  Cyr,    .........  225 

V.  The  Cavalry  School  of  Practice  at  Sauraur,     .........  241 

VI.  The  Staff  School  at  Paris,      ...............  245 

VII.  The  Military  Orphan  School  at  La  Flcchc,  ..........  237 

VIII.  The  School  of  Musketry  at  Vincennes,    ...........  259 

IX.  The  Military  and  Naval  Schools  of  Medicine  and  Pharmacy,     .    .    .  261 

X.  The  Naval  School  at  Brest,    ...............  2«8 

XL  The  Military  Gymnastic  School  at  Vincennes,     ........  2£> 

Remarks  on  French  Military  Education,     ............  271 

II.  PRUSSIA. 
OUTLINE  OF  MILITARY  SYSTEM  AND  MILITARY  EDCCATIOX  ........  275 

I.  Outline  of  Military  System,  ...............  281 

II.  Historical  View  of  Military  Education,   ...........  884 

III.  Present  System  of  Military  Education  and  Promotion,      .....  888 

IV.  Examinations  ;  General  and  Professional  for  a  Commission,  ....  297 

1.  Preliminary  or  Ensign's  Examinations,     .........  2t>7 

2.  Officers'  Examination,     ...............  SfS 

V.  Military  Schools  preparatory  to  the  Officers'  Examination,    ....  310 

1.  The  Cadet  Schools,  or  Cadet  Houses,  ..........  810 

Junior  Cadet  House,  ................  *1* 

Senior  Cadet  House,  ................  *1* 

2.  The  Division  Schools,     ...............  8*1 

3.  The  United  Artillery  and  Engineers'  School,     .......  825 

VI.  The  School  for  Staff  Officers  at  Berlin,        ..........  « 

VII.  Elementary  Military  Schools  for  Non-commissioned  Officers,    .    .    .  S: 

1.  Military  Orphan  Houses  ............... 

Orphan  House  at  Potsdam,  ..............  -^ 

Orphan  House  at  Annaburg,    .............  5< 

2.  The  School  Division  or  Non-commissioned  Officers'  School,  .    .  8-1 

3.  Regimental  Schools,   ................  ** 

4.  The  Noble-School  at  Liegnit/,     ............  *j 

VIII.  Remarks  on  the  System  of  Military  Education  in  Prussia,    .    .    . 

APPENDIX, 


The  Artillery  and  Engineer  School  at  Berlin, 


STANDARD 

EDUCATIONAL    WORKS, 

EMBRACING     THE    HISTORY,    SYSTEMS,    PHILOSOPHY    AND    METHODS    OP 
EDUCATION,  BY  THE  BEST  TEACHERS,  AND  IN  THE  BEST  SCHOOLS 
OF  EUROPE  AND  AMERICA,  WITH    BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES 
OK    EMINENT    TEACHERS,    PROMOTERS    AND    BENEFAC- 
TORS   OF    EDUCATION. 


National  Education  in  Europe,  W.50. 
School  Architecture,  8-.00. 
Practical  Illustrations  of  do.,  50  cenu. 
American  Pedagogy,  Cloth,  s?.00. 
Object  Teaching,  &c.  in  G.Britain,  82.00. 
German  Schools  and  Pedagogy,  $2.50. 
Aphorisms  on  Education,  si..Vi 
Pestalozzi  and  Pestalozzianism,  £-.'-n. 
English  Pedagogy,  82.50. 
Assham,  Bacon,  Wotton,  Hilton,  Locke, 

Spancer,  Ac.,  on  Education,  *i-50. 
Normal  Schools  and  Institutes,  $0.50. 
Bsformatory  Education  &  Schools,  62.00. 
Military    Schools    and   Education    in 

Franco  and  Prussia,  «:» oo. 
Polytechnic  School  cf  France,  ci.oo. 
Common  School  System  of  Conn.,  $1.50. 
BaportsoaP.  S.  of  E.  I.,  1845-49,  S2.50. 

DD.  Com.  Schools  Conn.  1838— 42.  *l  00. 

DD.  Com.  Schools  Conn.  1850-53.  $2.53. 
Education  of  Children  inFactories,  50ct». 
Gallaudet,  and  Deaf-Mutes,  $1.50. 
Portraits  of  Eminent  Teachers  25  cts.  each 
Eaumer's  German  Universities,  $2.co. 
EzDkiol  Checver,  and  the  original  Free 

School  of  New  England,  50  cent*. 
Eassell's  Normal  Training,  Pnrt  I.,  ei.25. 
Hill's  True  Order  of  Studies,  25  cents. 
Thayor's  Lattar  to  a  Young  Teacher,  so. 
HantinjtMi's  Unconscious  Tuition,  25. 


Benefactors  of  Amer.  Education,  *3  60. 
American  Teachers  and  Educators,  83.50 
Do.,  Second  Series,  25  Portraits,  $3.00. 
German  Educational  Reformers— Sturm, 

Luther,  Melancthon,  Ratitch,  Comeni- 

us,  Basedow,  Francke,  &  Herder  $3.oo. 
Military  Schools  in  Austria,  Sardinia 

Russia,  Switzerland  &  England,  $2  oo. 
French  Schools  and  Educators— Fene- 

lon,   Montaigne,   Rousseau,    Guizot, 

Cousin,  Wilm,  Marcel  and  others,  $3. 
Connecticut  Common   School  Journal, 

1838-42,  S3.50. 
Journal  of  E.  I.  Institute  of  Instruction, 

1845-49,  33.50. 
Amer.  Jour,  of  Education,  Single  No.  $1.50. 

Do.       do.,         Single  Vol.  in  Cloth,  83.00. 
Do.      dO.,        Voliil.  toXII.,  Cloth,  $3300. 
Do.       do.,  "  "     Half  Goat,  $30.00. 

IS  PKEPARATIOX. 

Gymnastic  and  Military  Exercises,  81  so- 
Dutch  and  Belgian  Schools,  $2.50. 
Schools  and  Instruction  for  Girls,  $1.50. 
Academies  and  High  Schools,  $200. 
Scientific  Schools  of  Europe,  $3.oo. 
Schools  and  Homes  for  Orphans,  $1.50. 
Schools  and  Education— Common,  Aca- 
demic, Collegiate  and  Special,  in  the 
United  States  in  1861,  S3.oo. 
Catalogue  of  American  Text  Books,  print- 
ed only  for  subscribers,  $3.03. 


HansfislJ's  Hist,  of  U.  S.  Milt.  Acad.,  50. 

PAPERS  FOR  THE  TEACHER, 

Including  (1,)  American  Pedagogy  ;  (2.)  Object  Teaching  and  Methods  of  Pri- 
mary Instruction  in  Great  Britain;  (3,)  German  Schools  and  Pedagogy;  (4,) 
Educational  Aphorisms  and  Suggestions;  (5,)  English  Pedagogj';  (6,)  Pesta- 
lozzi and  Pestalozzianism; — G  volumes,  iu  cloth  binding,  $10.00 

THE  AMERICAN  JOURNAL  OP  EDUCATION,  for  1863;  issued  on  tbe  15th  of 
March.  June,  September  and  December:  making  one  volume  of  824  pages  octavo, 
with  four  portraits  and  200  wood-cuts.  Terms,  $2  60,  if  paid  before,  and  $3.00 
if  paid  after,  March  15th.  Single  number,  $1.00. 

THE  CONTEXTS  AND  INDEXES  of  Barnard's  American  Journal  of  Education, 
(Vols.  1 — xii.)  and  other  Publications.  204  Pages.  Price  75  cents. 

BY  HENRY  BARNARD,  LL.  D. 

LATl  SUPERINTENDENT  OP   COMMON   SCHOOLS   IN  CONNECTICUT,  COMMISSIONER  OF  PUBLIC 
SCHOOLS  IN  KllriOB  ISLAND,  AND  CHANCELLOR  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OP  WISCONSIN. 


SOLD  WHOLESALE  AND  RETAIL  BY  HENRY  BARNARD,  HARTFORD,  CONN. 
J.  If.  IMPPIIVCOTT  &  CO.,  Philadelphia, 
F.  C.  ltu»\V>  i.i.r.        81   John  Street,  New  York. 
GEORGE  SHERWOOD,  118  Lake  Street,  Chicago,  Illinois. 
J.   *M  >SI;M..  state  Street.  Albany,  New  York* 
E.  P.  DITTTON  &  CO.,  Boston. 

JANUARY  1,  1863. 


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